MGTO 121Organizational Behavior

Values, Attitudes, and Job Satisfaction

Dr. Kin Fai Ellick Wong

Outline Values

Concepts and Implications for OB Attitudes

Concepts and Implications for OB Job Satisfaction

Relationships with various OB DVs

Values

Values 大仇不報非君子 vs. 大人不記小人過 人之初 , 性本善 vs. 人之初 , 性本惡 寧縱無枉 vs. 寧枉無縱 偏愛 ( 儒家 ) vs. 博愛 ( 墨家 , 基督教 ) 寧我去負天下人 , 休教天下人負我 ( 曹操 ) 大丈夫不能流芳百世 , 亦當遺嗅萬年 ( 桓溫 ) 攻城為下 , 攻心為上 ( 馬謖 )

Definition Basic convictions that a specific mode 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

They contain a judgmental element in that they carry an individual’s ideas as to what is right, good, or desirable

Relatively (as compared with attitudes) enduring and stable

Value system A hierarchy based on a ranking of an

individual’s values in terms of their intensity

Importance of values They lay the foundation for the

understanding of attitudes and motivation because they influence people’s perceptions Certain behaviors or outcomes in

organizations are preferred over others Values generally influence attitudes and

behavior

Types of values Terminal values

Desirable end-states of existence: the goals that a person would like to achieve during his or her lifetime

• E.g., an exciting life, freedom, social recognition

Instrumental values Preferable modes of behavior or means of

achieving one’s terminal values• E.g., clean, ambitious, capable, honest, logical

Mean value ranking of executives, union members, and activists Exhibit 3-2

Dominant work values in today’s workforce Exhibit 3-3

Values across cultures Five value dimensions of national

culture: Power distance Individualism vs. collectivism Quantity of life vs. quality of life Uncertainty avoidance Long-term vs. short-term orientation

See exhibit 3-4

Implications for OB To increase the compatibility between the

employees and the jobs, their values should be considered E.g. (1), There are so many capable female

employees. Unfortunately, they often resign after a baby is born. How can we attract them to stay?

E.g. (2), From exhibit 3-2, we see that union members are highly concerned with family security. On the basis of this information, how can we develop a compensation system that is particularly attractive to them?

For international management, we need to know, understand, and respect values of employees from different nations E.g., way of using salary in Indonesia:

Local Indonesians, Dutch, and Chinese Research findings from the US may

not be applicable to other countries

Attitudes

Attitudes 十五年前

我愛穿籮蔔褲 我討厭讀書 我對大學教授沒有好感

現在 穿籮蔔褲很老土 我喜愛讀書 方知大學教授大都學問淵博

Definition Evaluative statements or judgments

concerning objects, people, or events Relatively (compared with values) less

enduring and stable Three components

• Cognitive component• Affective component• Behavioral component

Types of attitudes in OB Job satisfaction

An individual’s general attitude toward his or her job

我喜愛我的工作 Job involvement

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

我會工作至廢寢忘餐

Organizational commitment The degree to which an employee

identifies with a particular organization and its goals and wishes to maintain membership in the organization

我以能成為 XX 公司的一分子為榮

Implications to OB Attitude – Behavior relationship

Previous research found a weak A-B relationship

Recent research suggests that the A-B relationship is stronger when attitudes are

• important• specific• accessible • without social pressure• Directly experienced

Attitude changes Cognitive dissonance theory Self-perception theory

Cognitive dissonance theory Cognitive dissonance: Any incompatibility

between two or more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes （知知不下，知行不一） E.g., A tobacco executive who is not a smoker

Any form of inconsistency is uncomfortable and that individuals will attempt to reduce the dissonance and hence the discomfort

They will seek a stable state in which there is a minimum of dissonance

Solutions to reduce the dissonance Adjust the behavior or the attitude

• Smoking is not as bad as what research findings have described

• 一個班長的故事 No change: when the inconsistency is

not important, is not controllable, and is associated with high rewards

Self-perception theory Attitudes are used after the fact to

make sense out of an action that has already occurred 牌子的故事 Underpayment and job satisfaction

How can we assess employees’ attitude? Attitude surveys

Eliciting responses from employees through questionnaires about how they feel about their jobs, work groups, supervisors, and the organization

See exhibit 3-5

Job satisfaction

Job satisfaction and productivity Happy workers are productive

workers? At Individual level

• The answer seems to be No; rather it seems to be that productive workers are happy worker. (see Myth or Science, p. 77)

At organizational level• It seems that organizations with more

happy employees are more effective than those with less satisfied employees

Satisfaction and absenteeism Negatively correlated The relationship is moderate

Satisfaction and turnover Negatively correlated The relationship is stronger than

that between satisfaction and absenteeism

Satisfaction and OCB A modest positive relationship The relationship is related to

perceived justice and trust of the supervisor