Organizational
Behavior
Chapter 3 Robbins and Judge
Attitudes and Job Satisfaction
3-1
Chapter 3 Learning Objectives
After studying this chapter you should be able to:
Contrast the three components of an attitude.
Summarize the relationship between attitudes and
behavior.
Compare and contrast the major job attitudes.
Define job satisfaction and show how it can be
measured.
Summarize the main causes of job satisfaction.
Identify four employee responses to dissatisfaction.
3-2
Contrast the Three
Components of an Attitude
Evaluative statements or judgments
concerning objects, people, or events
Three components of an attitude:
The emotional or
Affective
feeling segment of
Cognitive
an attitude
The opinion or
belief segment of Behavioral
an attitude
An intention to behave
in a certain way toward
someone or something
Attitude
3-3
Summarize the Relationship
Between Attitudes and Behavior
The attitudes people hold determine what they
do.
Festinger proposed that cases of attitude
following behavior illustrate the effects of
cognitive dissonance.
Cognitive Dissonance is incompatibility an individual
might perceive between two or more attitudes or
between behavior and attitudes.
Research has generally concluded that people
seek consistency among their attitudes and
between their attitudes and their behavior.
3-4
Summarize the Relationship
Between Attitudes and Behavior
Importance of the attitude
Its correspondence to behavior Attitude
Its accessibility
Mitigating Variables
The presence of social pressure
Whether or not a person has had Predicts
direct experience with the behavior
The attitude/behavior relationship
is stronger if it refers to something Behavior
in our direct personal experience
3-5
Compare and Contrast
the Major Job Attitudes
Job Satisfaction
A positive feeling about the job resulting from an
evaluation of its characteristics
Job Involvement
Degree of psychological identification with the job
where perceived performance is important to self-
worth
Logical Empowerment
Belief in the degree of influence over the job,
competence, job meaningfulness, and autonomy
3-6
Compare and Contrast
the Major Job Attitudes
Organizational Commitment
Identifying with a particular organization and its goals,
while wishing to maintain membership in the
organization.
Three dimensions:
Affective emotional attachment to organization
Continuance Commitment economic value of
staying
Normative moral or ethical obligations
3-7
Compare and Contrast
the Major Job Attitudes
Organizational Commitment (cont)
Has some relation to performance, especially for new
employees.
Theoretical models propose that employees who are
committed will be less likely to engage in work
withdrawal even if they are dissatisfied, because they
have a sense of organizational loyalty.
3-8
Compare and Contrast
the Major Job Attitudes
Perceived Organizational Support (POS)
Degree to which employees believe the organization
values their contribution and cares about their well-
being.
Higher when rewards are fair, employees are involved
in decision making, and supervisors are seen as
supportive.
High POS is related to higher OCBs and
performance.
3-9
Compare and Contrast
the Major Job Attitudes
Employee Engagement
The degree of involvement with, satisfaction with, and
enthusiasm for the job.
Engaged employees are passionate about their work
and company.
3-10
Compare and Contrast
the Major Job Attitudes
Are These Job Attitudes Really Distinct?
No: these attitudes are highly related
Variables may be redundant (measuring the same
thing under a different name)
While there is some distinction, there is also a lot of
overlap
Overlap may cause confusion
3-11
Define Job Satisfaction
and Show How It Can Be Measured
Job satisfaction
A positive feeling about a job resulting from an
evaluation of its characteristics
Two approaches for measuring Job
Satisfaction are popular:
The single global rating
The summation of job facets
3-12
Define Job Satisfaction
and Show How It Can Be Measured
Insert Exhibit 3.2
3-13
Summarize the Main
Causes of Job Satisfaction
Pay influences job satisfaction only to a point.
After about $40,000 per year (in the U.S.), there is no
relationship between amount of pay and job satisfaction.
Money may bring happiness, but not necessarily job
satisfaction.
3-14
Summarize the Main
Causes of Job Satisfaction
Insert Exhibit 3-3
3-15
Summarize the Main
Causes of Job Satisfaction
Insert Exhibit 3-4
3-16
Summarize the Main
Causes of Job Satisfaction
Personality also plays a role in Job Satisfaction.
People who have positive core self-evaluations, who
believe in their inner worth and basic competence are
more satisfied with their jobs than those with negative
core self-evaluations.
Those with negative core self-evaluations set less
ambitious goals and are more likely to give up when
confronting difficulties.
3-17
Identify Four Employee
Responses to Dissatisfaction
Insert Exhibit 3-5
3-18
Summary and Implications
for Managers
Satisfied and committed employees have lower rates of
turnover, absenteeism, and withdrawal behaviors.
Managers will also want to measure job attitudes effectively
so they can tell how employees are reacting to their work.
The most important thing managers can do to raise
employee satisfaction is focus on the intrinsic parts of the
job, such as making the work challenging and interesting.
Although paying employees poorly will likely not attract
high-quality employees to the organization or keep high
performers, managers should realize that high pay alone is
unlikely to create a satisfying work environment.
3-19
