VALUES and ATTITUDES

Understanding Values

Elements of Values
Values have both Content ( important)

and Intensity ( how important ) attributes.

Importance of Values
Values lay the foundation for understanding

attitudes and motivations of people. Preconceived notions and interpretations of right and wrong can cloud objectivity and rationality in an organization. Values influence attitudes and behavior( Pay for seniority not performance) Individual values need to be attuned to organizational values.

Types of Values Rokeach Value Survey

Values in the Rokeach Survey

Values in the Rokeac h Survey (contd)

Values, loyalty and ethical behavior

Ethical Values and Behaviors of Leaders

Ethical Climate in the Organization

Hofstedes Framework for Assessing Cultures

Hofstedes Framework (contd.)

Hofstedes Framework (contd.)

Hofstedes Framework (contd.)

Hofstedes Framework (contd.)

Attitudes

Tricomponent model of Attitude

Theory of Reasoned Action

A persons behavior is determined by their

attitude towards the outcome of that behavior and by the opinions of the person's social environment. Ajzen and Fishbein (1980) proposed that a person's behavior is determined by his intention to perform the behavior and that this intention is, in turn, a function of his attitude toward the behavior and his subjective norm.

The theory is represented symbolically as follows:

B ~ I = (Aact)w1 + (SN)w2
where B=Behavior, I = Intention, Aact = the person's attitude towards the behavior SN = the influence of the person's Subjective Norms w1 and w2 are weights representing the importance of each term.

A Simplified Version of the Theory of Reasoned Action

Beliefs that the behavior leads to certain outcomes Evaluation of the outcomes Beliefs that specific referents think I should or should not perform the behavior Motivation to comply with the specific referents

Attitude toward the behavior

Intention Behavior

Subjective norm

An example
Attitude: " I think drinking is bad for my health" Subjective Norm: " I bet my girlfriend wants me to stop drinking" Intention " I want to stop drinking" Behavior " I'm going to AA and I haven't had a drink in 6 weeks.

Issues in Attitude Formation

How attitudes are learned Sources of influence on attitude

formation
Personality factors

How do you change attitudes?

Social influence Persuasion Compliance Conformity Norms Reference groups

Attitude Clusters

For example.
work The firm Politics

Coworkers

Your city
Hobbies Local Officials

Types of Attitudes

Attitudes and Consistency

People often change what they say so

that it doesnt contradict what they do!! People seek consistency in their attitudes and behavior. This is done by changing attitudes or behavior or by rationalization.

The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance

Leon Festinger (1957)

Desire to reduce dissonance
Importance of elements creating dissonance

Degree of individual influence over elements

Rewards involved in dissonance

Reducing Cognitive Dissonance

Achieving consistency- an exercise

Mrs Gupta strongly believes that no

company should pollute the air or water.Unfortunately, for her as the Head of a chemical factory she knows that dumping wastes into a nearby river is in the best economic interest of her company.What can she do to reduce her dissonance ?

Solution
Change her behavior- Stop polluting the river.

Conclude that dissonance is not that

important Ive got to make a living ! My companys good is more important. Change her attitude- there is nothing wrong in polluting the river. Rationalization The economic benefit and products of the company far outweigh the effects of pollution.

Measuring the A-B Relationship

Recent research indicates that the attitudes

(A) significantly predict behaviors (B) when moderating variables are taken into account.
Moderating Variables
Importance of the attitude Specificity of the attitude Accessibility of the attitude Social pressures on the individual Direct experience with the attitude

Self-Perception Theory
Behavior Attitude in line with action

All

frequent flier programs of Airline companies.

 "Individuals come to know their own

attitudes, emotions and internal states by inferring them from observations of their own behavior and circumstances in which they occur. When internal cues are weak, ambiguous, or uninterpretable, the individual is in the same position as the outside observer". Bem, D. J., Self Perception Theory
Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol 6, 1972.

An Application: Attitude Surveys

Sample Attitude Survey

Job Satisfaction
Measuring Job Satisfaction

Single global rating Summation score

How Satisfied Are People in Their Jobs?

Job satisfaction declined to 50.7% in 2000 Decline attributed to:

Pressures

to increase productivity Less control over work

Measuring Job Satisfaction

Critical Incidents Technique: A procedure

for measuring job satisfaction in which employees describe incidents relating to their work that they find especially satisfying or dissatisfying. Interviews: Questioning people in person about their attitudes in order to explore them more deeply.

Job Satisfaction & Employee Performance

Satisfaction and Productivity

Satisfied workers arent necessarily more productive. Worker productivity is higher in organizations with more satisfied workers. Satisfaction and Absenteeism Satisfied employees have fewer avoidable absences. Satisfaction and Turnover Satisfied employees are less likely to quit. Organizations take actions to cultivate high performers and to weed out lower performers.

Promoting Job Satisfaction

Make jobs fun Pay people fairly Match people to jobs that fit their

interests Avoid boring, repetitive jobs

Responses to Job Dissatisfaction

How Employees Can Express Dissatisfaction