ATTITUDE

Meaning

An attitude may be defined as the way a person feels about something- a person, a place, a commodity, a situation or an idea. It expresses an individual's positive or negative feelings about some object. It describes an individual's feelings, thoughts and predisposition to act toward some object in the environment.

Definition
According to Katz and Scotland, "Attitude is a tendency or predisposition to evaluate an object or symbol of that object in a certain way."

Characteristics of Attitudes
1.

They tend to persist unless something is done to change them. They can vary from very favorable to very unfavorable. They are directed toward some object about which a person has feelings and beliefs.

2.

3.

ABC Model of Attitude

PERSONS FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS

PERSONS INTENTDED BEHAVIOUR POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE

PERSONS BELIEFS, VALUES AND IDEAS

Component of Attitude

Components of Attitude
1. Affective ComponentEg. " I like this job because the future prospects in this company are very good". 2.Cognitive ComponentFor example, a person seeking a job may learn from his own sources and other employees working in the company that in a particular company the promotion chances are very favorable 3. Behavioural componentFor example, the concerned individual in the above case may decide to take up the job because at good future prospects.

Sources of Attitude
Direct Personal Experience Association Family and Peer Groups Neighborhood Economic Status and Occupations

Attitude Model
genetics Informational/ Cognitive (i.e. beliefs) Attitude socialization Affective (i.e. emotions) Measurable in the brain learning observable Behavior

Types of Work Related Attitudes

Job Satisfaction Job Involvement Organizational Commitment

Types of Attitudes
Job Satisfaction A collection of positive and/or negative feelings that an individual holds toward his or her job. Job Involvement Identifying with the job, actively participating in it, and considering performance important to self-worth. Organizational Commitment Identifying with a particular organization and its goals, and wishing to maintain membership in the organization.

Job Satisfaction
The term job satisfaction refers to the
general attitude or feelings of an individual towards his job.

A person who is highly satisfied with his job, will have a positive attitude towards the job

Job Satisfaction
Influences on Job Satisfaction
Mental Pay Promotions Supervision Work

challenge in the work itself

Group Working Conditions

Model Of Job Satisfaction

Organizational factors Group factors Outcomes Received Individual factors Job Dissatisfaction

Outcomes Expected

Job Satisfaction

Job Satisfaction and Employee Performance

Job Satisfaction and Employee Performance

Productivity Absenteeism

Turnover

The Effect of Job Satisfaction on Employee Performance Satisfaction and Productivity

Satisfied

workers arent necessarily more productive. Worker productivity is higher in organizations with more satisfied workers.

The Effect of Job Satisfaction on Employee Performance

Satisfaction and Absenteeism
Satisfied

employees have fewer avoidable absences.

The Effect of Job Satisfaction on Employee Performance

Satisfaction and Turnover
Satisfied

employees are less likely to quit. Organizations take actions to retain high performers and to weed out lower performers.

Responses to Job Dissatisfaction

19

Active

Exit
Destructive

Voice
Constructive

Neglect
Passive

Loyalty

Exit
Actively attempting to leave the organization, including looking for a new position as well as resigning. This is a destructive action from the point of view of the organization.

Voice
Actively and constructively trying to improve conditions, including suggesting improvements, discussing problems with superiors, and some forms of union activity.

Loyalty
Passively but optimistically waiting for conditions to improve, including speaking up for the organization in the face of external criticism and trusting the organization and its management to do the right thing.

Neglect
Passively allowing conditions to worsen, including chronic absenteeism or lateness, reduced effort, and increased error rate.

Employee satisfaction at HCL

360 degree feedback Direct Q & A on U&I Portal (CEO) Smart Service Desk Reward and Recognition
Xtra O2

miles

Employee turnover has come down.

Job Involvement

Job involvement measures the degree

to which a person identifies psychologically with his or her job and considers his or her perceived performance level important to self worth

Organizational Commitment

Organizational commitment implies identifying with one's employing organization its goals

Strong Organizational Commitment

A belief and acceptance of goals and values willingness to exert considerable effort on behalf of organization A desire to remain with organization

Functions of Attitude
1.

The Adjustment Function The Ego Defensive Function The Value Expressive Function The Knowledge Function

2.

3.

4.

The Adjustment Function

Attitudes often help people adjust to their work environment. When employees are well treated they are likely to develop a positive attitude towards the management and the organization.

The Ego Defensive Function

People often form and maintain certain attitudes to protect their own self images. For example, workers may feel threatened by the employment of new joiners. They may develop an attitude that such newcomers are less qualified and they might mistreat these workers.

The Value Expressive Function

Attitudes provide people with a basis for expressing their values. A person whose value system is centralized on freedom, will have a positive attitude towards decentralization of authority in the organization, flexible work schedules etc.

The Knowledge Function

Attitudes are often substituted for knowledge. Attitudes help supply standards and frames of reference that allow people to organize and explain the world around them.

Measurement of Attitude


Thurston Attitude Scale Likert Scale Opinion Surveys Interviews

Types of Change
1.

Congruent Change. Congruent change in attitude means that the change is a movement in the same direction but the intensity of feeling is reduced.

For example, if a person" dislikes his boss very much, this negative attitude may persist, but the degree of dislike will be reduced.

Incongruent Change Incongruent change involves change of direction itself from positive to negative feeling

Barriers to Changing Attitude

     

Prior Commitment Strong Commitment Publically expressed attitudes Low Credibility Insufficient Information Degree of Fear

Ways of Overcoming Barriers

      

Providing New Information Use of Fear Resolving Discrepancies Influence of Friends and Peers The Co-opting Approach Oral Persuation Technique Training Sessions

The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance

Any incompatibility between two or more attitudes or between behavior and attitudes.

Desire to reduce dissonance

Importance of elements creating dissonance Degree of individual influence over elements Rewards involved in dissonance

Measuring the A-B Relationship

Recent research indicates that 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
Attitudes are used after the fact to make sense out of an action that has already occurred.

An Application: Attitude Surveys

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