IV. vauues, aTTrTuDES, AND JOB SATISFACTION 7 Values How People Learn Values Types of Values Individual versus Organizational Values Espoused versus Enacted Values Instrumental and Terminal Values Attitudes The Main Components of Attitudes Differences in Personal Disposition How Attitudes Are Formed Most Important Attitudes in the Workplace Effects of Employee Attitudes Making Positive Attitudes Work for the Organization Job Satisfaction Factors Associated with Job Satisfaction Ways of Measuring Job Satisfaction Job Involvement Organizational Commitment 60Chapter 4 VALUES, ATTITUDES, AND JOB SATISFACTION A company which advertises that its milk products come from “contented cows implies that the products are of good quality. It is easy ‘to understand the logic behind it. In the same light, when someone says “workers who are satisfied with their jobs tend to produce quality outputs,” it is also easy to understand why it is so. Job satisfaction is an important concern for both employer and employee. This is so because of the benefits it brings to both. This chapter is an attempt to explain job satisfaction and the various concerns that make it happen, such as values and attitudes. Values generally influence attitudes and behavior. In turn, attitudes form the basis for determining how satisfied people are with their jobs. JOB SATISFACTION Figure 10 VALUES, ATTITUDES, AND JOB SATISFACTION 61VALUES Values refer to the importance a person attaches to thin, . ideas that serves as guide to action. Values are enduring beliefs that one’s mode of conduct is better than the opposite mode of Conduc An example of a belief is the importance placed by a Person i academic titles or degrees and the doubt casted on the ability Of a person without sufficient academic qualifications. The definition implies that values are made of a set of beliefs, Values may be attached to things or ideas like loyalty (to the company or friends), teamwork, honor, obedience, honesty, and the like, How People Learn Values Values are not inborn, they are learned. As they grow, People learn values through any or all of the following: 1. modeling 2. communication of attitudes 3. unstated but implied attitudes 4. religion Modeling Parents, teachers, friends, and other people oftentimes become models to persons who would later exhibit good behavior in the workplace. For instance, a person who worked as a mechanic for many years in his own yard was a stickler for cleanliness and getting up early to work. He saw to it that his customers were happy with the service he provided, and he never charged them with unreasonable service fees. His son saw him in action almost everyday. The son did not notice that he was slowly imitating the good work ethic of his father. It is no wonder that he behaves much like his father when he is doing his work as a mechanic in a large automotive sales and service firm. Communication of Attitudes One-of the ways in which valu communication of attitudes. When acquaintances the risk of buyin, country, the person may develo es are learned is through @ person often hears form '8 products imported from a certain P negative values about that country: 62Unstated but Implied Attitudes Values may > i ae i ay also be affected by attitudes that are not stated but a plied by way of action. For instance, if a person sees joy and sie i every jee of his family whenever another member graduates from college, the person will develop th impliedly exhibited. Pe ells Religion Values are also learned through religion. For example, the just and fair treatment of people is a value that is taught by priests and ministers of various religious sects. Persons who are exposed to the teachings develop values that support such beliefs. Types of Values Values may be classified in various ways. A Classification that is most relevant to the workplace indicates that values are of the following types: je 1. Achievement - this is a value that pertains to getting things done and working hard to accomplish goals; 2. Helping and concern for others — this value refers to the person’s concern with other people and providing assistance to those who need help; 3. Honesty - this is a value that indicates the person’s concern for telling the truth and doing what he thinks is right; and 4. Fairness — this is a value that indicates the person’s concern for impartiality and fairness for all concerned. Individual versus Organizational Values Organizations have values that may or may not be compatible with the values of the individual workers. There is value incongruence if the individual's value is not in agreement with the organization's value. As a result of such incongruence, conflicts may arise over such things as goals or the manner in which the goals will be achieved. For instance, a person who values honesty will find it hard to work 4 a organization where graft and corruption isa common practice. one Person stays in that environment, he will be susceptible to ence the difficulty of “person-role conflict” which may be Sa taateatieeaiebee an: 6a. aebriefly described as the condition that occurs when the demand, made by the organization or a manager clash with the basic values of the individual. ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES. ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES. aes when congilied incongruent with _ THE INDIVIDUAL'S VALUES equals THE INDIVIDUAL'S VALUES. equals -ft EFFECTS OF VALUE CONGRUENCE AND INCONGRUENCE Espoused versus Enacted Values from What the company promotes as its own values may be different what is practiced by the organization's individual members. Asvalues may be i ores may be classified as either (1) espoused, or (2) enacted Espoused values are what members of the organization say the value. A business organization, for instance, may state that it fi Ay values its good relationship with customers. However, if the a of the said company give priority to calls from relatives and friends rather than responding immediately to customer's inquiries, they are not actually practicing the values espoused by the company. Those that are reflected in the actual behavior of the individual members of the organization are referred to as enacted values. $¢ Instrumental and Terminal Values Another classification of values may be presented as follows:’ 1. terminal values, and 2. — instrumental values 4¥Terminal values represent the goals that a person would like to achieve in his or her lifetime.-Examples of terminal values are happiness, love, pleasure, self-respect, and freedom. Instrumenta means of achieving values are ambition, | values refer to preferable modes. of behavior or the terminal values? Examples of instrumental honesty, self-sufficiency, and courageousness. - ambition - happiness - honesty - pleasure - self-sufficiency - self-respect - courage - freedom - forgiving nature - world peace - helpfulness - equality - self-control - achievement - independence - inner peace - obedience - beauty in art and nature - family security - open-mindedness 65- cleanliness - salvation - affection/love - friendship - politeness - mature lovex - rationality -wisdom 5! - responsibility ~ prosperity - competence ~ national security - cheerfulness - social respect - intelligence - exciting, active life - imagination Figure 12 INSTRUMENTAL AND TERMINAL VALUES ATTITUDES Attitudes are important in the study of human behavior. This is so because they are linked with perception, learning, emotions, and motivation. Attitudes also form the basis for job satisfaction in the workplace. Attitudes are feelings and beliefs that largely determine how employees will perceive their environment, commit themselves to intended actions, and ultimately behave. ‘Attitudes reflect how one feels about something. For instance, a person may think working er time is necessary if the situation requires it, or may consider work as an important ingredient of one’s physical and mental well-being. The Main Components of Attitudes Attitudes consist of the following components:* 1. cognitive 2. affective 3. behavioral The cognitive component of an attitude refers to the opinion of belief segment of an attitude. An example is the opinion indicate’ in the statement “my boss is fickle-minded; he cannot stick '© is decision.” The affective component of an attitude refers to the emotional of feeling segment. The bad feeling insinuated in the statement “! hale my boss” is an example. 66The behavioral component of an attitude refers to the intention tc behave in a certain way toward someone or something. An exarn sle is the action indicated in the statement “I have requested a icner to another department from my superiors.” COGNITIVE (evaluation) my boss is fickle-minde: he cannot stick to his decision negative attitude toward boss AFFECTIVE feelin, tee) I hate my boss BEHAVIORAL (action) Jam requesting for a transfer Figure 13 THE COMPONENTS OF AN ATTITUDE Differences in Personal Disposition People differ in their personal disposition. Some have attitudes that are positively affective, while some have negatively affective attitudes. 67Positive affectivity refers to personal characteristic of eMPloves: that inclines them to be predisposed to be satisfied at work Pree. who have positive affectivity are optimistic, upbeat, cheerfyj ang courteous, Negative affectivity is a personal characteristic of employ, that inclines them to be predisposed to be dissatisfied at work. Peg who have negative affectivity are generally pessimistic, downbess irritable, and sometimes, abrasive. Managers and supervisors will benefit from knowing the Personal disposition of their subordinates. Their decisions regarding training hiring, and promotion could be made better. How Attitudes Are Formed Attitudes are formed through learning. The two methods thay mostly influence attitude formation are direct experience and indireq means of social learning. Among the information stored in the human mind, those that were gathered through direct experience are the most accessible. So if one had an unpleasant experience with another person, his attitude regarding that person would be negative regardless of any other information obtained from indirect means. Although indirect means affect the formation of attitudes, their influence is not as strong as direct experience. Attitudes that are formed in an indirect way are the result of social interactions with the family, peer groups, religious organizations, and culture. For instance, if parents behave in a manner showing disdain towards smokers, the children will have a strong tendency to adapt an attitude of indifference towards smokers. Most Important Attitudes in the Workplace Work behavior is of utmost importance to managers and superiors. Since work attitudes affect work behavior, the requisite concerns are focused on them. The most important attitudes in the workplace are: 1. job satisfaction; 2. job involvement; and 3. organizational commitment. 68Effects of Employee Attitudes Attitudes provide clues to the behavioral intentions or inclinations of an employee. The manner in which a person will act can be gleaned from his attitudes. Employee attitudes may be classified as either: 1. positive job attitudes; or 2. negative job attitudes. NEGATIVE day dreaming unauthorized absences, early departures: ‘extended breaks, work slowdowns against another employee Figure 14 EFFECTS OF EMPLOYEE ATTITUDES (Partial indication) 69: Positive job attitudes indicate job satisfaction and are usef in predicting constructive behaviors like serving customers be sl official working hours, and performing excellently in all aspees “ their jobs. An example of a positive job attitude is “I enjoy wearing my office uniform.” Negative job attitudes are also useful in predicting undesirable behavior. Negative job attitudes include those concerning job dissatisfaction, lack of job involvement, low commitment to the organization, and strong negative words like “the office assigned to me does not speak well of my position.” When employees are dissatisfied with their jobs, they will have a strong tendency to engage in any or all of the following: Tk psychological withdrawal like daydreaming on the job; 2. physical withdrawal like unauthorized absences, early departures, extended breaks, or work slowdowns; and 3. aggression, like verbal abuse or dangerous actions against another employee. Making Positive Attitudes Work for the Organization People with positive work attitudes make it easy for the organization to achieve its objectives. As such, recruitment officers must require positive work attitudes before employment offers are made. Those who are already employed by the organization but whose attitudes are negative must be made to participate or become beneficiaries of programs designed to change negative work attitudes of employees to positive work attitudes. people to fill the various job in methods of selection must be In the process of recruiting ve work attitudes should be vacancies in the organization, prove made. Applicants found to have positi considered for hiring if other job requirements are met. employee attitudes. One There are various ways of changing is making the reward system closely tied to individual or team performance. JOB SATISFACTION 46 The attitude people hav In a strict sense, however, jo rene oe : } . 70 s called job satisfaction. e about their jobs i to the positive feeling b satisfaction refersout one’s job resulting from an evaluation of its characteristics. a vhen the feeling about one’s job is not positive, the appropriate term : job dissatisfaction. When people are satisfied with their jobs, the following benefits become iF NOweenp possible: high productivity a stronger tendency to achieve customer loyalty loyalty to the company low absenteeism and turnover less job stress and burnout better safety performance better life satisfaction Factors Associated with Job Satisfaction There are certain factors associated with job satisfaction. They are the following:> i Salary — adequacy of salary and perceived equity compared with others; Work itself — the extent to which job tasks are considered interesting and provide opportunities for learning and accepting responsibility; ‘Promotion opportunity — chances for further advancement; Quality of supervision — the technical competence and the interpersonal skills of one’s immediate superior; Relationship with co-workers — the extent to which co- workers are friendly, competent, and supportive; Working conditions — the extent to which the physical work environment is comfortable and supportive of productivity; and Job security — the beliefs that one’s position is relatively secure and continued employment with the organization is a reasonable expectation. 71Ways of Measuring Job Satisfaction Job satisfacti . i approaches:* ion may be measured by using any of the following 1. the single global rating meth 2. the summation score method. Tal The single global rating method refers to that approach wher individuals are asked to respond to a single question, such as, “How satisfied are you with your job?” The respondents indicate thei answers by putting a check (\) before any of the numbers from 5 to 1 as indicated below: od; and 1. highly satisfied 2. moderately satisfied 3. _ indifferent 4, moderately dissatisfied 5. highly dissatisfied method is an approach where individuals indicate their feelings regarding each key factors of their job. The factors would normally consist of the work, supervision, current es, and relations with co-workers. A —— —_—— ———- The summation score salary, promotion opportuniti standard scale is used to rate the factors and then the overall job is derived. An illustration of the summation score satisfaction score method is provided below. Exhibit 1 A SAMPLE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE SUMMATION SCORE METHOD OF JOB SATISFACTION Please indicate on the blanks provided below how satisfied you are (in terms of percentage) in each of the following factors of your job: % 1. work itself _ 2. salary (or pay) 3. promotion opportunities % 4. supervision % 5. co-workers Note: To be filled by the enumerator: ge score ___-% overall percenta| rman, eee PE 72p INVOLVEMENT Job involvement is another positive employee attitude. It refers to the degree to which a person identifies with the job, actively articipates In it, and considers performance important to self-worth. people who are really “involved” in their jobs view work as a central part of their overall lives. jo’ A positive self-image is a result of a person’s holding a meaningful job and actively performing it. People with a high degree of job involvement will seldom be Jate or absent. They are willing to work long hours if necessary, and they will strive to be high performers. ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT Organizational commitment is the third positive employee attitude. It refers to the degree to which an employee identifies with a particular organization and its goals and wishes to maintain membership in the organization.’ Organizational commitment often reflects the employee's belief in the mission and goals of the organization, willingness to expend effort in accomplishing them, and intentions to continue working in the organization. Employees who are organizationally committed have good attendance records, show willingness to adhere to the firm’s policies, and lower turnover rates. Organizational commitment may be categorized into three dimensions. They are as follows: 1. affective commitment; 2. continuance commitment; and 3. normative commitment. | Affective commitment refers to the employee's emotional attachment to the organization and belief in its values. For example, an employee may be affectively committed to his company because of its employment policy of hiring people regardless of their educational attainment. Continuance commitment refers to the employee's tendency to remain in an organization because he cannot afford to leave. In 73fact, many employees continue to be committed to the firm because they feel they could not get better employment elsewhere. The reasons why employees choose to continue employment with the firm may be classified as either (1) economic; or (2) non-economic. Economic factors refer to salary, allowances, and retirement pension, Non-economic benefits include participation in decision making, job security, and certain job characteristics such as autonomy, responsibility, and interesting work. Normative commitment refers to an obligation to remain with the company for moral or ethical reason. For example, an employee working in a zoo may remain with his employer because he feels most of the animals under his care would respond only to him and it would be hard to find a suitable replacement for him. He thinks that the existence of the zoo would be in jeopardy if he leaves. 74SUMMARY values, attitudes, and j i a job satisfacti i 2 managers and employees. When pauls are important concerns nd Ms sad wt ork they do, it is expected that their sh es are satisfied with the highly satisfactory. performance would be Job satisfaction, however, is possible it is possibl the right value and attitudes. p ete emp Pee values are guidelines and beli a Aide iefs that a confronted with a situation in which a choice mnintbe ume, ii Attitudes are feelings and beliefs that largely determine how employees will perceive their environment, commit themselves to intended actions, and ultimate behavior. Values may be learned through modeling, communication of attitudes, unstated but implied attitudes, and religion. Values may be classified as (1) achievement, (2) helping and concern for others, (3) honesty, and (4) fairness. The person's values are different from organizati They may be compatible or not. - ied as espoused (or what member of ) or enacted (those reflected in the jonal_ values. Values may also be classifi the organization say they value) ~ actual behavior of employee). terminal ( hieve in his lifetime) or i Values may also be those representing the goals that a person would like to ac instrumental (those that are used in achieving the terminal values). how one feel about something. They consist of d behavioral components. workplace are those nt, and organizational Attitudes reflects cognitive, affective, an The most import concerning job satisfaction, jO commitment. ant attitudes in the b involvemeQUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND DISCUSSION What are values? How are they learned? What are the types of values? What is meant by “value incongruence”? What are terminal values? What examples may be providedt What are attitudes? What are their main components! What is meant by “negative affectivity”? Naouwepye How are attitudes formed? What are the most important attitudes in the workplace? What happens when employees are dissatisfied with their jobs? a9 2 What factors are associated with job satisfaction? SUGGESTED ITEM FOR RESEARCH Prepare a three-page report on how employee attitudes are / measured. ENDNOTES 'schermerhorn and others, p. 59- 2Debra L. Nelson and James Campbell Quick, Organizational Behavict ndations, Relati I aed Edition (New York: West Publishing Co.) 1997, p. 479. SLoc. cit., pp.112-113. “Robbins and Judge, p. 68. 5John M. Ivancevich and Michael T. Matteson, i Management,“6" Edition (Lisbon: Mc Grew-Hill/Irwin) 2002, pP- 121-122. Robbins and Judge, p- 79- ‘Loc. cit., p. 74- ehavior pease 76case 4. PONCIANO RETAILING COMPANY: Yesterd. ay Mr. Ponciano Samonte was 2, Se Pondiane Rend 25 years old when he organized his business ether ohie hi hech oP Company. He asked Danny, the ounger igh school classmat ‘ youre ite ate, to join him in his newly As the years passed, the firm made good in the ic grocery retail Together, Ponciano and Danny established one branch after Within a span of 20 years, 19 branches were established Central Luzon and Cagayan Valley. : pusiness- another. throughout The total number of employees reached 405 and everyone h respect to the leadership abilities of the two pioneers. Ponciano and Danny worked in a mutual trust with each other. Ponciano always consulted Danny on several important aspects of running the business. Danny was always busy training personnel on several aspects of managing a branch so there has never been a shortage of managers. Because of his loyalty and ability, Danny was well taken care of e receives an executive salary that was above industry llowances and medical benefits. He is provided with He is authorized to make decisions on operational sk, Danny trained two junior executives. showed muc by Ponciano. H standard, plus al an executive Car. matters. To assist him in his ta ied and full ownership and control passed to Ponciano’s oldest son, Patrick. What Patrick did was to slowly introduce measures to centralize decision-making. Previously, the store managers had the authority to determine the types of merchandise to carry, the quantity, and the timing of purchase. The recruitment and training of store personnel were functions exercised by the store managers. The above functions, as well as some other tasks, are now performed by top management through a staff in the central office. The changes introduced effectively reduced the authority and influence of the store managers. Danny's authority was also greatly reduced. Just a month after the decentralization order was implemented, Danny felt the demoralizing effect on the managers and employees assigned to the branches. Sales dropped by two percent atid a number els a employees started to make moves to look for suitable jobs ewhere. The rate of absences and tardiness also began to g0 up- All went well until Ponciano d 77Danny was alarmed by the situation and he informed Patrick about the strong possibility of negative growth for the company, Patrick told Danny not to worry because he thinks it is easy to replace those who will leave. Questions: 1. What do you think of the reaction of the employees regarding the decentralization policy of Patrick? 2. Do you consider the decentralization policy as a big mistake? Why or why not? 78Name: subject Exercise No. 4 Rating: Professor: Fill in the blanks. i.e 10. 2 refers to the importance a person attaches to things or ideas that serve as guide to actions. beat isa type of value that pertains to getting things done and working hard to accomplish goals. if the individual’s value is not congruent with the organiza- tion’s value, there is "> *§ —__- values are what members of the organi- fee zation say they value. values represent the goals that a person would like to achieve in his or her lifetime. reflects how one feels about something. Attitudes consist of cognitive, affective, and heed components. The most important attitudes in the workplace are job satisfaction, job involvement, and . refers to the attitude people have about their jobs. tion, the Cho” In measuring job satisfac h where individuals are asked method refers to that approac! to respond to a single question. 79Match column A with column B eernenre eer A values modeling honesty conflicts enacted values instrumental values attitudes job involvement psychological withdrawal work itself 80 B may arise if organizational values are not congruent with the individual’, values values reflected in the actual behavior of the individual members of the organization means of achieving the terminal values reflects how one feels about something one of the most important attitudes in the workplace daydreaming, on the job a factor associated with job satisfaction a value that indicates the person’s concern for telling the truth and doing what he thinks is right a way of learning values enduring beliefs that one’s mode of conduct is better than the opposite mode of conduct