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Organizational Behavior

ATTITUDES & VALUES


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Defining Attitudes
Attitude is a hypothetical construct Cannot be directly observed inferred from what people say and do Attitude objects are concrete, abstract, about people, groups of people and inanimate objects Behaviour towards objects is dependent upon attitude towards objects Attitudes tend to persist unless something is done to change them Attitudes can fall anywhere along a continuum from very favourable to very unfavourable. Attitudes are directed towards some object about which a person has feelings or affect and beliefs
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HOW

MUCH DO YOU SEE OF AN ICEBERG?

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ONLY 10% OF ANY ICEBERG IS VISIBLE. THE REMAINING 90% IS BELOW SEA LEVEL.

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KNOWN TO OTHERS

BEHAVIOR

SEA LEVEL

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UNKNOWN TO OTHERS

VALUES STANDARDS JUDGMENTS

ATTITUDE
MOTIVES ETHICS - BELIEFS
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Evaluative statements or judgments concerning objects, people, or events. Three components of an attitude:

Affective Cognitive

The opinion or belief segment of an attitude

The emotional or feeling segment of an attitude

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Behavioral

Attitude

An intention to behave in a certain way toward 6 someone or something

THREE COMPONENTS OF ATTITUDES


Cognitive Component The opinion or belief segment of an attitude. Affective Component The emotional or feeling segment of an attitude. Behavioral Component An intention to behave in a certain way towards someone or something.
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Festingers Cognitive Dissonance


Cognitive Dissonance: Any incompatibility between two or more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes Peoples attitudes or beliefs can be consonant (in line), dissonant (at odds), or not related to each other If dissonant, we experience psychological discomfort Individuals seek to reduce this uncomfortable gap, or dissonance, to reach stability and consistency Consistency is achieved by changing the attitudes, modifying the behaviors, or through rationalization Desire to reduce dissonance depends on:

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Importance of elements
Degree of individual influence Rewards involved in dissonance
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MODERATING VARIABLES
The most powerful moderators of the attitudebehavior relationship are: Importance of the attitude Correspondence to behavior Accessibility Existence of social pressures Personal and direct experience of the attitude.
Attitudes Predict Behavior

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Moderating Variables

CHANGING ATTITUDES
1. 2. Barriers to changing attitudes: Prior commitment Insufficient information Methods to overcome barriers and change attitudes: Providing new information Use of fear Resolving Discrepancies Influence of friends and peers The co-opting approach
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1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

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WHAT ARE THE MAJOR JOB ATTITUDES?

Job Satisfaction A positive feeling about the job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics Job Involvement Degree of psychological identification with the job where perceived performance is important to self-worth Psychological Empowerment Belief in the degree of influence over the job, competence, job meaningfulness, and autonomy
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ANOTHER MAJOR JOB ATTITUDE Organizational Commitment Identifying with a particular organization and its goals, while wishing to maintain membership in the organization. Three dimensions: Affective emotional attachment to organization Continuance Commitment economic value of staying Normative - moral or ethical obligations Has some relation to performance, especially for new employees. Less important now than in past now perhaps more of occupational commitment, loyalty to 12 profession rather than a given employer.
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AND YET MORE MAJOR JOB ATTITUDES

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Perceived Organizational Support (POS) Degree to which employees believe the organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being. Higher when rewards are fair, employees are involved in decision-making, and supervisors are seen as supportive. High POS is related to higher OCBs and performance. Employee Engagement The degree of involvement with, satisfaction with, and enthusiasm for the job. Engaged employees are passionate about their work and company.

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OUTCOMES OF JOB SATISFACTION Job Performance Satisfied workers are more productive AND more productive workers are more satisfied! The causality may run both ways. Organizational Citizenship Behaviors Satisfaction influences OCB through perceptions of fairness. Customer Satisfaction Satisfied frontline employees increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. Absenteeism 14 Satisfied employees are moderately less likely to miss work.
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MORE OUTCOMES OF JOB SATISFACTION Turnover Satisfied employees are less likely to quit. Many moderating variables in this relationship. Economic environment and tenure Organizational actions taken to retain high performers and to weed out lower performers Workplace Deviance Dissatisfied workers are more likely to unionize, abuse substances, steal, be tardy, and withdraw.

Despite the overwhelming evidence of the impact of job satisfaction on the bottom line, most managers are either unconcerned about or overestimate worker satisfaction. 15

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VALUES
Basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or endstate of conduct or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence. Attributes of Values: Content Attribute that the mode of conduct or endstate is important Intensity Attribute just how important that content is. Value System A persons values rank ordered by intensity 16 Tends to be relatively constant and consistent
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IMPORTANCE OF VALUES
Provide understanding of the attitudes, motivation, and behaviors Influence our perception of the world around us Represent interpretations of right and wrong Imply that some behaviors or outcomes are preferred over others

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CLASSIFYING VALUES ROKEACH VALUE SURVEY


Terminal Values Desirable end-states of existence; the goals that a person would like to achieve during his or her lifetime Instrumental Values Preferable modes of behavior or means of achieving ones terminal values
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People in same occupations or categories tend to hold similar values But values vary between groups Value differences make it difficult for groups to negotiate 18 and may create conflict

VALUES IN THE ROKEACH SURVEY

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VALUES
Values differ across cultures. Hofstedes Framework for assessing culture five value dimensions:
Power Distance Individualism vs. Collectivism Masculinity vs. Femininity Uncertainty Avoidance Long-term vs. Short-term Orientation

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HOFSTEDES FRAMEWORK: POWER DISTANCE


The extent to which a society accepts that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally. Low distance Relatively equal power between those with status/wealth and those without status/wealth High distance Extremely unequal power distribution between those with status/wealth and those without status/wealth
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HOFSTEDES FRAMEWORK: INDIVIDUALISM


Individualism The degree to which people prefer to act as individuals rather than a member of groups Collectivism A tight social framework in which people expect others in groups of which they are a part to look after them and protect them
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HOFSTEDES FRAMEWORK: MASCULINITY


Masculinity The extent to which the society values work roles of achievement, power, and control, and where assertiveness and materialism are also valued Femininity The extent to which there is little differentiation between roles for men and women
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HOFSTEDES FRAMEWORK: UNCERTAINTY AVOIDANCE


The extent to which a society feels threatened by uncertain and ambiguous situations and tries to avoid them High Uncertainty Avoidance: Society does not like ambiguous situations and tries to avoid them. Low Uncertainty Avoidance: Society does not mind ambiguous situations and embraces them.
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HOFSTEDES FRAMEWORK: TIME ORIENTATION


Long-term Orientation A national culture attribute that emphasizes the future, thrift, and persistence Short-term Orientation A national culture attribute that emphasizes the present and the here and now
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HOFSTEDES FRAMEWORK: AN ASSESSMENT


There are regional differences within countries The original data is old and based on only one company Hofstede had to make many judgment calls while doing the research Some results dont match what is believed to be true about given countries Despite these problems it remains a very popular framework
Organizational Behavior

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