HUMAN BEHAVIOR
IN ORGANIZATION
Chapter 3: Values, Attitudes, and Job Satisfaction
Learning Objectives
Analyze the basics of modeling and shaping, cognitive learning and
e-learning.
Distinguish the learning styles influence workplace learning.
Evaluate key aspects of the perceptual process, along with common
perceptual problems.
Write an insight of how attribution theory and blaming others
contribute to an understanding of human behavior in the workplace.
Prepare an examples of the Shortcuts Used in Forming Impressions
of Others.
Core Values
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD,
plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future
and a hope.” - Jeremiah 29:11
Learning Activities and resources
Human Behavior in Organization, 2nd Edition 2012 by
Ricky W. Griffin and Gregory Moorhead
Other references:
Organizational Behavior, 9th edition by John W.
Newstorm and Keith Davis
Organizational Behavior: Managing People and
Organizations, Twelfth Edition 2019 Cengage Learning
Asia Pte Ltd, By Ricky W. Griffin, Jean M. Phillips and
Stanley M. Gully
VALUES
Values refer to the importance a person attaches to
things or ideas that served as guide to action. Values
are enduring beliefs that one’s mode of conduct is
better than the opposite mode of conduct.
An example of a belief is the importance placed by a
person on academic titles or degrees and the doubt
casted on the ability of a person without sufficient
academic qualifications.
VALUES
The definition implies that values are made of a set of
beliefs. Values may be attached to things or ideas like
loyalty (to the company or friends), teamwork, honor,
obedience, honesty, and the like.
HOW PEOPLE LEARN VALUES?
How People Learn Values
Values are not inborn, they are learned. As they grow,
people learn values through any or all of the following:
1. Modeling
2. Communication of attitudes
3. Unstated but implied attitudes
4. Religion
How People Learn Values
Modeling
Parents, teachers, friends, and other people oftentimes
become models to persons who would later exhibit good
behavior in the workplace.
Communication of Attitudes
When a person often hears from acquaintances the risk
of buying products imported from a certain country, the
person may develop negative values about the country.
How People Learn Values
Unstated but Implied Attitudes
If a person sees joy and happiness in every member of
his family whenever another member graduates from college,
the person will develop the same values impliedly exhibited.
Religion
The just and fair treatment of people is a value that is
taught by priest and ministers of various religious sects.
Persons who are exposed to the teaching develop values that
support such beliefs.
Type of Values
Values may be classified in various ways. A
classification that is most relevant to the workplace indicates
that values are of the following types:
1. Achievement – this is a value that pertains to getting things
done and working hard to accomplish goals;
2. Helping and concern for others – this value refers to the
person’s concern with other people and providing
assistance to those who need help;
Type of Values
3. Honesty – this is a value that indicates the person’s
concern for telling the truth and doing what he thinks is
right; and
4. Fairness – This is a value that indicates the person’s
concern for impartiality and fairness for all concerned.
Individual versus Organizational Values
Organization have values that may or may not be
compatible with the values of the individual workers.
There is value incongruence if the individual’s value is not
in agreement with organization’s value. As a result of such
incongruence, conflicts may arise over such things as
goals or the manner in which the goals will be achieved.
Espoused versus Enacted Values
Espoused values
are what members of the organization say they value. A
business organization, for instance, may state that it highly values
its good relationship with customers.
Enacted Values
If the employees of the said company give priority to calls
from relatives and friends rather than responding immediately to
customer’s inquiries, they are not actually practicing the values
espoused by the company.
Instrumental and Terminal Values
Terminal Values
represent the goals that a person would like to achieve in his
or her lifetime. Ex. Happiness, love, pleasure, self-respect, and
freedom.
Instrumental Values
refer to preferable modes of behavior or means of achieving
the terminal values. Ex. Ambition, honesty, self-sufficiency, and
courageousness.
ATTITUDES
Attitudes form the basis for job satisfaction in the
workplace. Attitudes are feelings and beliefs that
largely determine how employees will perceive their
environment, commit themselves to intended actions,
and ultimately behave.
Attitudes reflect how one feels about something.
The Main Components of Attitudes
Attitudes consist of the following components:
1. Cognitive component - of an attitude refers to the opinion or belief
segment of an attitude.
2. Affective component - of an attitude refers to the emotional or
feeling segment.
3. Behavioral component – of an attitude refers to the intention to
behave in a certain way toward someone or something.
Cognitive
(Evaluation)
My boss is fickle-minded:
he cannot stick to his
decision
Negative
Affective Attitude
(feeling) Toward
I hate my boss
boss
Behavioral
(Action)
I am requesting for a transfer
THE COMPONENT OF AN ATTITUDE
Differences in Personal Disposition
Positive affectivity
refers to personal characteristic of employees that inclines
them to be predisposed to be satisfied at work. People who have
positive affectivity are optimistic, upbeat, cheerful, and courteous.
Negative affectivity
is a personal characteristics of employees that inclines them
to be predisposed to be dissatisfied at work. People who have
negative affectivity are generally pessimistic, downbeat, and
irritable.
HOW ATTITUDES ARE FORMED?
How Attitudes are Formed
Attitudes are formed through learning. The two methods
that mostly influence attitude formation are direct experience
and indirect means of social learning.
Direct experience - among the information stored in the
human mind, those that were gathered through direct
experience are the most accessible.
Indirect means – the result of social interactions with the
family, peer groups, religious organizations, and culture.
Effects of Employee Attitudes
Attitudes provide clues to the behavioral intentions or
inclinations of an employee. The manner in which a person
will act can be gleaned from his attitudes.
Employee attitudes may be classified as either:
Positive job attitudes
Negative job attitudes
Effects of Employee Attitudes
Positive job attitudes
indicate job satisfaction and are useful in predicting
constructive behaviors like serving customers beyond official
working hours, and performing excellently in all aspects of their
jobs.
Negative job attitudes
includes those concerning job dissatisfaction, lack of job
involvement, low commitment to the organization, and strong
negative words.
Effects of Employee Attitudes
Negative job attitudes
When employees are d issatisfied with their jobs, they will
have a strong tendency to engage in any or all of the following:
1. Psychological withdrawal like daydreaming on the job;
2. Physical withdrawal like unauthorized absences, early
departures, extended breaks, or work slowdowns; and
3. Aggression, like verbal abuse or dangerous actions
against another employee.
JOB SATISFACTION
In a strict sense, however, job satisfaction refers to the
positive feeling about one’s job resulting from an
evaluation of its characteristics. When the feeling
about one’s job is not positive, the appropriate term is
job dissatisfaction.
JOB SATISFACTION
When people are satisfied with their jobs, the following
benefits become possible:
1. High productivity
2. A strong tendency to achieve customer loyalty
3. Loyalty to the company
4. Low absenteeism and turnover
5. Less job stress and burnout
6. Better safety performance
7. Better life satisfaction
Factors Associated with Job Satisfaction
These are certain factors associated with job
satisfaction. They are the following:
Salary-adequacy of salary and perceived equity compared
with others.
Work itself – the extent to which job tasks are considered
interesting and provide opportunities for learning and
accepting responsibility.
Factors Associated with Job Satisfaction
Promotion opportunity- chances for further advancement.
Quality of supervision – the technical competence and the
interpersonal skills of one’s immediate superior;
Relationship with co-workers – the extent to which co-
workers are friendly, competent, and supportive.
Factors Associated with Job Satisfaction
Working conditions- the extent to which the physical work
environment is comfortable and supportive of productivity.
Job security – the beliefs that one’s position is relatively
secure and continued employment with the organization is
a reasonable expectation.
JOB INVOLVEMENT
Job involvement is another positive employee attitude.
It refers to the degree to which a person identifies with
the job, actively participates in it, and considers
performance important to self-worth.
A positive self-image is a result of a person’s holding a
meaningful job and actively performing it.