Chapter 3 Values, Attitudes and their Effects

1. Chapter 3Values, Attitudes and their Effects Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP

2. Values • Values – basic conviciton about what is important, right and good to the individual • Values are measured by content (what) and intensity (how much) • Ranking a person’s values describes their value system • Values are generally enduring over time • Milton Rokeach: • Terminal Values – describe a person’s desirable end state if existence • Instrumental Values – describe a person’s mode of behaviour to achieve the terminal values Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP

3. Values • Values are a foundation for understanding attitudes and motivation • Values influence perception, attitudes and behaviours • Values influence what people think about what ought and what ought not to be • Values are formed in the context of individual values as well as cultural values Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP

4. Cultural Values • Geert Hofstede surveyed a bunch (116000) IBM employees in 40 countries and found 5 value dimensions on which cultures differed • Power Distance – the degree to which people accept that power is distributed equally or not • Individualism vs. Collectivism – the degree to which people prefer to act as individuals vs. in groups • Quantity of Life vs. Quality of Life – the degree to which values such as assertiveness, competitiveness and desire to acquire money prevail (like Type A of a society) • Uncertainty Avoidance – the degree to which people prefer structured vs. unstructured situations • Long-term vs. short-term orientation – the degree to which people value long term persistence vs.. Short term valuing present and past, fulfilling social obligations • Refer to page 85 for ratings by country Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP

5. Canadian Social Values • Michael Adams attempted to define the Canadian Social Value system • He came up with 4 general groups exhibiting similar values • The Elders – play by the rules • The Boomers – Reject authority • Gen X – experience seeking • Ne(x)t Gen – creators, curious, flexible • Anglophone vs. Francophones vs. Aboriginals • Francophones – collectivist, need for achievement, value affiliation • Anglophones – more individualist, value autonomy • Aboriginals – Collectivist, community oriented, sense of family, loyalty Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP

6. Attitudes • Attitudes are positive or negative feelings about objects, people or event • They are responses to situations • Attitudes are responses. Values are convictions • One’s value base can influence one’s attitudes to a situation Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP

7. The 3 Key Attitudes for OB • Job Involvement • Measures the degree to which people identify psychologically with their jobs and consider their perceived performance level important to self-worth • Employees with high levels of job involvement identify strongly with and really care about their jobs • Organizational Commitment • Where an employee identifies with a particular organization and its goals and wishes to maintain membership in that organization • Question: How has Organizational Commitment changed in the last few decades? • Job Satisfaction • An individual’s general attitude toward his or her job Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP

8. Job Satisfaction • Angus Reid poll of Canadians • 47% are very satisfied with their jobs, 39% somewhat satisfied • 44% agree their work as challenging, 27% somewhat agree • 75% indicate that they are treated fairly at work • But • 40% of Canadians would not recommend their company as a good place to work • Thinking about Maclean’s Magazine Top 100, these companies are evaluated on (http://www.canadastop100.com/research.html): • 1) Physical Workplace • 2) Work Atmosphere & Social • 3) Health, Financial & Family Benefits • 4) Vacation & Time Off • 5) Employee Communications • 6) Performance Management • 7) Training & Skills Development. Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP

9. Job Satisfaction • Job satisfaction is strongly tied to customer satisfaction • Job satisfaction tends to be higher at higher levels of the organization • Job satisfaction is tied to productivity (but only slightly) at the individual level • The relationship between satisfaction and productivity at the organization level is much stronger • Job satisfaction is stronger in jobs where people have greater control over their job tasks • Note also, some studies have shown that productivity leads to satisfaction rather than vice versa Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP

10. Cognitive Disonance • Cognitive Disonance the incompatibility that individuals perceive between their attitudes and behaviours • Individuals will act to change their attitudes or behaviours to make them more congruent with each other • Read OB in the Street (p. 99) • What do you think? • Class Exercise • Read the Case Incident in the News • Respond to Q’s 1, 2, 3 Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP

11. So, why do we care? • Values don’t directly impact behaviour, ubt they do influence attitudes • Knowledge of a person's value system can give insight into their attitudes • Also, knowing a person’s value system and comparing it to that of the organization can help determine whether there is a good organizational fit. • Value differences should be celebrated and understood • Chapter 4 Organizational Behaviour Dave Ludwick, P.Eng, MBA, PMP