Unit-III

Attitudes: Nature & Components

Attitude Formation
MBA 1st Semester; Course code: MBA18101CR
Prof.Shabir Ahmad

Deptt.of Management Studies

University of Kashmir
2020
 Attitudes: Highlights
 Attitude refers to beliefs, feelings, and behavioral tendencies of
people towards objects, people and ideas.
 Attitude is an important variable in individual behavior.
 ABC model seeks to better explain the nature of attitude. It
comprises of three components: cognition, affection and behavior.
 The affective component reflects feelings and emotions an individual
has towards a situation.
 The cognitive component derives from knowledge an individual has
about a situation. Cognition is subject to individual perceptions.
 Finally, the intentional component of an attitude reflects how an
individual expects to behave towards a situation.
 Positive attitude assures benefits to the organization such as
increases productivity, reduced stress, better quality and improved
loyalty.
 Job satisfaction is one type of attitude. It refers to the general
attitude of employees towards their jobs.
 Organizational commitment is another work related attitude.
Attitudes: are a person’s complexes of beliefs and
feelings about specific ideas, situations, or other people.

Attitudes Cognitive Component

The opinion or belief segment
Evaluative of an attitude
statements or
judgments Affective Component
concerning
objects, people, The emotional or feeling segment
or events of an attitude

Behavioral Component
An intention to behave in a certain
way toward someone or something
 Note:
 People try to maintain consistency
among the three components of their
attitudes as well as among all their
attitudes. However, circumstances
sometimes arise that lead to conflicts.
The conflict individuals experience
among their own attitudes is called
cognitive dissonance.
The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance:
Cognitive Dissonance:
Is the anxiety a person experiences when he or she simultaneously
possesses two sets of knowledge or perceptions that are contradictory
or incongruent. In other words the conflict individuals experience
among their own attitudes is called cognitive dissonance. Individuals
seek to reduce this gap, or “dissonance”. The organizational
implication is that it can help to predict the propensity to engage in
both attitudinal and behavioral change. The greater the dissonance
after it has been moderated by importance, choice, and reward
factors, the greater the pressure to reduce it.

Desire to reduce dissonance depends on:

• Importance of elements creating dissonance
• Degree of individual influence over elements
• Rewards involved in dissonance
Types of Attitudes
Job Satisfaction or dissatisfaction
is the extent to which a person is gratified or fulfilled
by his or her work
Job Involvement
Identifying with the job, actively participating in it, and
considering performance important to self-worth

Organizational Commitment
is person’s identification with and attachment to the
organization.
(Affective, Normative, and Continuance Commitment)
Types of Attitudes, cont’d

Perceived Organizational Support (POS)

Degree to which employees feel the organization cares
about their well-being

Employee Engagement
An individual’s involvement with, satisfaction with, and
enthusiasm for the organization
The Effect of Job Satisfaction on Employee
Performance
 Satisfaction and Productivity
– Satisfied workers are more productive AND more
productive workers are more satisfied!
– Worker productivity is higher in organizations with
more satisfied workers.
 Satisfaction and Absenteeism
– Satisfied employees have fewer avoidable absences.
 Satisfaction and Turnover
– Satisfied employees are less likely to quit.
– Organizations take actions to retain high performers
and to weed out lower performers.
Job Satisfaction contd
 Satisfaction
– Satisfied employees who feel fairly treated by and are
trusting of the organization are more willing to engage in
behaviors that go beyond the normal expectations of their
job.
– Affect and Mood in organizations
– People who possess positive affectivity are upbeat and
optimistic, have an overall sense of well -being, and see
things in a positive way.

– People characterized by negative affectivity are generally

downbeat and pessimistic, see things in a negative way.
 Review and Discussion Questions:

 What do you understand by attitude? What are their functions?

 Do you think it is possible to change attitudes? If yes, what are the
ways?
 What are the components of individual’s attitude?
 Define and discuss the theory of cognitive dissonance.
 Describe the ABC model of attitude. How should each component
be measured.
 Define job satisfaction. What are the major causes of job
dissatisfaction?
 Discuss how an understanding of attitudes is useful for the study of
organizational behavior.
 References and further readings:

 “Organizational Behavior,” Nelson Quick

 “Organizational Behavior,” K.Aswathappa
 “ Organizational Behavior.” Stephen Robbins
 “Fundamentals of OB,” Griffin
 “ Human Behavior at Work,” Keith Davis
 “ Management and OB,” Mullins
 “ Behavior in Organizations.” Greenberg and
Baron.
 “ Organizational behavior,” Robbins and Judge
In case of any question, Please feel free
to call me on 7006131342 or mail at
shabir@kashmiruniversity.ac.in