Chapter 3: Attitudes and Job Satisfaction

Question 1

Howard Schultz and Satrbucks Employees

Answer 1

Howard Schultz and the Starbucks corporation is committed to their employees, and offer a variety of benefits that show they are interested in helping develop their people (tuition reimbursement, offer of full health care coverage to part-timers after 3 months of work, etc.)

Question 2

attitude

Answer 2

evaluative statement - your belief about something

Question 3

cognitive component of attitude

Answer 3

the opinion or belief (thought) segment of an attitude

Question 4

affective component of attitude

Answer 4

emotional or feelings segment of attitude

Question 5

behavioral component of attitude

Answer 5

an intention to behave a certain way toward someone or something

Question 6

cognitive dissonance

Answer 6

tension we feel inside when something we have incompatibility between two or more thoughts or between behaviors and attitudes

Question 7

the desire to reduce dissonance depends of three factors:

Answer 7

importance of the elements creating dissonance, and the degree of influence we believe we have over the elements, and the rewards of dissonance (high rewards accompanying high dissonance tend to reduce tension inherent in the dissonance)

Question 8

most powerful moderators of the attitude-behavior relationship?

Answer 8

importance of the attitude, its correspondence to behavior, its accessibility, the presence of social pressures, and whether a person has direct experience with the attitude

Question 9

job involvement

Answer 9

the degree to which a person identifies with a job, actively participates in it, and considers performance important to self-worth

Question 10

psychological empowerment

Answer 10

employee’s belief in the degree to which they affect their work environment, their competence, the meaningfulness of their job, and their autonomy at work

Question 11

organizational committment

Answer 11

the degree to which employee identifies with a particular organization and its goals and wishes to maintain membership in an organization (those who are committed are less likely to withdraw at work)

Question 12

perceived organizational support (POS)

Answer 12

degree to which employees believe an organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being

Question 13

power distance

Answer 13

the degree to which people in a country accept that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally

Question 14

employee engagement

Answer 14

an employees involvement with, satisfaction with, and enthusiasm for the work he or she does (studies show that only 17% to 29% of people are highly engaged in their work)

Question 15

employee engagement determines which outcomes?

Answer 15

customer satisfaction, more productive, brought in higher profits, and experienced lower levels of turnover and accidents than other business units

Question 16

is employee engagement distinct?

Answer 16

it suggest that employee engagement predicts important outcomes, but the amassed work to date calls into question how distinct it is from other job attitudes

Question 17

measures of job satisfaction

Answer 17

1) global rating where you ask “All things considered, how satisfied are you with your job?” 2) the summation of job facets, is more comprehensive and identifies key elements in a job such as the type of work, skills needed, supervision, present pay, promotion opportunities, culture, and relationships with coworkers
* both methods are good and one isn’t more accurate than the other

Question 18

is job satisfaction influenced by cultural values?

Answer 18

absolutely (see exhibits 3-3 and 3-4)

Question 19

what factors influence job satisfaction?

Answer 19

job conditions, personality, pay, and corporate social responsibility

Question 20

job conditions

Answer 20

especially intrinsic nature of the work itself, social interactions, and supervision, are important predictors of job satisfaction and employee well being

Question 21

personality

Answer 21

core self evaluation (people who believe in their inner worth and basic competence) are more satisfied with their jobs than people with negative CSE’s

Question 22

pay

Answer 22

does correlate with job satisfaction, and overall happiness for many people, but the effect can be smaller once an individual reaches a standard level of comfortable living

Question 23

corporate social responsibility

Answer 23

an orgs self-regulated actions to benefit society or the environment beyond what is required by law. Studies show that in companies who have employees who agree with the company’s CRS mission, there is more satisfaction. This association is particularly strong among millennials

Question 24

Why do all employees not find CSR valuable?

Answer 24

1) not all projects are equally meaningful for every person’s job satisfaction, yet participation for all employees is sometimes expected 2) some orgs require employees to contribute in a prescribed manner 3) CSR measures can seem disconnected from the employee’s actual work, providing no increase in job satisfaction

Question 25

job performance as it pertains to job satisfaction

Answer 25

a meta analysis of 300 studies shows that happy workers are going to perform better than unhappy workers. individuals with a higher job satisfaction perform better

Question 26

org citizenship behavior as it pertains to job satisfaction

Answer 26

includes people walking positively about their org., helping others, and going beyond the normal expectations of their jobs. evidence suggests job satisfaction is moderately correlated with OCB; people who are more satisfied with their jobs are more likely to engage in citizenship behavior

Question 27

why does job satisfaction lead to OCB?

Answer 27

one reason is trust. research in 18 countries suggests that managers reciprocate employees’ OCB with trusting behaviors of their own. individuals who feel that their coworkers support them are also more likely to engage in helpful behaviors than those who have antagonistic coworker relationships

Question 28

customer satisfaction

Answer 28

satisfied employees and managers appear to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. recent research suggests that employee and customer satisfaction are reciprocally related and that the inward effect of customer satisfaction on employee satisfaction might be stronger that employee-customer relationship

Question 29

life satisfaction

Answer 29

research in Europe indicated that life satisfaction and job satisfaction are positively correlated, and your attitudes and experiences in life spill over into your job approaches and experiences

Question 30

exit

Answer 30

dissatisfaction expressed through behavior directed toward leaving the org

Question 31

voice

Answer 31

dissatisfaction expressed through active and constructive attempts to improve conditions

Question 32

loyalty

Answer 32

dissatisfaction expressed by passively waiting for conditions to improve

Question 33

neglect

Answer 33

dissatisfaction expressed through allowing conditions to worsen

Question 34

counter-productive work behavior (CWB)

Answer 34

actions that actively damage the organization, including stealing, behaving aggressively toward coworkers, or being late or absent

Question 35

facts on cwb

Answer 35

generally speaking, job dissatisfaction predicts CWB. people who are not satisfied with their work tend to become frustrated and perform lower (this effect may be more prevalent with males). dissatisfied employees often choose one or more of these specific behaviors due to idiosyncratic factors (one might quit, and another might use work time to surf the internet or take work supplies how for personal use). sometimes CWB is a reaction to perceived unfairness, a way to try to restore an employee’s sense of equity exchange

Question 36

absenteeism

Answer 36

we find a consistent negative relationship between satisfaction and absenteeism, but the relationship is moderate to weak

Question 37

turnover

Answer 37

overall, a pattern of lowered job satisfaction is the best predictor of intent to leave. turnover also has a workplace environment connection. if the climate within an employee’s immediate workplace is one of low job satisfaction leading to turnover, there will be a contagion effect. employee embeddedness - connections to the job and community - can help lower the probability of turnover, particularly in collectivist cultures

Question 38

stock price and satisfcation

Answer 38

stock prices of companies in the high-morale group grew 19.4% compared with 10% for the medium- or low-morale group. despite these figures, many managers aren’t concerned with employee job satisfaction