Attitude1

Defining attitude• Evaluative statements or judgments

concerning objects, people or events.• The term attitude is used to describe people

and explaining their behavior.• Attitudes are the feelings and beliefs that

largely determine how employees will perceive their environment, commit themselves to intended actions, and ultimately behave.

Tripartite Theory of Attitudes

• Three components to an attitude– Cognitive – Affective– Behavioral

• Attitudes can be based on any of the three components

• Attitudes can have effects on any of the three components

Tripartite Theory of Attitudes (continued)

Cognitive component-it is a value statement

“discrimination is wrong”.

Affective component- it is the emotion or the feeling segment of an attitude and is reflected in the statement “I don’t like him because he discriminates against minorities”.

Behavioral component- refers to an intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or something.I might choose to avoid the person because of that feeling.

Types of Attitudes

• Most of the research in OB is concerned with three attitudes-

1. Job Satisfaction

2. Job Involvement

3. Organizational Commitment

Job Satisfaction

• It is defined as the extent to which a person is gratified or fulfilled by his or her work.

• Locke defines it as “ a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experience.”

Job satisfaction(contd.)• There are three important dimensions of job

satisfaction:-

1. Job satisfaction is an emotional response to a job situation.

2. It is often determined by how well outcomes meet or exceed expectations.

3. Job satisfaction represents several related attitudes.

Smith, Kendall and Hulin have suggested that there are five job dimensions that represents the most important charac. Of a job about which the people have affective responses:-

1.Work itself-The extent to which the job provides the indl. With interesting tasks, opportunities for learning, and the chance to accept responsibility.

2. Pay-The amount of financial remuneration that is received and the degree to which this is viewed as equitable in comparison to others in the org.

3. Promotion opportunities-The chances for advancements in the org.

4. Supervision- the abilities of the supervisor to provide technical assistance and behavioral support.

5. Coworkers- The degree to which the fellow workers are technically proficient and socially supportive.

Outcomes of job satisfaction

1. Productivity and satisfaction

2. Turnover and satisfaction

3. Absenteeism and satisfaction

Responses to job dissatisfaction

• Exit- leaving the org

• Voice- active and constructive attempts to improve the conditions

• Loyalty-passively waiting for the conditions to improve

• Neglect- allowing conditions to worsen

Exit

Neglect Loyalty

Voice

Destructive

Passive

Constructive

Active

Responses to job dissatisfaction

Job Involvement

• The degree to which a person identifies with his or her job, actively participates in it, and considers his or her performance important to self-worth.

Organizational Commitment• The degree to which an employee identifies

with a particular org.and its goals and wishes to maintain membership in the org.

• It can be defined as (1)a strong desire to remaun a member of a particular org; (2) a willingness to exert high levels of efforts on behalf of the org; (3)a definite belief in, and acceptance of, the vaues and goals of the org.

Meyer and Allen proposed a three component model of org commitment

• Affective commitment-involves the employees emotional attachment to, identification with, and involvement in the org.

• Continuance commitment- involves commitment based on the costs that the employee associates with leaving the org.

• Normative commitment- involves the employee’s feelings of obligation to stay with the org.

Functions of attitudes

• According to D.Katz attitudes serve four important functions:

2. The adjustment function

3. The ego-defensive function

4. The value-expressive function

5. The knowledge function

Cognitive Dissonance Theory (Leon Fastinger)

• It refers to the incompatibility that an individual may perceive between two or more of his attitudes, or between his behavior and attitudes.

• Emotional dissonance refers to the conflict between the emotions an individual experiences and the emotions he needs to express to conform to organizational norms.

• Fastinger suggested that individuals are uncomfortable with any form of inconsistency and try to reduce the dissonance and discomfort that results from such inconsistencies.