Emotions, Attitudes, Values, Abilities

8/3/2019 Emotions, Attitudes, Values, Abilities

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Emotions, Attitudes, Values, Abilities


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Emotions

A critical factor in an employees behaviour

Myth of rationality: orgns designed with the objective of trying tocontrol emotions

Another myth: emotions of any kind are disruptive Employees bring an emotional component with them to work every

day.

Emotions are intense feelings that are directed at someone orsomething.Moods are feelings that tend to be less than emotions andthat lack a contextual stimulus.

Emotions are reactions to an object, not a trait; they are object specific

Emotional labour creates dilemmas for employees when their jobsrequire them to exhibit emotions that are not in line to their actualfeelings


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Emotions

Anger and jealousy, both potent emotions, often push aside logic andrationality in the work place.

Managers use fear and other emotions to both motivate and intimidate.

Emotions: A complex, patterned, organismic reaction to how we thinkwe are doing in our life long efforts to survive and flourish and toachieve what we wish for ourselves.

Emotions involve the whole personbiological, psychological andsocial.

Anger: most likely to be downright dangerous.

- Unchecked anger could be a key contributor to orgn motivatedaggression. Also a contributor to workplace violence.

- If anger can be managed through learned self-control, then allemotions can be managed


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Emotions

Two types of emotions:

- Felt emotions are an individuals actual emotions

- Displayed emotions are those that are organizationally required and

considered appropriate in a given jobWomen are more emotional

We can understand another persons felt emotions by focusing on verbal,

non-verbal and paralinguistic cues.

Facial expressions are a window to a persons feelings.


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Attitude

There are so many things in life you have little control over, such as

the weather, the job market, your children, the economy. But there is

one aspect of your life that you do have the power to control, and

thats your attitude. Each and every moment of every day you decide what your attitude

will be --- about yourself, your job, your family and friends, change,

responsibilities, etc.

Attitude is more important than the past, than education, than money.

than circumstances, than what other people think or say or do. It ismore important than appearances, giftedness,or skill. It will make or

break a company, a church or a home.

-- Charles Swindoll


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Attitude

An attitude is defined as a learned predisposition to respond in a

consistently favourable or unfavourable manner with respect to a given

object.

While Values represent global beliefs that influence behaviour, acrossall situations, attitudes relate only to behaviour directed towards

specific objects, persons or situations.

Values and attitudes generally, but not always, are in harmony.

Study: Job attitudes of middle aged male employees stable over a time

frame of 5 yearseven those who changed jobs / occupation. Attitudes are translated into behaviour through behavioural intentions.

An individuals intentions to engage in a given behaviour is the best

predictor of that behaviour.


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Attitudes

Job related attitudes tap +ve orve evaluations that employees hold aboutaspects of their work environments. 3 major attitudes:

1. Job Satisfaction: an individuals general attitude towards his/her job.A person with a high level of job satisfaction holds +ve attitudestoward the job.

2. Job Involvement: measures degree to which a person identifiespsychologically with his/her job & considers his/her perceived perflevel important to self worth. People with high job involvementstrongly identifies with and really care about the kind of work they

do.3. Organization commitment: A state in which an employee identifies

with a particular orgn and its goals and wishes to maintainmembership in the orgn.


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Job Satisfaction

A persons job is more than the obvious activities of shuffling papers,waiting on customers, or driving a truck. Jobs require interaction withco-workers & bosses, following orgn rules and policies, meeting perfstandards, living with working conditions which often are less than

ideal, etc. Happy workers are not necessarily productive workers. However,

productive workers are normally happy workers.

Orgns with more satisfied workers tend to be more effective than withless satisfied workers.

Generally dissatisfied workers absent themselves more. Liberal sickbenefits also contribute. Also if you have interesting side activities.

Satisfaction is negatively related to turnover. Other factors include thelabour market, expectations about other job opportunities, etc.


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Expressing dissatisfaction

Active

Passive

Destructive Constructive

EXIT VOICE

NEGLECT LOYALTY

Employee dissatisfaction can be express in a no of ways. Rather than quit,

Employees can complain, insubordinate, steal orgn property, etc.


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Values

They represent basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct orend state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an oppositeor converse mode of conduct or end state of existence.

All of us have a hierarchy of values that forms our value system. Thissystem is identified by the relative importance we assign to such valuesas freedom, pleasure, self-respect, honesty, obedience and equality.

Values tends to be relatively stable and enduring.

A significant portion of our values is established in our early years

The process of questioning our values may result in a change.Values

are important in OB because they lay the foundation for theunderstanding of attitudes and motivation and because they influenceour perceptions

Values can cloud objectivity and rationality.


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Values across cultures

Managers must become capable of working with people across

different cultures.

Because values differ across cultures, an understanding of these

differences should be helpful in explaining and predicting behaviourof employees from different countries.

Geert Hofstede surveyed 1,16,000 IBM employees in 40 countries

in their work related valuesfound managers and employees vary

on 5 value dimensions of national culture.

1. Power Distance: The degree to which people in a country acceptthat power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally/

relatively equal (low power distance) to extremely unequal (high

power distance)


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Values across cultures

2. Individualism vs Collectivism: Degree to which people in a countryprefer to act as individuals rather than as members of a group.

3. Quantity of life vs Quality of life:

Quantity: degree to which values such as assertiveness, theacquisition of money and material goods and competition prevails.

Quality: The degree with which we value relationships, showsensitivity and concern for the welfare of others.

4. Uncertainty avoidance: Degree to which people in a country, preferstructured or unstructured situations.; Risk taking.

5. Long term and short term orientation:

Long: look to future and value thrift and persistence

Short: Values past and present; emphasis respect for traditions andfulfilling social obligations.


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Abilities

An ability is a broad and stable characteristic which is responsible for a

persons maximum rather than typical performance in mental &

physical tasks

An ability is the capacity to perform a physical or mental task Intelligence is regarded as a cognitive ability

Wechsler: The aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act

purposefully, to think rationally and to deal effectively with his/her

environment the general ability to perform cognitive tasks

Sternbers: Cognitive ability of an individual to learn from experience,to reason well, to remember important information and to cope with

the demands of daily living.


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Intelligence

Intelligence is affected by the environment, and more specifically

schooling, socio-economic status, healthy nutrition, and the

technological complex society.

Intelligence comprises 3 interrelated abilities:a) Analytical ability solves familiar problems by using strategies that manipulate

the elements of the problem or the relationship among the elements

(comparisons, analysis)

b) Creative ability solves new kinds of problems that require thinking about the

problem and its elements in a new way (inventing, designing)

c) Practical ability solves problems that apply what individuals know to everyday

contexts (applying and using)


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Intelligence

Intelligence is considered as a set of skills which consists of

behaviours that are modifiable: 3 abilities distinguished:

a) Practical problem solving: good & logical reasoning; identifying connections

among ideas; seeing all aspects of a problem; keeping an open mind andresponding thoughtfully to others ideas; sizing up a situation well.

b) Verbal ability: Speaking clearly and articulating well; studying well; reading

widely with high comprehension; writing without difficulty; setting aside time

for reading and displaying good vocabulary

c) Social competence: includes behaviour such as accepting others for what they

are; admitting mistakes; displaying interest in the world at large; being on timefor appointments; thinking before speaking and doing; making judgments &

assessing well the relevance of information to the problem at hand

Emotions, Attitudes, Values, Abilities

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