CONTENTS 1. ATTITUDE .......................................................................................................

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1.1 STRUCTURE OF ATTITUDES .................................................................................................. 3

1.2 THE FUNCTIONS OF ATTITUDE .............................................................. 3 1.3 FUNCTIONS OF ATTITUDES EXAMPLE ................................................. 4
1.4 COGNITIVE DISSONANCE ...................................................................................................... 5 1.4.1 EXAMPLES OF COGNITIVE DISSONANCE ................................................................... 5 1.4.2 HOW TO REDUCE COGNITIVE DISSONANCE .............................................................. 6 1.4.3 IMPORTANCE OF COGNITIVE DISSONANCE. .............................................................. 6

1.4.4 MEASURING THE A-B RELATIONSHIP ............................................... 6 1.5 TYPES OF ATTITUDES ............................................................................... 7
2. JOB SATISFACTION .................................................................................................................... 7 2.1 DEFINITIONS .............................................................................................................................. 8 2.2 FACTORS AFFECTING JOB SATISFACTION ........................................................................ 8 2.3 Determinants of Job Satisfaction .................................................................................................. 8 2.4 Personal Factors .......................................................................................................................... 10 2.4.1 Sex........................................................................................................................................ 10 2.4.2 Educational Qualification .................................................................................................... 10 2.4.3 Experience............................................................................................................................ 10 2.4.4 Ability .................................................................................................................................. 10 2.4.5 Perception ............................................................................................................................ 11 2.5 Organisational Factors ................................................................................................................ 11 2.5.1 Nature of Work Assigned .................................................................................................... 11 2.5.2 Pay and other benefits .......................................................................................................... 11 2.5.3 Superior Subordinate Relationship ..................................................................................... 11 2.5.4 InterPersonal Relationship .................................................................................................. 12 2.5.5 Opportunities for Advancement ........................................................................................... 12 2.5.6 Consequences of Job Dissatisfaction ....................................................................................... 12 2.5.7 Steps to improve Job Satisfaction ............................................................................................ 12 2.5.8 Source of job Satisfaction ........................................................................................................ 13 1. 2. 3. Wages.................................................................................................................................... 13 Nature of Work ..................................................................................................................... 14 Promotions ............................................................................................................................ 14 1

4.

Supervision ........................................................................................................................... 14

Supervisory Action for Maintaining Satisfaction ............................................................................. 15 5. 6. Work Group .......................................................................................................................... 15 Working Conditions .............................................................................................................. 15

2.5.9 Benefits of Job Satisfaction...................................................................................................... 16

1. ATTITUDE
An attitude is "a relatively enduring organization of beliefs, feelings, and behavioral tendencies towards socially significant objects, groups, events or symbols" (Hogg & Vaughan 2005, p. 150) "A psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor" (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993, p. 1)

1.1 STRUCTURE OF ATTITUDES

Attitudes structure can be described in terms of three components.
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Affective component: this involves a persons feelings / emotions about the attitude object. For example: I am scared of spiders. Behavioral (or conative) component: the way the attitude we have influences how we act or behave. For example: I will avoid spiders and scream if I see one. Cognitive component: this involves a persons belief / knowledge about an attitude object. For example: I believe spiders are dangerous.

This model is known as the ABC model of attitudes. The three components are usually linked. However, there is evidence that the cognitive and affective components of behavior do not always match with behavior. This is shown in a study by LaPiere (1934).

1.2 THE FUNCTIONS OF ATTITUDE

Attitudes can serve functions for the individual. Daniel Katz (1960) outlinesfour functional areas: Knowledge. Attitudes provide meaning (knowledge) for life. The knowledge function refers to our need for a world which is consistent and relatively stable. This allows us to predict what is likely to happen, and so gives us a sense of control. Attitudes can help us organize and structure our experience. Knowing a persons attitude helps us predict their behavior. For example, knowing that a person is religious we can predict they will go to Church.

 Self / Ego-expressive. The attitudes we express (1) help communicate who we are and (2) may make us feel good because we have asserted our identity. Self-expression of attitudes can be non-verbal too: think bumper sticker, cap, or T-shirt slogan. Therefore, our attitudes are part of our identify, and help us to be aware through expression of our feelings, beliefs and values. Adaptive. If a person holds and/or expresses socially acceptable attitudes, other people will reward them with approval and social acceptance. For example, when people flatter their bosses or instructors (and believe it) or keep silent if they think an attitude is unpopular. Again, expression can be nonverbal [think politician kissing baby]. Attitudes then, are to do with being apart of a social group and the adaptive functions helps us fit in with a social group. People seek out others who share their attitudes, and develop similar attitudes to those they like. The ego-defensive function refers to holding attitudes that protect our self-esteem or that justify actions that make us feel guilty. For example, one way children might defend themselves against the feelings of humiliation they have experienced in P.E. lessons is to adopt a strongly negative attitude to all sport. People whose pride has suffered following a defeat in sport might similarly adopt a defensive attitude: Im not bothered, Im sick of rugby anyway. This function has psychiatric overtones. Positive attitudes towards ourselves, for example, have a protective function (i.e. an ego-defensive role) in helping us reserve our self-image. The basic idea behind the functional approach is that attitudes help a person to mediate between their own inner needs (expression, defense) and the outside world (adaptive and knowledge).

1.3 FUNCTIONS OF ATTITUDES EXAMPLE

Imagine you are very patriotic about being British. This might cause you to have an ethnocentric attitude towards everything not British. Imagine further that you are with a group of like-minded friends. You say: Of course theres no other country as good as Britain to live in. Other places are alright in their own way but they cant compare with your mother county.

(There are nods of approval all round. You are fitting in - adaptive). The people in the group are wearing England football shirts (This is the self-expression function). Then imagine you go on to say: The trouble with foreigners is that they dont speak English. I went to France last year and they were ignorant. Even if they could speak our language they wouldnt do so. I call that unfriendly. (Others agree with you and tell you of their similar experiences. You are making sense of things. This is the knowledge function). Then someone who has never travelled takes things a stage further I dont mind foreigners coming here on holidaybut they shouldnt be allowed to live here.taking our jobs and living off social security. Britain for the British is what I say.why is it getting so you cant get a decent job in your own country. (Now the others in the room join in scapegoating foreigners and demonstrating the ego defensive function of attitudes).

1.4 COGNITIVE DISSONANCE

People tend to seek consistency in their beliefs and perceptions. So what happens when one of our beliefs conflicts with another previously held belief? The term cognitive dissonance is used to describe the feeling of discomfort that results from holding two conflicting beliefs. When there is a discrepancy between beliefs and behaviors, something must change in order to eliminate or reduce the dissonance. How exactly does cognitive dissonance work and how does it influence how we think and behave. Cognitive dissonance can often have a powerful influence on our behaviors and actions. Let's start by looking at some examples of how this works.

1.4.1 EXAMPLES OF COGNITIVE DISSONANCE

Cognitive dissonance can occur in many areas of life, but it is particularly evident in situations where an individual's behavior conflicts with beliefs that are integral to his or her self-identity. For example, consider a situation in which a man who places a value on being environmentally responsible just purchased a new car that he later discovers does not get great gas mileage.

The conflict:

It is important for the man to take care of the environment. He is driving a car that is not environmentally-friendly.

In order to reduce this dissonance between belief and behavior, he has a few difference choices. He can sell the car and purchase another one that gets better gas mileage or he can reduce his emphasis on environmental-responsibility. In the case of the second option, his dissonance could be further minimized by engaging in actions that reduce the impact of driving a gas-guzzling vehicle, such as utilizing public transportation more frequently or riding his bike to work on occasion. A more common example of cognitive dissonance occurs in the purchasing decisions we make on a regular basis. Most people want to hold the belief that they make good choices. When a product or item we purchase turns out badly, it conflicts with our previously existing belief about our decision-making abilities.

1.4.2 HOW TO REDUCE COGNITIVE DISSONANCE

There are three key strategies to reduce or minimize cognitive dissonance:

Focus on more supportive beliefs that outweigh the dissonant belief or behavior. Reduce the importance of the conflicting belief. Change the conflicting belief so that it is consistent with other beliefs or behaviors.

1.4.3 IMPORTANCE OF COGNITIVE DISSONANCE.

Cognitive dissonance plays a role in many value judgments, decisions and evaluations. Becoming aware of how conflicting beliefs impact the decision-making process is a great way to improve your ability to make faster and more accurate choices.

1.4.4 MEASURING THE A-B RELATIONSHIP

Recent research indicates that attitudes (A) significantly predict behaviors (B) when moderating variables are taken into account. Moderating Variables include: 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 = when you use attitudes after the fact to make sense out of an action that has ALREADY occurred.

1.5 TYPES OF ATTITUDES

1) Job Satisfaction Job satisfaction is how content an individual is with his or her job. Scholars and human resource generally make a distinction between affective job satisfaction and cognitive job satisfaction. Affective job satisfaction is the extent of pleasurable emotional feelings individuals have about their jobs overall, and is different to cognitive job satisfaction which is the extent of individuals satisfaction with particular facets of their jobs, such as pay, pension arrangements, working hours, and numerous other aspects of their jobs. 2) Job Involvement The degree to which an employee is engaged in and enthusiastic about performing their work. Business managers are typically well aware that efforts to promote job involvement among staff tend to pay off substantially since employees will be more likely to assist in furthering their common objectives

3) Organizational Commitment Strength of the feeling of responsibility that an employee has towards the mission of the organization.

2. JOB SATISFACTION
The three important dimensions to Job Satisfaction are as follows: 1. Job satisfaction refers to ones feeling towards ones job. It can only be inferred but not seen. 2. Job satisfaction is often determined by how well outcomes meet or exceed expectations. Satisfaction in ones job means increased commitment in the fulfillment of formal requirements. There is greater willingness to invest personal energy and time in job performance. 3. presently The term occupying. Job satisfaction andattitude job attitudes typically used interchangeably. to effective orientation Positive on the part of individuals towards the towards job arejob their conceptually work roles equivalent whichBut they torefer job are satisfaction and negative attitude towards theare job indicate dissatisfaction.

Though the terms job satisfaction and attitudes are used interchangeably, there are differences between the two. Attitude refers to predisposition to respond. Job satisfaction on the other hand, relates to performance factors. Attitudes reflect ones feeling towards individuals, organizations and objects. But satisfaction refers toones attitude to a job satisfaction is therefore a specific subject to attitude.

2.1 DEFINITIONS
According to E. A. Locke a pleasure or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of ones job or job experience. As the amount of overall positive affect (or feeling) that individuals have towards their jobs. D.C. Feldman & H.J. Arnold.

A Job satisfaction is the amount of pleasure or contentment associated with a job. If you like your job intensely you will experience high job satisfaction. If you dislike your job intensely, you will experience job dissatisfaction. Du Brin.

Job satisfaction is a set of favorable or unfavorable feelings with which employees view their work. Keith Davis & J. W. Newstrone.

2.2 FACTORS AFFECTING JOB SATISFACTION

Job satisfaction is the feeling an employee gets when the job he does fulfils all his expectations. While morale refers to the attitude of the employees of an organization and is a group concept, job satisfaction is the feeling of an individual employee. Job satisfaction has been defined as a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of ones job or job experiences.

2.3 Determinants of Job Satisfaction

There are various personal and organizational factors that influence job satisfaction. The following chart indicates the determinants of job satisfaction:

Factors Determining Job Satisfaction

Personal Factors

Organisational Factors

Age Sex

Nature of work Assigned Pay and other benefits Superior subordinate relationship Interpersonal relationship

Educational Qualification

Experience

Ability

Opportunities for advancement

The age of a person does have its influence on his level of job satisfaction. People who are young usually have a higher level of job satisfaction provided they rightly choose their career. Those in their twenties or thirties are energetic and have the stamina to work hard and derive pleasure out of their work. As a person gets older, he gets tired physically and mentally. Further, he reaches the saturation point at this stage and the work, usually, does not give him the pleasure it gave earlier.

2.4 Personal Factors 2.4.1 Sex

There is a feeling among many employers that women employees are much more committed to work than men. Such employers prefer to appoint women in their concerns. A woman employee who is able to show greater commitment to work naturally should derive higher level of job satisfaction.

2.4.2 Educational Qualification

The job satisfaction level of people with higher educational qualification is generally found to be low. This happens because; such people always look for better employment opportunities. A person deriving pleasure out of his present job, which is also remunerative, need not look for better employment prospects.

2.4.3 Experience
The experience of an employee gives him exposure to many difficult work situations. This enables him to learn the art of managing crisis. Such persons, in view of their ability to tackle any critical work situation, should naturally have greater job satisfaction than those who are inexperienced. It may be mentioned here that the age and experience of a person need not go together.

2.4.4 Ability
An employee who lacks the capability to perform his job, obviously, cannot derive job 10

satisfaction. Performance is vital for job satisfaction. Only those who have the ability will be able to perform. It may be mentioned here that the satisfaction accruing to a person out of the monetary benefits he gets from his employment is temporary. In the long run, performance alone can give him satisfaction.

2.4.5 Perception
Job expectations differ from person to person. This is in view of differences in ones perception. Some individuals may be interested in challenging jobs while others may be interested in routine work. Still, there are some who may be prepared to do any work for the sake of monetary benefits. The extent to which the expectations of a person have been fulfilled is yet another determinant of job satisfaction.

2.5 Organisational Factors 2.5.1 Nature of Work Assigned

The work assigned to an employee should be of interest to him. What appears to be an interesting job to one may appear to be uninteresting to another and so says the proverb, one mans food is another mans poison. It is, therefore, important that the employer understands the capabilities and preferences of his employees before assigning them work.

2.5.2 Pay and other benefits

Pay and other tangible benefits offered to employees, although cannot determine job satisfaction in all cases, are not unimportant. An employee who derives pleasure out his job cannot be indifferent to pay and other benefits to which he is entitled. An employee, therefore, needs to be given pay commensurate with his job and responsibilities. Similarly, social security benefits like provident fund, insurance etc., also need to be provided to employees as per rules. Where these benefits are inadequate, the level of job satisfaction is bound to be low.

2.5.3 Superior Subordinate Relationship

Sometimes, an employee may be fully satisfied with his job. But if his superior tries to find 11

fault with him unnecessarily, the employee gets disturbed mentally. This affects satisfaction. It is, therefore, necessary that the superior subordinate relationship is cordial in any workplace.

2.5.4 InterPersonal Relationship

When the relationship between the employees working as a group is not cordial, it will affect individual performance. This happens because of two reasons. First, co ordination becomes difficult when interpersonal relationship is not good and second the employee gets disturbed psychologically. When such a trend continues, it results in job dissatisfaction in the longrun.

2.5.5 Opportunities for Advancement

Where, in an organization, there are no opportunities for promotion, the employees may have to remain in the same job till their retirement. There may not be any change even in their designation. Such employees may not work with enthusiasm. Lack of promotion opportunities, thus, promotes job dissatisfaction.

2.5.6 Consequences of Job Dissatisfaction

Lack of job satisfaction may lead to the following consequences: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. It may increase the rate of labour turnover. It may lead to poor job performance. There may be an increase in complaints and grievances. Conflicts in the workplace may also increase. It may give scope for strikes and lockouts. It may disturb stability.

2.5.7 Steps to improve Job Satisfaction

The following measures may be adopted to have a higher level of job satisfaction among employees: 1. 2. Selection of right man for the right job. Payment commensurate with the employees credentials. 12

3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Conducive working environment. Cordial superiorsubordinate relationship. Better interpersonal relationship. Provision of suitable promotion opportunities. Creation of facilities for training. Provision of suitable incentives and social security benefits. Job rotation where desirable.

10. Encouraging employees participation in decision making. The TwoFactor Theory, the NeedFulfillment Theory and the Expectancy Theory discussed in the Chapter Motivation have relevance to job satisfaction as well.

2.5.8 Source of job Satisfaction

Several job elements contribute to job satisfaction. The most important amongst them are wage structure, nature of work, promotion chances and quality of supervisors, work group and working conditions.

Wages Working Work Condition Job Satisfaction

Promotion

Work group Chance Supervision

1. Wages
Wages play a significant role in influencing job satisfaction. This is because of two reasons 1. Money is an important instrument in fulfilling ones needs. 13

2. Employees often see pay as a reflection of managements concern for them. Employees want a pay system which is simple, fair and in line with their expectations. When pay is seen as fair, based on job demands, individual skill level and community pay standards satisfaction is likely to result. What needs emphasis is that it is not the absolute amount paid that matters rather it is ones perception of fairness.

2.

Nature of Work
Most employees crave intellectual challenges on job. They tend to prefer being given

opportunities to use their skills and abilities and being offered a variety of tasks, freedom and feedback on how well they are doing. These characteristics make jobs mentally challenging. Job that has too little challenge creates boredom. But too much challenge creates frustration and a feeling of failure. Under conditions of moderate challenge, employees experience pleasure and satisfaction.

3. Promotions
Promotional opportunities affect job satisfaction considerably. The desire for promotion is generally strong among employees as it involves change on job content, pay, responsibility, independence, status and the like. It is no surprise that the employee takes promotion as the ultimate achievement in his career and when it is realized, he feels extremely satisfied.

4. Supervision
There is a positive relationship between the quality of supervision and job satisfaction. Supervisors who establish a supportive personal relationship with subordinates and take a personal interest in them contribute to their employee satisfaction. On realizing the role of supervision in creating satisfaction a number of supervisory roles have been suggested for the purpose. The following points list out the supervisory actions.

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Supervisory Action for Maintaining Satisfaction

1. Maintain open lines of communication. 2. Create a good physical environment. 3. Remedy sub standard conditions. 4. Transfer discounted employees. 5. Change the perception of dissatisfied employees. 6. Display concern for employees. 7. Give ample recognition. 8. Allow for participative management. 9. Practice good management. 10. Conduct morale building programs.

5. Work Group
The work group does serve as a source of satisfaction to individual employees. It is well known that, for many employees work fills the need for social interaction. The work group is a stronger source of satisfaction when members have similar attitudes and values. Having people around with similar attitudes causes less friction on a day to day basis. Co workers with similar attitudes and values can also provide some confirmation of a persons self -concept. We are ok and you are ok.

6. Working Conditions
Working conditions that are compatible with an employees physical comfort and those facilities doing a good job contribute to job satisfaction. Temperature humidity, ventilation, lighting and noise, hours of work, cleanliness of the work place and adequate tools and equipments are the features which affect job satisfaction. The assumption that working conditions and satisfaction are interrelated contradicts the two factor theory of motivation.

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According to this theory, working conditions are a part of maintenance factor, which, when provide help remove dissatisfaction. And the opposite of dissatisfaction is nodissatisfaction but not satisfaction. Thus, while working conditions constitute a source of job satisfaction, they are a relatively minor source. Generally unless working conditions are either extremely good or bad, they are taken for granted by most employees. Only when employees themselves change jobs or when working conditions change dramatically over time do working conditions assume more relevance. In other words, all employees are not satisfied or dissatisfied by favorable or unfavorable work environment.

2.5.9 Benefits of Job Satisfaction

One benefit of job satisfaction study in that they give management ah indication of general levels of satisfaction in a company. It includes specific areas of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Improved communication. Job satisfaction can help discover the causes of indirect productivity problems such as absenteeism, turnover and poor quality of work. It helps the management both to get better handle on why employer lagging to plan better solutions problems. They help management assess training needs. Job satisfaction survey is an indicator of the effectiveness of organizational rewards systems. They help managers judge whether the best performers are receiving the most rewards and the most satisfaction from their jobs. One of the best uses of job satisfaction survey is the evaluation of the impact of original changes on employee attitudes. An unexpected benefit from job satisfaction survey is proved attitudes. For some employees, survey is an emotional release a chance to get things off their chest. For others survey is a tangible expression of marketers interest in employee welfare. Finally, job satisfaction surveys are useful to unions also. Often both management and union argue about what the employees want, but neither really knows. Job satisfaction survey is one way to find out.

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