Attitudes and Their Components

Attitude
An individuals predisposition to think, feel, perceive,
and behave in certain ways toward a particular tangible
or intangible phenomenon (attitude object).
Attitudes develop over time and are resistant to change.

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 Illustration of the
Attitude Behavior Relationship

Affective
Component

Cognitive Behavior Toward

Component Attitude
Attitude Object

Behavioral
Tendency
Component

FIGURE 61
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 Attitude Formation
Personal experience
Coming into direct contact with an attitude object
creates perceptions about the objects characteristics
which are transformed into an attitude about the object.
Association
The transference of parts or all of an attitude about an
old object to a new attitude object.

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 Attitude Formation
Social learning
The influence of persons with whom an individual
works on the formation of the individuals attitudes.
Heredity
The transmission from parents to offspring of certain
defining characteristics; a genetic predisposition to
behave or think in certain ways.

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 Attitude Change
Strategies for changing an attitude:
Present new information (cognitive component).
Present a different emotional reaction to the attitude
object (affective component).
Provide a new experience with the attitude object that
conflicts with prior experience.
Create new associations for the attitude object.
Use others more experienced with the attitude object for
social learning.
Change the behavior associated with the attitude.

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 Attitude Change (contd)
Cognitive dissonance
An unpleasant psychological state that occurs when a
person possesses conflicting thoughts
about an attitude object.

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 Work-related Attitudes
Job satisfaction
The attitude that results from the appraisal of ones job
as attaining or enabling the attainment of ones
important job values.
Positive job attitudes arise when jobs enable persons to
attain their values.

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 Work-related Attitudes (contd)
Facets of job satisfaction
Job contentwhat is done on the job
Job contextthe environment in which the job is done
Overall job satisfaction
A combination of facet satisfactions that describes a
persons overall affective reaction to a set of work-
related factors.

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 Work-related Attitudes (contd)
Causes of job satisfaction
Experience with the work environment and job content
Association of the current job with past
occupations/jobs
Social learning from others in the workplace
Genetic predispositions
Individual personalities
Organization goals and management actions

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 Work-related Attitudes (contd)
Measuring job satisfaction
Observing worker behavior
Interviewing workers about satisfaction levels
Distributing questionnaires to obtain information
systematically
Measurement instruments

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 Work-related Attitudes (contd)
Consequences of job satisfaction
Employees are less likely to:
Consider quitting
Be absent or tardy
Refuse to be good organizational citizens
Job performance does not appear to have a significant
relationship to job satisfaction.

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 Organizational Commitment
Organizational commitment
The relative strength of an individuals identification
with and involvement in a particular organization.
Components of organizational commitment
Affective commitmentan emotional attachment to the
organization and its mission.
Normative commitmentthe belief that commitment is a
right thing to do and is based on the employees
moral and personal value system
Continuance commitmentorganizational commitment
based on the costs an employee associates with leaving
the organization.
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 Causes and Consequences of Organizational
Commitment

Personal
Employability
Characteristics

Organizational Turnover
Job/Role Organizational Turnover
Commitment Experienced Behavioral
Expectations Commitment Behavior
Propensity Meaningfulness Intention

Experienced
Absenteeism
Job Choice Initial Work Responsibility Absenteeism
Behavioral
Factors Experience Behavior
Intention
Psychological
Ownership

FIGURE 64
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 Major Causes of Job Satisfaction and
Organizational Commitment
Individual Characteristics:
Dispositional Affectivity
(including genetic pre-dispositions)
Gender
Tenure/Career Stage
Work-Family Conflict
Mentor/Protg Status

Job Satisfaction and

Organizational Commitment
Work Environment Characteristics:
Perceived Discrimination
Fair and Flexible Policies and Procedures
Nonhazardous Workplace
Supervisor and Co-worker Support
Perceptions of Control
Promotional Opportunities Source: S. Lease. 1998. Annual review,
19931997: Work attitudes and outcomes.
Journal of Vocational Behavior 53:154183.
FIGURE 65
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 Job and Work Involvement
Job involvement
An employees psychological involvement with a
particular job.
Work involvement
An employees devotion to or alienation from work in
general.
Job and work involvement aspects
The conscious desire and choice to participate or avoid
work or a job.
The centrality or marginality of work to an individual.
The importance of the work to a persons self-concept.

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 Psychological Ownership
Psychological ownership
The state in which an individual feels as though the
target of ownership (or a piece of that target) is theirs.
Psychological ownership develops through:
Empowerment through the control of the work
Self-management opportunities
Expanded roles in managing the production process
Participation in problem solving

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 Causes and Consequences of Employee
Psychological Ownership

ANTECEDENT CONDITIONS CONSEQUENT CONDITIONS

Organizational Citizenship Behavior

Information Assumption of Responsibility

(Intimate Knowledge)
Involvement Psychological Satisfaction
Opportunities Influence Ownership
Organizational Commitment
Investing of Oneself
Assumption of Personal Risk for
the Target of Ownership

FIGURE 66
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 The Management of Employee Attitudes

Organizational influences on employee

attitudes
The
Employees
Attitudes,
Feelings, Beliefs, Structure
Intentions
Climate

Culture

Working Job Design

Conditions
Technology
Security
Policies
Pay
Co-Workers

FIGURE 67
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 The Financial Impact of Attitudes
Human resource accounting
The application of accounting principles and practices
to the evaluation and management of human assets.
Behavioral accounting
The treatment of attitudinal measures as indicators of
subsequent employee behavior, which in turn have
economic implications for organizations that can be
assessed using cost accounting procedures.

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 The Financial Impact of Attitudes (contd)
A procedure for measuring the financial impact
of attitudes:
1. Identify and measure relevant attitudes.
2. Identify and measure relevant cost items.
3. Price behavioral cost items.
4. Identify the relationship between attitudes and
behavioral cost items.
5. Estimate the financial impact of attitude changes.

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