C H A P T E R F I V E
Work-Related
Attitudes: Prejudice,
Job Satisfaction, and
Organizational
Commitment
5
Lecture Outline
Attitudes: What Are They?
Prejudice and Discrimination: Negative
Attitudes and Behavior Toward Others
The Challenges of Organizational
Demography
Anatomy of Prejudice
Everybody Can Be a Victim of
Prejudice
Strategies for Reducing Workplace
Prejudice
A,rmative Action Plans
Diversity Management Programs
Job Satisfaction: Its Nature and Theories
The Nature of Job Satisfaction:
Fundamental Issues
The Dispositional Model of Job
Satisfaction
Value Theory
Social Information Processing
Model
Consequences of Job Dissatisfaction
Employee Withdrawal
Job Performance
Job Satisfaction and Injuries
Job Satisfaction and Life
Satisfaction
Promoting Job Satisfaction
Organizational Commitment: Attitudes
Toward Companies
Varieties of Organizational
Commitment
Why Strive for a Committed
Workforce?
How to Promote A3ective
Commitment
Work-related attitudes are introduced in this chapter.
Concepts of prejudice, stereotypes, and
discrimination in the workplace are discussed.
Strategies aimed at overcoming prejudice in the
workplace have taken two major approaches: (1)
a,rmative action plans and (2) diversity
management programs. Theories of job satisfaction
and their implications are described. These theories
include: (1) the dispositional model, (2) value theory,
and (3) the social information processing model. The
consequences of job dissatisfaction include
absenteeism and turnover. Suggestions for boosting
satisfaction include: paying people fairly, improving
the quality of supervision, matching people to jobs,
and decentralizing organizational power. The bene:ts
of a committed workforce and suggestions for
developing organizational commitment are
discussed. There are three types of commitment
discussed: (1) continuance commitment, (2) a3ective
commitment, and (3) normative commitment.
Absenteeism and turnover tend to be lower where
there is evidence of high levels of organizational
commitment.
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ANNOTATED OUTLINE
1. ATTITUDES: WHAT ARE THEY?
Attitudes are relatively stable clusters of feelings, beliefs, and behavioral
dispositions toward some speci:c object, person, or institution.
Work-related attitudes refer to lasting feelings, beliefs, and behavioral
tendencies toward various aspects of the job itself, the setting in which the
work is conducted, the people involved, and/or the organization as a whole.
All attitudes consist of three components:
1. Evaluative component
2. Cognitive component
3. Behavioral component
2. PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION: NEGATIVE ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIOR TOWARD
OTHERS
Prejudice is de:ned as negative feelings about people belonging to certain
groups.
A. The challenges of organizational demography
1. Organizational demography refers to the study of a workforce with
respect to various characteristics.
a. Demographic of the American workforce are changing.
b. Three trends:
1. Non-white represents the greatest areas of population
growth.
2. American workforce is more ethnically diverse than ever
before.
3. Women compose about half of the workforce ― well over
half of all adult women work outside the home.
B. Anatomy of prejudice: some fundamental distinctions
1. Stereotypes ― beliefs that people from certain groups possess
certain characteristics.
a. Whether positive or negative ― generally inaccurate.
2. Discrimination ― prejudice translated into actual behaviors.
a. Prejudice is an attitude; discrimination is behavior consistent
with that attitude.
C. Everybody can be a victim of prejudice and discrimination
1. Prejudice based on age
2. Prejudice based on physical condition
3. Prejudice against women
4. Prejudice based on sexual orientation
5. Prejudice based race and national origin
3. STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING WORKPLACE PREJUDICE: MANAGING A DIVERSE
WORKFORCE
A. A,rmative action
1. A+rmative action is a policy that has been used to promote the
nondiscriminatory treatment of women and members of minority
groups in the workplace.
a. Non-preferential a+rmative action – e3orts to get
companies to conduct ongoing appraisals of their rules and
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procedures to eliminate those that exclude women and
members of minority groups without su,cient justi:cation
b. Preferential a+rmative action – e3orts to hold companies to
speci:c minority hiring goals
B. Diversity management: orientation and rationale
1. Diversity management programs ― e3orts to celebrate diversity
by creating supportive, not just neutral, work environments for women
and minorities
a. Orientation
1. Inclusion
b. Business case for diversity
C. Diversity management: what are companies doing?
1. Conduct diversity training
2. Use leaders to send strong messages about diversity
3. A,nity groups
4. Require suppliers to promote diversity
5. Make diversity a top priority
Winning
Practices
How the ‘Good Hands People’ use Diversity as a Competitive Weapon
Use Winning Practices Case for Class Discussion.
4. JOB SATISFACTION: ITS NATURE AND MAJOR THEORIES
Job satisfaction ― feelings and reHecting attitudes toward one’s job
A. The nature of job satisfaction: fundamental issues
1. Job satisfaction in the U.S. has been steadily declining since 1987.
2. People demand more from their jobs.
3. The nature of jobs is changing.
B. Dispositional model of job satisfaction
1. Dispositional model of job satisfaction – suggests that job
satisfaction is a relatively stable characteristic over time and remains
with people across situations.
C. Value theory
1. Value theory of job satisfaction – almost any factor can be a source
of job satisfaction as long as it is something that people value.
D. Social information processing model
1. Social information processing model – people adopt attitudes and
behaviors in keeping with the cues provided by others with whom they
come into contact.
5. CONSEQUENCES OF JOB SATISFACTION AND WAYS TO REDUCE THEM
A. Employee withdrawal: voluntary turnover and absenteeism
1. Employee withdrawal – occurs when dissatis:ed employees try to
minimize their involvement with their jobs.
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a. Voluntary turnover ― quitting
b. Absenteeism – staying away from the job when scheduled to
work
B. Job performance: are dissatis:ed employees poor workers?
1. Job satisfaction and :nancial performance are associated with each
other to a considerable degree.
2. Good :nancial performance by the company promotes high levels of
job satisfaction.
C. Job satisfaction and injuries: are happy workers safe workers?
1. High performance work systems – used by organizations that o3er
employees opportunities to participate in decision making, provide
incentives for them to do so, and emphasize opportunities to develop
skills.
D. Job satisfaction and life satisfaction
1. People who are happy at work tend to be happy in general.
E. Tips for promoting job satisfaction
1. Pay people fairly
2. Improve quality of supervision
3. Decentralize organizational power
4. Match people to jobs that :t their interests
6. ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT: ATTITUDES TOWARD COMPANIES
Organizational commitment ― degree to which people are involved with
their organizations and are interested in remaining within them
A. Varieties of organizational commitment
1. Continuance commitment ― strength of a person’s desire to remain
working for an organization believing that it may be costly to leave
2. Normative commitment ― feelings of obligation to stay with the
organization because of pressures from others
3. A0ective commitment ― strength of people’s desires to continue
working for an organization because they agree with its underlying
goals and values
Self-Assessment Exercise How Strongly Are You Committed to Your Job?
Students should consider the following upon completion of the exercise.
1. What form of commitment does the scale reveal you have most?
2. Did the scale tell you something you didn’t already know about yourself?
3. To what extent is your organizational commitment treated to your interest in quitting
your job and taking a new position?
B. Why strive for an a3ectively committed workforce?
1. A3ectively committed employees contribute to successful
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C. How to promote organizational commitment
1. Enrich jobs
You Be the Consultant Suggested Answers
1. As suggested by the examples outlined in this chapter, what might the company do
to attract and retain members of racial and ethnic minority groups?
Student answers will vary. Key points are presented in bullet form.
2. To justify introducing diversity management plan, the president needs to make a
strong business case. Drawing on the information in this chapter, how might a
diversity management plan make good business sense?
3. What speci$c measures might the company take in its diversity management plan?
What would you caution the president about the plan’s potential problems?
Student answers will vary. Some possible measures are presented.
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