Work Attitudes

Question 1

Values

Answer 1

Broad tendency to prefer certain states of affairs over others
Motivational (signal aspects of environment we seek/avoid)
Broad tendency: values are general and do not predict behaviour in specific situations well

Question 2

Work Centrality

Answer 2

High work centrality = working more hours
Can lead to adjustment problems for foreign employees/managers
E.g. Japanese culture places high emphasis on work, leads to many work related (overwork) deaths (work valued differently across cultures)

Question 3

Attitude

Answer 3

Stable evaluative tendency to respond consistently to specific object, situation, person, or category of people
Evaluations directed toward specific targets
Attitude influence behaviour when have direct experience with target of attitude and when attitude is strong

Question 4

Facet Satisfaction

Answer 4

Tendency for an employee to be more or less satisfied with various facets of the job
E.g. I love my work but hate my boss
Surrounding the work, compensation, career opportunities, recognition, benefits, working conditions, supervision, coworkers, organizational policy

Question 5

Job Satisfaction

Answer 5

Collection of attitudes that people have about their jobs
Facet and overall satisfaction

Question 6

Overall Satisfaction

Answer 6

Overall or summary indicator of a person’s attitude toward the job that cuts across various facets
E.g. I like my job on the whole though some aspects could be improved

Question 7

Generational Cohorts

Answer 7

Each generation has different lived experiences
Leads to different values
E.g. Boomers viewed as optimistic workaholics

Question 8

Hofstede’s Study

Question 9

Cultural Distance

Answer 9

Extent to which cultures differ in values
Greater cultural distance impedes communication

Question 10

Cultural Tightness/Loosness

Answer 10

Tight cultures: strong, clear standards for behaviour, strong sanctions for deviation (Pakistan, Singapore, Korea)
Loose cultures: flexible in terms of expected behaviour, more forgiving of violations of expected behaviour (Canada, Netherlands, Brazil, USA)
Relates to range of behaviours (e.g. clothes, social class rigidity, how sexes interact)

Question 11

Importing/Exporting OB Theories

Answer 11

OB theories, research, practices from North America might not translate to other societies
Basic questions remain the same, but answers change (e.g. how should I lead)
Individualistic culture makes it harder to import collectivist strategies here

Question 12

Appreciating Global Customers

Answer 12

Have to appreciate cross cultural differences when understanding needs/tastes of customers around the world

Question 13

Cultural Intelligence

Answer 13

Capability to function and manage well in culturally diverse environments
Knowledge, motivation, behaviour that contribute to good cross cultural functioning
Helps develop global employees

Question 14

Discrepancy Theory

Answer 14

Satisfaction is a function of the discrepancy between job outcomes people want and the outcomes that they perceive they obtain

Question 15

Fairness

Answer 15

Distributive
Procedural
Interactional

Question 16

Distributive Fairness

Answer 16

When people receive the outcomes they think they deserve from their jobs
Equity theory: inputs that people perceive themselves as investing in a job and the outcomes that the job provides are compared against the inputs and outcomes of some other relevant person or group

Question 17

Procedural Fairness/Justice

Answer 17

Individuals see the process used to determine outcomes as reasonable
Particularly relevant to performance evaluations, pay raises, promotions, layoffs, work assignments
Satisfaction maximized if people believe they would have done better if other procedures were used
Four areas:
-consistent procedures over time/people
-accurate and unbiased info
-two way communication during process
-welcome appeals of procedure

Question 18

Interactional Fairness/Justice

Answer 18

When people feel that they have received respectful and informative communication about an outcome
Inconsistency in fair treatment is more stressful than consistent unfair treatment

Question 19

Determinants of Job Satisfaction

Answer 19

Discrepancy
Fairness
Disposition
Mood/emotion

Question 20

Disposition

Answer 20

Some people are predisposed to be more or less satisfied despite changes in discrepancy or fairness

Question 21

Mood & Emotion

Answer 21

Emotional contagion: tendency for moods and emotions to spread between people/throughout a group
Emotional labour: requirement for people to conform to certain emotional display rules in their job behaviour in spite of their true mood or emotions

Question 22

Contributors To Job Satisfaction

Answer 22

Mentally challenging work: test skill/abilities, set work at own pace
Meaningful work: positive impact on others
Adequate compensation
Career opportunities: material (raise, promotion), social (recognition, prestige)
People: friendliness especially important in low level jobs

Question 23

Consequences of Poor Satisfaction

Answer 23

Absence from work
Turnover
Performance
Organizational citizenship behaviour
Counterproductive work behaviour
Customer satisfaction/profit

Question 24

Counterproductive Work Behaviour

Answer 24

Intentional verbal or physical behaviour meant to harm one’s organization or individuals such as co-workers or customers

Question 25

Organizational Commitment

Answer 25

Attitude that reflects the strength of the linkage between employee and organization
Affective
Continuance
Normative

Question 26

Affective Commitment

Answer 26

Based on person’s identification and involvement with an organization
High affective commitment people stay because they want to

Question 27

Continuance Commitment

Answer 27

Based on either the costs incurred after leaving or lack of suitable job alternatives
High continuance commitment stay because they have to

Question 28

Normative Commitment

Answer 28

Based on ideology or a feeling of obligation to an organization
High normative commitment stay because they think they should