Module 4

Values, Attitudes, and Job Satisfaction

Learning Objectives:
 Explain job satisfaction and the various concerns that make it happen,
such as values and attitudes.

A company which advertises that its milk products come from contented
cows implies that the products are of good quality. It is easy to understand
the logic behind it. In the same light, when someone says “workers who are
satisfied with their jobs tend to produce quality outputs,” it is also easy to
understand why it is so.

This chapter is an attempt to explain job satisfaction and the various

concerns that make it happen, such as values and attitudes.

Values
Values refer to the importance a person attaches to things or ideas that
serves 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.

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 – parents, teachers, friends, and other people oftentimes

become models to persons who would later exhibit good behavior in the
workplace. For instance, a person who worked as a mechanic for many years
in his own yard was a stickler for cleanliness and getting up early to work. He
saw to it that his customers were happy with the service he provided, and he
never charged them with unreasonable service fees. His son saw him in
action almost everyday. The son did not notice that he was slowly imitating
the good work ethic of his father. It is no wonder that he behaves much like
his father when he is doing hid work as a mechanic in a large automotive
sales and service firm.

2. Communication of Attitudes –one of the ways in which values are

learned is through communication of attitudes. When a person often hears
form acquaintances the risk of buying products imported from a certain
country, the person may develop negative values about that country.
3. Unstated but Implied Attitudes – values may also be affected by
attitudes that are not stated but are implied by way of action. For instance, 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.

4. Religion – values are also learned through religion. For example, the just
and fair treatment of people is a value that is taught by priests and ministers
of various religious acts. Persons who are exposed to the teachings develop
values that support such beliefs.

Types 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.
3. Honesty – this is a value that indicates the person’s concern for telling
the truth and doing what he thinks is right
4. Fairness – this is a value that indicates the person’s concern for
impartiality and fairness for all concerned.

Instrumental and Terminal Values

Terminal values represent the goals that a person would like to achieve in
his or her lifetime. Examples of terminal values are happiness, love,
pleasure, self-respect, and freedom.

Instrumental values refer to preferable modes of behavior or means of

achieving the terminal values. Example of instrumental values are ambition,
honesty, self-sufficiency, and courageousness.

Attitudes
Attitudes are important in the study of human behavior. This is so because
they are linked with perception, learning, emotions, and motivation. Attitudes
also 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

The cognitive component of an attitude refers to the opinion or belief
segment of an attitude. An example is the opinion indicated in the statement
“my boss is fickle-minded; he cannot stick to his decision.”

The affective component of an attitude refers to the emotional or feeling

segment. The bad feeling insinuated in the statement “I hate my boss” is an
example.

The behavioral component of an attitude refers to the intention to behave

in a certain way toward someone or something. An example is the action
indicated in the statement “I have requested a transfer to another
department from my superiors.”

How Attitudes are Formed

Attitudes are forms through learning. The two methods that mostly influence
formation are direct experience and indirect means of social learning. Among
the information stored in the human mind, those that were gathered through
direct experience are the most accessible. So if one had an unpleasant
experience with another person, his attitude regarding that person would be
negative regardless of any other information obtained from indirect means.
Although indirect mean affect the formation of attitudes, their influence is
not as strong as direct experience.

Attitudes that are formed in an indirect way are the result of social
interactions with the family, peer groups, religious organizations, and culture.
For instance, if parents behave in a manner showing disdain towards
smokers, the children will have a strong tendency to adapt an attitude of
indifference towards smokers.

Effects of Employee Attitudes

Positive job attitudes indicate satisfaction and are useful in predicting
constructive behaviors like serving customers beyond official working hours,
and performing excellently in all aspects of their jobs. An example of a
positive attitude is “I enjoy wearing my office uniform.”

Negative job attitudes are also useful in predicting undesirable behavior.

Negative job attitudes include those concerning job dissatisfaction, lack of
job involvement, low commitment to the organization, and strong negative
words like “the office assigned to me does not speak well of my position.”

Job Satisfaction
The attitude people have about their job is called 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.
When people are satisfied with their jobs, the following benefits become
possible:
1. High productivity
2. A stronger 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

1. Salary – adequacy of salary and perceived equity compared with
others
2. Work itself – the extent to which job tasks are considered interesting
and provide opportunities for learning and accepting responsibility
3. Promotion opportunity – chances for further advancement
4. Quality of supervision – the technical competence and the
interpersonal skills of one’s immediate superior
5. Relationship with co-workers – the extent to which co-workers are
friendly, competent, and supportive
6. Working conditions - the extent to which the physical work
environment is comfortable and supportive of productivity
7. 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. People who are really
“involved” in their jobs view work as a central part of their overall lives.

Categories of Organizational Commitment

1. Affective commitment refers to the employee’s emotional

attachment to the organization and belief in its values. For example, an
employee may be affectively committed to his company because of its
employment policy of hiring people regardless of their educational
attainment.
2. Continuance commitment refers to the employee’s tendency to
remain in an organization because he cannot afford to leave. In fact,
many employees continue to be committed to the firm because they
 feel they could not get better employment elsewhere. The reasons why
employees choose to continue employment with the firm may be
classified as either (1) economic or (2) non-economic. Economic
factors refer to salary, allowances, and retirement pension. Non-
economic benefits include participation in decision making, job
security, and certain job characteristics such as autonomy,
responsibility, and interesting work.
3. Normative commitment refers to an obligation to remain with the
company for moral or ethical reason. For example, an employee
working in a zoo may remain with his employer because he feels most
of the animals under his care would respond only to him and it would
be hard to find a suitable replacement for him. He thinks that the
existence of the zoo would be in jeopardy if he leaves.
Reference/s:
Human Behavior in Organization by: Roberto G. Medina, Ph.D
 Module 5
Motivation

Learning Objectives:
 Explain the role of human drives and emotions in employee motivation
 Summarize Maslow’s needs, McClelland’s learned theory and discuss the
implications for motivating employees.

What is Motivation?
Motivation may be defined as the process of activating behavior, sustaining
it, and directing it toward a particular goal. Motivation moves people to act
and accomplish.

In the workplace, motivation may be ore specifically defined as the set of

internal and external forces that cause a worker or employee to choose a
course of action and engage in a certain behavior.

Key Elements of Motivation

1. Intensity refers to the level of effort provided by the employee in the
attempt to achieve the goal assigned to him. In simple terms, intensity
refers to how hard a person tries to do work.

2. Direction relates to what an individual chooses to do when he is

confronted with a number of possible choices. When a field salesman,
for instance, decided to visit a friend instead of a prospect, he is
moving away from the direction his company wants him to take.

3. Persistence is a dimension of motivation which measures how long a

person can maintain effort to achieve the organization’s goals. A
person who scores low in persistence gives up prematurely. An
example related to what action a salesperson will do when confronted
by a prospect who thinks slowly and do not make hasty decisions.
Persistence could be the answer, but the salesperson could decide
otherwise.

Theories of Motivation

The Hierarchy of Needs Theory

Abraham Maslow forwarded the idea that human beings possess a hierarchy
of five needs such that as each need is substantially satisfied, the next
becomes dominant.
A brief description of the needs is provided as follows:

1. Physiological needs – which include hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, and

other bodily needs.
2. Safety Needs – which include security and protection from physical and
emotional harm.
3. Social needs – which include affection, belongingness, acceptance, and
friendship.
4. Esteem needs – which include internal esteem factors such as self-
respect, autonomy, and achievement, and external esteem factors
such as status, recognition, and attention.
5. Self-actualization – refers to the drive to become what one is capable
of becoming, which includes growth, achieving one’s potential, and
self-fulfillment.

The ERG Theory

The ERG theory is a need hierarchy theory of motivation that was developed
by Clayton Alderfer. He believed that in motivating people, we are confronted
by three sets of needs: existence (E), relatedness (R), and growth (G) .these
sets of needs may be briefly described as follows:

1. Existence – this refers to needs satisfied by such factors as food, air,

water, pay, and working conditions
2. Relatedness – this refers to the needs satisfied by meaningful social
and interpersonal relationships
3. Growth – this refers to the needs satisfied by an individual making
creative or productive contributions.

Acquired Needs Theory

Acquired needs theory was developed as a result of a research made by
David McClelland and his associates. They found out that managers are
motivated by three fundamental needs which may be briefly described as
follows:

1. Need for achievement – this refers to the desire to do something

better or more efficiently, to solve problems, or to master complex
tasks.
2. Need for affiliation – which refers to the desire to establish and
maintain friendly and warm relations with others
3. Need for power – which refers to the desire to control others to
influence their behavior, or to be responsible for others.

McClelland believed that the foregoing needs are acquired over time as a
result of life experiences. His research findings consists of the following:

1. People who have high achievement needs have the drive to advance
and to overcome challenging situations such as those faced by
entrepreneurs in introducing innovative new business.
2. An affiliation motivated person prefers to work with friends.
3. The need for power drives successful managers.

Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory

Frederick Herzberg’s two-factor theory also known as intrinsic/extrinsic motivation,
was based on interviews with 200 engineers and accountants.

Herzberg distinguished between:

- Motivators (challenging work, recognition, responsibility) which give positive
satisfaction
- Hygiene factors (status, job security, salary and fringe benefits) that do not
motivate if present, but if absent, result in demotivation. It is referred to as
hygiene, the presence will not make you healthier, but absence can cause health
deterioration.
EXPECTANCY THEORY
This theory was developed by Victor Vroom, a psychologist and professor of
organization and management at Yale University. It predicts that employees in an
organization will be motivated when they believe that:
 Putting in more effort will yield better job performance
 Better job performance will lead to an organizational rewards, such as an
increase in salary or benefits; and
 These predicted organizational rewards are valued by the employees in
question.

The theory suggests three variables within the expectancy theory:

1. Expectancy probability – based on the perceived effort-performance
relationship. It is the expectancy that one’s effort will lead to the desired
performance and is based on past experience, self-confidence, and the
perceived difficulty of the performance goal. Example: if I work harder than
everyone else in the plant will I produce more?
2. Instrumentality probability – based on the perceived performance-reward
relationship. The instrumentality is the belief that if one does meet
performance expectations, he or she will receive greater reward. Ex: if I
produce more than anyone else in this plant will I get a bigger raise or a
faster promotion?
3. Valence – refers to the value the individual personally places on the rewards.
This is a function of his needs, goals, and values. Ex: do I want a bigger raise?
Is it worth the extra effort? Do I want a promotion?

Reference/s:
Human Behavior in Organization by: Roberto G. Medina, Ph.D
https://www.knowledgehut.com/tutorials/project-management/motivation-theories
 Module 6
Communication
Learning Objectives:
 Understand why communication is important in organization and discuss
the influences on effective communicating communication encoding and
decoding.
 Describe grapevine communication its advantages and disadvantages

Communication is a requirement for survival and growth not only of people

but also organizations. In the past, nations rose and fell depending on their
ability to communicate effectively. History is replete with stories of
individuals who became successful because of their effective management of
communication.

What is Communication?
Communication may be defined as the transfer of information including
feelings, and ideas, from one person to another. The goal of communication
is to have the receiver understand the message as it was intended. The
transfer process, however, is affected by a number of factors that either help
or hinder the message.

The Importance of Communication

Without communication, organizations cannot exist. It is through
communication that the individual members of the organization will know
important concerns such as:

1. What their organizations is

2. What objectives their organization wants to achieve
3. What their roles are in achieving the organization’s objectives
4. How they will achieve those objectives
5. Who the individual members of the organization are

The Communication Process

Communication is a two-way process in which a sender reaches a receiver
with a message. There is a need for people in organizations to have
knowledge of the communication process, and it is the first step to make it
effective. There are six components of an effective communication. They are
the following:

1. The Sender – a communication source or sender is a person who

makes the attempt to send a message which could be spoken, written,
in sign language, or nonverbal to another person or a group of persons.
The degree of attention the message will receive will depend on the
perceived authority and experience of a sender.
 2. The Message – the message is a purpose or an idea to be conveyed
in a communication event. The message is the actual physical product
as a result of encoding. Thus, when speaking, the speech is the
message; when writing, the written document is the message; when
making gestures, the movements of the arms and the expressions on
faces are the message.

How the message is received is influenced by the following factors:

a. Clarity of the message
b. Alertness of the receiver
c. Complexity and length of the message
d. How the information is organized

A message written or spoken in a language nobody understands will

not pass the criteria for clarity. Of course, the message will not be
received properly.

The message has two components:

 The thought or conceptual component of the message –
this is contained in the words, ideas, symbols, and concepts
chosen to relay the message
 The feeling or emotional component of the message – this
is contained in the intensity, force, demeanor, and sometimes
the gesture of the communicator or sender. This second
component enriches and clarifies the message and its effect is to
give the message its full meaning.

3. The Channel – is the medium through which the message travels. It

consists of various types which are follows:
 Face-to-face
 Telephone and cell phones
 E-mail
 Written memos and letters
 Posted notices
 Bulletins

Communication channels may be classified also as (1) formal and (2)

informal. The communication of policies, procedures, and other official
announcements properly belong to the formal channel because it is the
one recognized as authoritative. Informal channels do not follow the chain of
command. Because this is so, people can get in contact with each other
at a faster pace.

The grapevine is a type of informal channel that transfer information

through networks of friendships and acquaintances. Grapevines have
the advantage of being able to transmit information quickly and
efficiently. The disadvantage is that it can transmit incorrect or untimely
information.

4. The Receiver – the person receiving a message is the receiver. He

must interpret and understand the message. In doing so, however, he
will be influenced by factors like his age, gender, beliefs, past
experiences, cultural influences, and his individual needs.
5. The Feedback – refers to the process of communicating how one feels
about something another person has done or said. It is difficult to know
whether the message was received and understood without feedback.
A feedback provides a clue to the sender of information whether the
message he sent was received as intended.
6. The Environment – refers to the circumstances in which messages
are transmitted and received. In an environment of trust and
confidence, messages are easily transmitted even if these messages
are controversial. The advantage of this type of environment is that
management is provided with the opportunity to address a problem
before it develops into a full-blown concern.
7. The Noise – refers to anything that disrupts communication, including
the attitude and emotions of the receiver. Noise includes loud music,
the feeling about a sick relative, children playing in the background,
and many others.

Basic Methods of Interpersonal Communication

People in organizations transfer meaning between and among each other
using any or all of the three basic methods which consist of the following:

1. Verbal communication – is a major means of sending messages. It

includes one-on-one meetings, speeches, grapevine, telephone,
departmental or interdepartmental meetings, presentation, and the
like.

Verbal communication is the appropriate method if the sender:

 Wants to appear informal
 Wants to invite suggestions and ideas which are more likely to
spark off a discussion
 Is explaining something complex and people might need to ask
for clarification as he goes along
 Has important news to impact, such as retrenchment
 Needs to be very diplomatic and feels he will be more effective
face-to-face than in writing
 Has something highly confidential to say and putting it in writing
is risky
 Verbal communication is not appropriate when the sender:

 Wants to maintain formality or distance from the other person or

a group of people
 Wants a permanent record of what has been said
 Needs a receiver’s comments to be in writing for legal reasons
 Ants to avoid further discussion of the subject by signaling that
the matter is closed
2. Written Communication – include memos, notice-boards, and letters
to staff, emails, faxes, internal newspaper, and instant messaging.

The advantages of written communication are the following:

 It is formal and authoritative
 It provides a permanent record of what have been said
 It provides a document useful for legal purposes
 A number of people will receive exactly the same information
 It is useful in communicating something complicated
 It is sometimes quicker
 It avoids a lengthy discussion
 Words can be chosen carefully

Written communication is not appropriate when:

 The receiver needs to ask question or seek clarification
 More discussion is needed before facts are established
 A friendly and informal atmosphere is needed
 The message is very important
 The message is confidential
 The information may be upsetting to the receiver

3. Nonverbal Communication – communication that takes place

through facial expressions, body movements, eye contact, and other
physical gesture is referred to as nonverbal communication. This type
of communication reveals what the sender really mean or thinking.
Commonly Accepted Interpretations of Various Forms of Body
Language
Facial Expressions
 Frown - Displeasure, unhappiness
 Smile - Friendliness, happiness
 Raised eyebrows - Disbelief, amazement
 Narrowed eyes, pursed lips - Anger
Eye Contact
 Glancing - Interest
 Steady - Active listening, interest,
 seduction
Gesture
 Pointing finger - Authority, displeasure,
 Folded arms lecturing
- Not open to change, preparing
 Arms at side to speak
 Hand uplifted outward - Open to suggestions, relaxed
- Disbelief, puzzlement,
uncertainty
Body Postures
 Fidgeting, doodling - Boredom
 Hands on hips - Anger, defensiveness
 Shrugging shoulders - Indifference
 Squared stance of shoulders - Problem solving, concerned,
 Biting lips, shifting, jingling listening
money - Nervousness

Barriers to Communication
There are times when the receiver is not able to properly receive or
understand the message as intended by the sender. This is due to a
variety of barriers that may impede the communication effort. These
barriers consist of the following:

1. Filtering – refers to the manipulation of information so that is will be

seen more favorably by the receiver. Telling what the boss wants to
hear is filtering.
2. Selective Perception – receivers selectively see and hear messages
based on their needs, motivations, experience, background, and other
personal characteristics. For instance, a person who has limited
exposure to recruitment will find it difficult to actively listen to a lecture
on current hiring practices.
3. Information Overload – refers to the condition in which information
inflow exceeds an individual’s processing capacity. When this happens,
the person is no longer able to understand clearly whatever
information is sent to him.
4. Emotions – the receiver’s feelings affect his ability to understand any
message sent to him. He cannot receive a message as clearly as when
he is not angry, excited, or afraid. For instance, when a person is
stricken with grief, it cannot be expected that he will be able to absorb
the details of a project presented to him.
5. Language – words do not always mean the same thing to different
people. This poses a barrier to communication. Although the words
“lavatory:, “john”, nad “restroom” mean the same, the word comfort
room or CR is the one more readily understood by many Filipinos.
 6. Communication Apprehension – refers to the undue tension and
anxiety about oral communication, written communication, or both,
there are people who find it extremely difficult to talk with others face-
to-face or even carry a telephone conversation.
7. Absence of Feedback – feedback in an essential component of
effective communication, when feedback is received by the sender, he
can make some clarification if he thinks the receiver did not clearly
understand what the sender means. The absence of feedback does not
provide the sender the opportunity to correct misimpressions about the
message sent. Also, without feedback, the sender will not know if the
message was received at all.
8. Physical Separation – refers to interferences to effective
communication occurring in the environment where the
communication is undertaken. These are actually physical barriers
which include the following:
 Distances between people
 Walls
 An office that is not conducive to communication
 An intimidating person posted near the door
 Wrong timing

9. Lack of Credibility of the Sender –depending on the credibility of

the sender, messages can get through the channel to the receiver. If
the sender has low credibility, the message, even if it gets through, will
likely be ignored. This is a type of barrier that should be overcome by
leaders of organizations.

Reference/s:
Human Behavior in Organization by: Roberto G. Medina, Ph.D
https://www.iedunote.com/grapevine