Questions for Review
3-1. What are the three components of attitudes?
related, particularly cognition and affect. As a manager, you need to understand how
AACSB: Reflective thinking
3-2. Does behavior always follow from attitudes?
Answer: No, sometimes the reverse is true, according to Leon Festinger.
depends on: the importance of elements; the degree of individual influence; and the
rewards involved in dissonance.
attitudes
Learning Outcome: Explain the relationship between personality traits and individual behavior
AACSB: Reflective thinking
3-3. What are the major job attitudes?
Organizational commitment has some relation to performance, especially for new
employees, though, seem to be predisposed to be positive or negative about many things.
Additional job attitudes include improved organizational support and employee
attitudes
Learning Outcome: Explain the relationship between personality traits and individual behavior
AACSB: Reflective thinking
3-4. How do we measure job satisfaction?
score (many questions/one average) is considered okay. Learning Objective: Define job
satisfaction
AACSB: Reflective thinking
3-5. What causes job satisfaction?
Answer: Pay and personality are the two main factors that seem to influence job
their jobs. Overall, those with positive core self-evaluation are more satisfied with their
jobs.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
3-6. What are the three outcomes of job satisfaction?
employees—they’ll want to do things that generate positive job attitudes.
AACSB: Reflective thinking
3-7. How do employees respond to job dissatisfaction?
• Exit. The exit response directs behavior toward leaving the organization, including
characteristics.
•Loyalty. The loyalty response means passively but optimistically waiting for
thing.”
• Neglect. The neglect response passively allows conditions to worsen and includes
chronic absenteeism or lateness, reduced effort, and increased error rate.
Learning Objectives: Summarize the relationship between attitudes and behavior; Compare the major job
attitudes; Identify four employee responses to job dissatisfaction
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Experiential Exercise
Job Attitudes Situational Interview
This exercise contributes to:
Learning Objectives: Summarize the relationship between attitudes and behavior, Compare the major job attitudes;
Summarize the main causes of job satisfaction
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Each class member is to think about an event in which she or he felt satisfied or dissatisfied (or
committed or not committed) in the workplace (students can imagine one even if they have never
been employed). Each student writes this experience down in as much detail as possible on a
small piece of paper. When finished, each student exchanges her or his paper with another
(asking follow-up questions as needed):
3. What led you to your feelings of satisfaction and commitment in that moment? 4. What did
questions.
Questions
3-8. Do you think it is possible for the affective, cognitive, or behavioral components of job
attitudes to conflict with one another? Why or why not?
3-9. Can job attitudes be directed toward different targets? Why or why not? What
implications does this have for the behavioral outcomes of satisfaction and commitment?
3-10. Do you believe that job attitudes can change over time? Or does each person have a
typical level of job attitudes that she or he exhibits from one job to the next?
Ethical Dilemma
Tell-All Websites
This exercise contributes to:
writes a Coca-Cola market development manager. And the reviews keep rolling in; Coca-Cola
has 1,600 employee reviews and some companies, like Google, have double that number on
Glassdoor, one of the Internet sites that allows anyone to rate their employers.
Websites like Glassdoor are thriving; employees increasingly join the forums and seem to relish
want to hear.” There is certainly truth to this – studies indicate that employees “put on a happy
face” for their bosses. When people know their posts aren’t anonymous, “People put on this
weird, fake professional face,” he said.
Organizations are aware that people watch what they say when they can be identified, and many
of organizational ethics come into play. While companies like Visa, Boeing, and Hewlett-Packard
have tried to discourage employees from anonymously venting on websites and apps, such
mandates may violate the employees’ right of free speech. And how anonymous are anonymous
posts? Posts on Glassdoor and other forums eliminate a person’s name, but can’t bosses
on subordinates for anonymous posts.
Grant Vodori, co-founder of a digital marketing agency in Chicago, has been successful in
obtaining candid answers from his employees through polls taken several times each week. “It’s
sometimes a little bit scary,” he said, asking himself, “Do I really want to know the answer to
this?”
Questions
3-11. Do you think employees have a right to say what they want to about their organizations
online, as opposed to in private?
3-12. How would you react if you learned one of your employees posted unflattering comments
about you as a manager? Would your reaction be any different if the employee posted
unflattering comments about you as a person?
3-13. Do you feel it is acceptable to post comments anonymously, or do you think people should
include their names? Why or why not?
Sources: L. Gilman, “Memo App Lets Workers Vent Anonymously about the Boss,” The Wall Street Journal, January 21, 2015, B7;
Glassdoor.com; A. S. McCance, C. D. Nye, L. Wang, K. S. Jones, and C. Chiu, “Alleviating the Burden of Emotional Labor: The Role of Social
Sharing,” Journal of Management (February 2013): 392–415; R. E. Silverman, “Are You Happy in Your Job? Bosses Push Weekly Surveys,” The
Wall Street Journal, December 3, 2014, B1, B4; and R. E. Silverman, “Workers Really Do Put on a Happy Face for the Boss,” The Wall Street
Journal, January 29, 2015, D4.
Case Incident 1
Self-Service Kiosks: From People to Robots
This exercise contributes to:
Learning Objectives: Summarize the relationship between attitudes and behavior; Compare the major job attitudes;
Summarize the main causes of job satisfaction
Learning Outcome: Explain the relationship between personality traits and individual behavior
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Debbie Lovewell-Tuck, Editor of Employee Benefits magazine, recalls a period when she was an
intern at a large bank. Nearby, “the world’s first robotic bar” opened shop with a robotic barmaid,
with robots or automated processes.
However, numerous organizations, especially within the service industry (i.e., Wendy’s, Panera
Bread, etc.), are adopting automated solutions at a rapid pace. For example, Jack in the Box, a
San Diego–based fast-food chain, found so much success with its self-order kiosks that it has
since implemented them in nearly a fifth of its stores. Johnny Rockets has also been in the
as restaurant cleanliness, food preparation, and customer service). Although some organizations
note that they have seen increased sales in add-ins such as bacon, cheese, avocado, and so on,
others have been using the technology to promote healthier outcomes. For example, Steven Chan
at Tin Drum Asia Café designed his store’s kiosk so that the customers “could select ‘lower
goal.”
The response to these self-service kiosks has generally been positive. Sixty percent of customers
in university settings have been using the self-service kiosks, although the number is much lower
for those in mixed-age situations. However, what does the expansion in automated services mean
for employee job attitudes in these organizations? Some research suggests that low-skill workers
unfair and unjust, with their attitudes being negatively affected. Given the rapid expansion of
automation in the form of kiosk-based services, it appears as if this new technological
development might be here to stay.
Sources: G. Blau, D. S. Tatum, K. McCoy, L. Dobria, and K. Ward-Cook, “Job Loss, Human Capital Job Feature, and Work Condition Job
www.fastcasual.com/articles/johnny-rockets-tests-self-order-kiosks-in-moving-to-a-qsr-format/; D. Lovewell-Tuck, “Coming to Terms with the
Rise of the Robots,” Employee Benefits (February 1, 2017): 3; B. J. Petzall, G. E. Parker, and P. A. Stoeberl, “Another Side to Downsizing:
Survivor’s Behavior and Self-Affirmation,” Journal of Business and Psychology, 2000, 14(4): 593–603.
Questions
3-14. Do you think employee attitudes are ultimately improved or decreased as a result of
self-service kiosks? Why or why not?
Student responses will vary.
3-15. What types of job attitudes do you believe will be affected by a switch to self-service
Student responses will vary.
3-16. What might organizations do to ease the transition toward self-service kiosks and
maintain the job attitudes of their employees? Is it possible to find a balance between
promoting customer and employee attitudes when introducing self-service kiosks?
Teaching Notes
(http://docplayer.net/19442732-Effective-use-of-collaboration-tools-for-online-learning-jennifer-pontano-ke-anna-sk
ipwith-drexel-university-e-learning-2-0-conference-march-2011.html) for more information.
Case Incident 2
Job Crafting
This exercise contributes to:
AACSB: Reflective thinking
Consider for a moment a midlevel manager at a multinational foods company, Fatima, who
would seem to be at the top of her career. She’s consistently making her required benchmarks
and goals, she has built successful relationships with colleagues, and senior management has
identified her as “high potential.” But she isn’t happy with her work. She’d be much more
current job.
Fatima is part of a movement towards job “crafting,” which is the process of deliberately
reorganizing your job so that it better fits your motives, strengths, and passions. So how did
Fatima craft her job? She first noticed that she was spending too much of her time monitoring
her team’s performance and answering team questions, and not enough time working on the
within the organization. In sum, she has found that by actively and creatively examining her
work, she has been able to craft her current job into one that is truly satisfying.
As you may have noted, Fatima exhibited a proactive personality – she was eager to develop her
own options and find her own resources. Proactive individuals are often self-empowered and are,
and Work Engagement,” Human Relations (October, 2012), pp. 1359–1378; A. Wrzesniewski, J. M. Berg, and J. E.
Dutton, “Turn the Job You Have into the Job You Want,” Harvard Business Review (June 2010), pp. 114–117; A.
Wrzesniewski and J. E. Dutton, “Crafting a Job: Revisioning Employees as Active Crafters of Their Work,” Academy of
Management Review 26 (2010), pp. 179–201; and J. Caplan, “Hate Your Job? Here’s How to Reshape It,” Time
(December 4, 2009), www.time.com.
Questions
3-17. Should organizations work to create jobs that are satisfying to individual employees?
Student responses will vary.
3-18. Are the principles of job crafting described here relevant to your job or studies? Why or
why not?
Student responses will vary.
3-19. Are there any potential drawbacks to the job crafting approach? If so, how can they be
minimized?
Student responses will vary.
MyLab Management
3-20. Based on your reading from this chapter and the Ethical Dilemma, do you feel
not?
3-21. In consideration of Case Incident 2, some contend that job crafting sounds good in
principle but is not necessarily practical for every job. What types of jobs are probably
not good candidates for job crafting activities?
3-22. MyLab Management Only – comprehensive writing assignment for this chapter.
Instructor’s Choice
Discovering Your Own VALS
This exercise contributes to:
AACSB: Reflective thinking
It is always difficult to assess one’s values because of the various factors that can influence
values. One company that has come up with an interesting but simple approach to values
designation and assessment is SRI Consulting Business Intelligence. SRI developed a topology
called VALS™ (Values and Lifestyles). This trademarked process assesses a person’s values and
www.sric-bi.com.
Go to the website and find the link to VALS. See the VALS survey link and take the VALS
survey. (It only takes a few minutes.) List the VALS segment that you match to and describe the
characteristics of your segment. What surprises (if any) were there for you?
what managerial conclusions could you now draw?
Instructor Discussion
Students generally enjoy this exercise and can prepare it prior to class. They will receive a nice
printout from SRI indicating their VALS segment with a recap of the characteristics of a person
Fulfilled—satisfied, reflective, comfortable, practical
Achievers—career-oriented, avoid risk, self-discovery
Experiencers—impulsive, young, offbeat, love risk
Believers—strong principles, favor proven brands
Strivers—like achievers, but with fewer resources, need approval
Makers—action-oriented, self-sufficiency, do-it-yourselfers
Strugglers—bottom-of-ladder, immediate gratification
themselves and about their characteristics.
Exploring OB Topics on the Web
This exercise contributes to:
Learning Objectives: Summarize the relationship between attitudes and behavior; Compare the major job attitudes
Learning Outcome: Explain the relationship between personality traits and individual behavior
AACSB: Reflective thinking
1. Jeff Van Duzer wrote an excellent piece on ethics in business, which can be accessed at
Ethix’s website under the article title
Three Causes of Ethical Lapse in
Today”(http://ethix.org/2002/08/01/three-causes-of-ethical-lapse-in-today
or employee? For example, you might find donating money at this time unpractical, but
maybe you are donating time as a tutor or at other campus activities.
2. How satisfied are you with your job (or a job you had in the past)? Take a job satisfaction
quiz at Human Links. Go to Human Links’ website and search for Job Satisfaction.’
http://humanlinks.ws/orgsn/job_satisfaction.htm.
Desperate for Direction
(http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/61742/2001_Job_Satisfaction_Survey_
Desperate_for_Direction?taxonomyId=010)
Employees Dissatisfied
http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2012/05/18/new-survey-majority-of-em
ployees-dissatisfied/
4. What is the state of employee loyalty? Do organizations even care if employees are
free registration to access them.)
5. Organizations often conduct attitude surveys of their employees. What is it that they want
would be to include on an attitude survey and why.