Management And Organizational Behavior

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Management and Organizational Behavior

Topic: Attitudes and job satisfaction

Executive summary

Attitudes are defined as evaluative statements which people give with regard to objects,

people, or events. Job satisfaction is an indication of the level to which he psychological,

physical, and social needs of workers have been satisfied. Once employees are satisfied, they feel

motivated and committed to the success of the organization. Motivation is the willingness with

kind of excitement that drives a person to reach greater heights no matter the circumstances they

are in. Some of the factors which have found to cause job satisfaction include received salaries,

benefits, recognition, promotion, coworkers and management support, working conditions, type

of work, job security, leadership style of managers, and demographic characteristics.

Scholars have put forward theories to explain how job satisfaction enhance motivation

and increase productivity of employees. They include Hierarchy of need by Abraham Maslow

which classifies needs into five categories: psychological needs, safety, love or sense of

belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization. Once needs in a lower level are satisfied, an

individual will only be motivated by satisfaction of needs in the next higher level. Motivation-

Hygiene theory states that factors in the workplace result to either satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

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It is paramount for managers to understand what employees want in order satisfy them and

motivate employees.

Introduction

Employees are the most valuable asset in any organization. In the twenty-first century,

companies are searching and evaluating how the needs of their employees can be met so that

workers can feel satisfied, and in return, they are motivated to work towards achieving the

organizational goals. In the recent past the roles of managers have evolved to accommodate the

contribution of employees and engage them in the decision making process (Celik, 2013, p.462).

. Researchers perceive attitudes of employees and job satisfaction to be some of the most

important factors in management of organizations. Extensive studies have been conducted with

regard to job satisfaction and attitudes. It has been found that, individual and organizational

factors depending upon workplace environment are some of the elements that affect job

satisfaction. Other scholars have concluded that job satisfaction is shaped by the administrative

activities (Celik, 2013, p.463).

The purpose of this paper is to determine how attitudes and job satisfaction affect the

performance of the organizations. Attitudes are defined as evaluative statements which people

give with regard to objects, people, or events. Attitudes are a reflection of how a person feels

about something and attitudes can either be positive or negative. Positive attitudes results on job

satisfaction on part of employees and improvement in organizational performance. Therefore,

job satisfaction is dependent of employee’s attitude. According to Saari and Judge (2004, p.

396), “. . . a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or

job experiences.” Job satisfaction is an indication of the level to which he psychological,

physical, and social needs of workers have been satisfied. Job dissatisfaction shows that there is

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some level of disorder in the functionality of the organization and it can lead to increased

absenteeism, low productivity, high employee turnover, and employees failing to obey the

company’s policies (Celik, 2013, p.463).

Analysis

Under the principles of organizational behavior, it is stated that the behavior of persons

and teams affect how the company performs as a whole. At workplace good attitude is measured

by the level of job satisfaction and commitment to organizational goals. The attitude of managers

and other employees affect motivation, performance, and productivity of an individual

(McQuerrey, 2017, p.2). Motivation is the willingness with kind of excitement that drives a

person to reach greater heights no matter the circumstances they are in. Motivation can come

from internal or external sources. If managers are aware of what drives their workforce, then

they can tailor job assignments and rewards to motivate employees. There are many motivational

theories, but the major ones are Hierarchy of needs, carrot and stick, and motivation-hygiene

theory. Hierarchy of needs was put forward by Abraham Maslow. He categorized human needs

into five classes: psychological needs, safety, love or sense of belonging, self-esteem, and self-

actualization. Once a need in the lower level is satisfied, they seek to achieve needs in the next

level (Hong, Hamid and Salleh, 2013). Employers need to understand need level of each

employee to know what will motivate them. Carrot and stick breaks motivation into two

elements; fear, and incentives. While some employees act out of fear, others act of desire to be

praised or to earn status. Motivation-Hygiene theory states that factors in the workplace result to

either satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Factors that lead to satisfaction include achievement,

advancement, and recognition.

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Job satisfaction is positively correlated to styles adopted by mangers. If the managers

appreciate efforts of employees, listen to their inputs, and respect them, then employees will be

productive and organization goals will be achieved and vice versa. Employee job satisfaction is

correlated with received salaries, benefits, recognition, promotion, coworkers and management

support, working conditions, type of work, job security, leadership style of managers, and

demographic characteristics such as gender, marital status, educational level, age, work tenure,

and number of children (Kian, Yusoff and Rajah, 2014, p.100).

It is imperative for managers to ensure employees are satisfied and they have positive

attitude. This because customers perceive employees’ attitude to be representative of the how the

company is operated. An employee who talks to customers nicely and attends to their needs

satisfactorily creates a positive image of the company and the customers will come back for

more services and even refer their families and friends to the company. This will lead to

increased customer base and increased profitability in the long-run. On the other hand,

employees who have bad or uncaring attitude will create a negative image of the company in the

minds of customers and drive them away. Additionally, in the recent years, employee turnover

has gone up in most companies. Employees leave an organization if they dissatisfied or they are

being offered better employment package elsewhere. Hiring and training new employees is very

expensive, and managers should be committed towards retaining their employees by ensuring

they are satisfied (Masum, Azad and Beh, 2015, p.9).

Moreover, as globalization continues to take place, businesses are becoming more

competitive in terms of producing superior products and services at a competitive price. To

compete in the global arena, a company must have a creative and innovative workforce that

adapts to the changing nature of markets and innovates products and services that satisfy the

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emerging needs of customers. Workers cannot be creative and innovative in a company where

they are not satisfied. Therefore, it is important for employers to ensure employees’ satisfaction

and conducive working environment to enhance competitiveness of the business.

In the two-factor theory, Herzberg emphasized that satisfaction and dissatisfaction are

caused by different factors. While job satisfaction is attributed to motivational factors and job

dissatisfaction is contributed to by hygiene factors which include aspects of working

environment such as working conditions, interpersonal matters, and company’s policies.

Although there are many motivational factors, Herzberg identified the five strongest factors;

Achievement. Managers ought to help and place employees in areas which they are most

qualified in because putting them in positions which they are not talented in would be setting

them up for failure. To help workers succeed in their careers, the management should set clear,

challenging, and achievable goals and provide them with regular feedback on how they are

performing in their duties.

Recognition. It refers to honor an employee is given for doing great work. Persons want

to be recognized for job well done so that they can feel motivated to work harder. They should

be recognized immediately even if the milestone made may seem small. Recognition may be in

form of monetary rewards, promotion, and a note of praise among others. Although employee

reward programs were not give much importance some years back, they are becoming more

strategic as they align with business objectives and desired behavior. Employee rewards are

items given to individuals or teams for their outstanding performance or achieving predetermined

goals (Bartlomiejczuk, 2015).

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Responsibility. Responsibility is being held accountable for certain actions. Employees

feel that they are a part of the organization when they are given some authority and freedom to

exercise that authority. As employees continue to gain experience, they can be provided

opportunity for added responsibility by tasking them with more challenging and meaningful

duties (Kian, Yusoff and Rajah, 2014, p.94).

Opportunity for advancement or promotion. When there are vacant positions in higher

ranks, existing employees should be given the first priority before advertising it to potential

employees outside the company. Every employee desire to grow in their careers. If the company

does not grant them that opportunity then they will seek it in other companies (Kian, Yusoff and

Rajah, 2014, p.94).

Work itself. Employees should be made to feel that their duties matter to the organization

and their contribution is highly appreciated. Success stories of how employees have worked hard

to make a positive difference in the organization should be shared (Hebb, 2012, p.45)

Affective Event Theory was put forward by Psychologist Howard Weiss and Russell

Cropanzano to explain how emotions and moods influence job satisfaction. According to the two

scholars, employees are affected by emotions and their mental states as well as events that occur

within the work environment. Job satisfaction is directly linked to individual’s expectations and

standards of comparison in terms of which current circumstances are being evaluated (Hebb,

2012, p.50).

Some of needs experienced by workers indicate energy and dynamism while they are at

work, for example, the need to achieve and have power, capability of being productive when

working under pressure and extent to which they are motivated by the competitive environment.

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Research has indicated that, the level to which persons are challenged by the tasks they handle

and ability stretched affects job satisfaction directly (Kian, Yusoff and Rajah, 2014, 97). For

employees who feel that they are not being productive in their current job, it is important for

them to ask their managers to allocate them task in their areas of expertise and where they feel

comfortable. This will enhance their job satisfaction and hence be productive in the organization.

Also, employees should be aware of their how attitudes and job satisfaction affect their

motivation. Bad attitude towards the organization or the customers will cause stagnation of in an

individual’s career life or being fired because such a person is not adding any value to the

organization. People interact at all levels of organizations and with other stakeholders who are

not working for the organization. For this reason, human resource managers evaluate the

interpersonal skills of employees (McQuerrey, 2017, p.3). Thus, it is important for employees to

learn the advantages of having good attitude towards colleagues, organization, and other

stakeholders. Moreover, employees work as a team and share ideas on best strategies which can

be implemented to achieve the preset goals.

Empirical studies have indicated that there is a linear relationship between age and job

satisfaction. It has been reported that older workers are generally more satisfied with their jobs

compared to young people. This findings cut across companies in all sectors, among white and

blue-collar jobs, and genders. This is so because older people have already established careers in

their areas of interest and most occupy highly ranked positions in organizations, since they have

extensive experience. On the other hand, young people are allocated entry level jobs and their

powers in the organization are minimal (Mosadeghrad and Ferdosi, 2013. P.121). Also, they

have not determined which sector or area they want to establish their career in. With the influx of

Generation Y workforce, organizations have had the challenge of dealing with its diversity,

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while still managing critical globalization issues. Generation Y is perceived as individuals who

are never satisfied with something, hence the tendency to switch from one job to another

(Njemanze, 2016, p.2)

According to a study by Naseem and Salman (2015), workers who earn a high pay are

more satisfied with their jobs, compared to their colleagues who earn a low pay. Pay has a major

impact on level of job satisfaction and motivation. Thus to motivate employees, managers should

ensure that each one of them is well-remunerated for the work that they do (Naseem and Salman,

2015, p.3).

Conclusion

After evaluating the impact of attitude and job satisfaction on performance of the

organization, it is evident that mangers should ensure every employee is satisfied. Job

satisfaction increases productivity of individual, and when employees needs of employees are

satisfied, they work towards achieving organizational goals. Workers are at different stages in

life, and therefore, their needs vary. Most scholars advocate for Abraham Maslow’s theory;

Hierachy of needs because it is all inclusive. Employees should understand the impact of their

attitude on performance of the company, so that they can work towards improving their

relationships with clients, colleagues, and other stakeholders

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References

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Hebb, D. (2012). The organization of behavior. New York [u.a.]: Routledge.

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