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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SEA LEVELBEHAVIOR

VALUES – STANDARDS – JUDGMENTS

ATTITUDEMOTIVES – ETHICS - BELIEFS

KNOWN TO OTHERS

UNKNOWN TO OTHERS

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Evaluative statements or judgments concerning objects, people, or events.

Three components of an attitude:

The emotional The emotional or feeling or feeling segment of an segment of an attitudeattitudeThe opinion or The opinion or

belief segment of belief segment of an attitudean attitude An intention to An intention to

behave in a certain behave in a certain way toward way toward someone or someone or somethingsomething

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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Festinger’s Cognitive Dissonance Cognitive Dissonance: Any incompatibility between

two or more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes

People’s 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:

Importance of elements Degree of individual influence Rewards involved in dissonance

MODERATING VARIABLES The most powerful moderators of the attitude-

behavior relationship are: Importance of the attitude

Correspondence to behavior Accessibility Existence of social pressures Personal and direct experience of the

attitude.

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CHANGING ATTITUDES Barriers to changing attitudes:1. Prior commitment2. Insufficient information Methods to overcome barriers and

change attitudes:1. Providing new information2. Use of fear3. Resolving Discrepancies4. Influence of friends and peers5. The co-opting approach

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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 profession rather than a given employer. 12

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AND YET MORE MAJOR JOB ATTITUDES… 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

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 end-state 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 end-

state is important Intensity Attribute – just how important that content is.

Value System A person’s values rank ordered by intensity Tends to be relatively constant and consistent 16

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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 one’s terminal values

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

and may create conflict 18

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VALUES IN THE ROKEACH SURVEYO

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VALUES

Values differ across cultures. Hofstede’s 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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HOFSTEDE’S 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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HOFSTEDE’S 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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HOFSTEDE’S 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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HOFSTEDE’S 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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HOFSTEDE’S 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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HOFSTEDE’S 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 don’t match what is believed to be true

about given countries Despite these problems it remains a very popular

framework

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