Attitudes and Job Satisfaction

Attitudes and Job Satisfaction Multiple Choice 1) Which of the following answer choices is the best definition of attitude? A) Attitudes indicate how one will react to a given event. B) Attitudes are the yardstick by which one measures one’s actions. C) Attitudes are the emotional part of an evaluation of a person, object, or event. D) Attitudes are evaluative statements about objects, people, or events. E) Attitudes are a measure of how the worth of an object, person or event is evaluated. Answer: D Explanation: D) Attitudes are evaluative statements, either favourable or unfavourable, about objects, people, or events. They reflect how we feel about something. 2) The emotional or feeling component of a person’s attitude is called ________. A) complex understanding B) the cognitive component C) the affective component D) a complex attitude E) the behaviour component Answer: C Explanation: C) Typically, researchers have believed that attitudes have three components: cognition, affect, and behaviour. The statement “My pay is low” is the cognitive component of an attitude—a description of or belief in the way things are. It sets the stage for the more critical part of an attitude—its affective component. Affect is the emotional or feeling segment of an attitude and is reflected in the statement “I am angry over how little I’m paid.” Finally, affect is often an immediate precursor to behaviour. The behavioural component of an attitude describes an intention to behave in a certain way toward someone or something—to continue the example, “I’m going to look for another job that pays better.” 3) The belief that “violence is wrong” is an evaluative statement. Such an opinion constitutes the ________ component of an attitude. A) cognitive B) affective C) reflective D) behavioural E) reactive Answer: A Explanation: A) The cognitive component of an attitude is a description of, or belief in the way things are, which is exemplified in the statement “violence is wrong.” 4) Which of the following is an example of an affective attitude? A) believing that you did a good job B) the observation that most dogs have four legs C) the opinion that it is never acceptable to steal D) anger at being unfairly accused of a wrongdoing E) the avoidance of a restaurant where one once received bad service Answer: D Explanation: D) Affective attitudes reveal emotion, such as anger. Belief and opinions are examples of cognitive or evaluative attitudes. Observation and avoidance are behaviours and are facets of behavioural attitudes. 5) The theory of cognitive dissonance was proposed by ________. A) Maslow B) Festinger C) Hofstede D) Skinner E) Pavlov Answer: B Explanation: B) In the 1960s, Leon Festinger argued that attitudes follow behaviour. Festinger argued that any form of inconsistency is uncomfortable and that individuals will therefore attempt to reduce it. They will seek a stable state, which is a minimum of dissonance. Maslow, Hofstede, Skinner, and Pavlov all made other contributions to OB. 6) “Dissonance” means ________. A) reactance B) constancy C) resistance D) consistency E) inconsistency Answer: E Explanation: E) Cognitive dissonance is defined as any incompatibility, or inconsistency, an individual might perceive between two or more attitudes or between behaviour and attitudes. Reactance is an emotional reaction to pressure. Constancy and consistency are to continue and not interrupt. Resistance is to avoid. 7) Any incompatibility between two or more attitudes or between behaviour and attitudes results in ________. A) organizational dissonance B) cognitive dissonance C) attitudinal clarification D) values clarification E) affective reactance Answer: B Explanation: B) Cognitive dissonance is defined as any incompatibility an individual might perceive between two or more attitudes or between behaviour and attitudes. Organizational dissonance, attitudinal clarification, values clarification, and affective reactance are not types of attitude or behaviour in OB. 8) Mrs. Jonas believes strongly that it is important that workers’ rights be respected, and that one of the more important ways of doing this is to ensure that all workers be properly documented. She is supervising a contracting company that is building a new warehouse for her company. While doing this she discovers that many of the workers employed by the contractor are undocumented aliens working for well below minimum wage. In this situation Mrs. Jonas has a(n) ________ that is in conflict with a(n) ________. A) behaviour; behaviour B) attitude; attitude C) social need; social interest D) social need; social need E) attitude; behaviour Answer: E Explanation: E) The belief in workers’ rights represents Mrs. Jonas’ attitude, which comes into direct conflict with her behaviour of contracting illegal workers. Her behaviour is not conflicting with another behaviour, nor are two conflicting attitudes represented in this example. Social need and interest are not a part of the attitude equation. 9) Which of the following statements is not true about attitudes in the workplace? A) Changing employee attitudes is necessary if you are to manage dissonance. B) High pay alone is not likely to create a satisfying workplace. C) Generating positive job attitudes helps lower absenteeism and turnover. D) Attitudes help determine how well employees perform on the job. E) Attitudes give warnings of potential problems. Answer: A Explanation: A) Dissonance can be managed in a variety of ways, and usually the person with the attitude will do what he needs to do to reduce dissonance. Job satisfaction is not related to pay after employees reach a comfortable income. Absenteeism and turnover are shown to decrease as job satisfaction increases. Attitudes increase productivity and allow managers to see future problems. 10) Which of the following is not a moderating variable of the attitude-behaviour relationship? A) direct experience B) correspondence to behaviour C) power D) accessibility E) importance Answer: C Explanation: C) The most powerful moderators of the attitudes relationship are the importance of the attitude, its correspondence to behaviour, its accessibility, the presence of social pressures, and whether a person has direct experience with the attitude. 11) Employees’ beliefs in the degree to which they influence their work environment, their competence, the meaningfulness of their job, and their perceived autonomy is termed as ________. A) psychological empowerment B) organizational commitment C) perceived organizational support D) employee engagement E) job satisfaction Answer: A Explanation: A) Employees’ beliefs in the degree to which they influence their work environment, their competence, the meaningfulness of their job, and their perceived autonomy is termed as psychological empowerment. 12) The degree to which a person identifies with his or her job, actively participates in it, and considers his or her performance as being important to self-worth is ________. A) job satisfaction B) job involvement C) job stability D) organizational commitment E) social embeddedness Answer: B Explanation: B) Job involvement measures the degree to which people identify psychologically with their job and consider their perceived performance level important to self-worth. Employees with a high level of job involvement strongly identify with and really care about the kind of work they do. 13) Of the following attitudes, the best predictor of turnover is ________. A) pay B) supervision C) organizational commitment D) cognitive dissonance E) affective dissonance Answer: C Explanation: C) Research evidence demonstrates negative relationships between organizational commitment and both absenteeism and turnover. Pay, supervision, cognitive dissonance, and affective dissonance are not attitudes. 14) In regards to job engagement, having a good manager they enjoy working for and ________ were found to be the top causations. A) feeling appreciated by one’s supervisor B) being paid what they feel they are worth C) getting timely promotions D) socializing with one’s coworkers E) having flexible work schedules Answer: A Explanation: A) Two top reasons for job engagement that participants gave in a recent study were (1) having a good manager they enjoy working for and (2) feeling appreciated by their supervisor. 15) ________ is the degree to which employees believe the organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being. A) Psychological empowerment B) Employee engagement C) Perceived organizational support D) Organizational commitment E) Job involvement Answer: C Explanation: C) Perceived organizational support (POS) is the degree to which employees believe the organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being. Research shows that people perceive their organization as supportive when rewards are deemed fair, when employees have a voice in decisions, and when they see their supervisors as supportive. 16) An individual’s involvement with, satisfaction with, and enthusiasm for the work he/she performs is known as ________. A) employee engagement B) job involvement C) loyalty D) job satisfaction E) psychological empowerment Answer: A Explanation: A) A new concept is employee engagement, an individual’s involvement with, satisfaction with, and enthusiasm for, the work he/she does. Highly engaged employees have a passion for their work and feel a deep connection to their company; disengaged employees have essentially checked out–putting time but not energy or attention into their work. 17) Once an individual reaches a level of comfortable living, the relationship between pay and job satisfaction ________. A) becomes stronger B) turns positive C) becomes negligible D) becomes negative E) weakens, but only slightly Answer: C Explanation: C) For people who are poor or who live in poor countries, pay does correlate with job satisfaction and overall happiness. But once an individual reaches a level of comfortable living (at about $40,000 a year, depending on the region and family size), the relationship between pay and job satisfaction virtually disappears. People who earn $80,000 are, on average, no happier with their jobs than those who earn closer to $40,000. 18) The exit—voice—loyalty—neglect framework aids in understanding the consequences of ________. A) pay B) low motivation C) dissatisfaction D) lack of loyalty E) low levels of employee engagement Answer: C Explanation: C) One theoretical model–the exit—voice—loyalty—neglect framework–is helpful in understanding the consequences of dissatisfaction. 19) The performance variables productivity, absenteeism, and turnover are generally considered a part of the ________ behaviours in the exit—voice—loyalty—neglect framework. A) voice and neglect B) neglect and loyalty C) exit and voice D) loyalty and exit E) exit and neglect Answer: E Explanation: E) In the exit—voice—loyalty—neglect framework, the exit response directs behaviour toward leaving the organization, including looking for a new position as well as resigning. The neglect response passively allows conditions to worsen and includes chronic absenteeism or lateness, reduced effort, and increased error rate. Exit and neglect behaviours encompass our performance variables–productivity, absenteeism, and turnover. 20) Munwar is dissatisfied with his job and deals with it by regularly discussing his problems with his manager. Which type of response is Joe using in this situation? A) exit B) voice C) loyalty D) neglect E) performance Answer: B Explanation: B) The voice response includes actively and constructively attempting to improve conditions, including suggesting improvements, discussing problems with superiors, and undertaking some forms of union activity. The exit response directs behaviour toward leaving the organization, including looking for a new position as well as resigning. The loyalty response means passively but optimistically waiting for conditions to improve. The neglect response passively allows conditions to worsen and includes chronic absenteeism or lateness, reduced effort, and increased error rate. Performance is not a reaction to dissatisfaction on the job. 21) Sharon is unhappy with her job as a salesperson at a retail store for many reasons. Yesterday a customer asked her where the shampoo was located. Sharon listlessly replied, “I don’t know.” She then turned her back on the customer and continued stocking the shelf. This is an example of how job satisfaction can affect ________ A) employee OCB B) customer satisfaction C) absenteeism D) turnover E) work place deviance Answer: B Explanation: B) Sharon’s rude behaviour toward the customer will directly affect customer satisfaction. Organizational citizenship behaviour is not reflected in this example. Sharon is at work and the example doesn’t discuss looking for a new job. Sharon is doing her job, although badly, and is not engaging in deviant activities. 22) Which of the following is true regarding the relationship between satisfaction and absenteeism? A) There is a consistent positive relationship between the two. B) There is a consistent negative relationship between the two. C) There is a curvilinear relationship between the two. D) When fairness is controlled for, there is a direct relationship between the two. E) No relationship can be established between the two. Answer: B Explanation: B) Although moderate to weak, there is a consistent negative relationship between satisfaction and absenteeism. The fairness control does not affect the relationship. 23) Under which of the following conditions is job dissatisfaction less predictive of turnover? A) when employees consider their current jobs to be unattractive B) when employees are presented with unsolicited job offers C) when employment opportunities are plentiful D) when employees are highly skilled E) when employees are highly educated Answer: B Explanation: B) If an employee is presented with an unsolicited job offer, job dissatisfaction is less predictive of turnover because the employee is more likely leaving because of “pull” (the lure of the other job) than “push” (the unattractiveness of the current job). Similarly, job dissatisfaction is more likely to translate into turnover when employment opportunities are plentiful because employees perceive that it is easy to move to another job. Finally, when employees have high “human capital” (high education, high ability), job dissatisfaction is more likely to translate into turnover because they have, or perceive, many available alternatives. 24) Which of the following employees does not exhibit deviant behaviour in the workplace? A) Samuel quits his job because his manager never appreciates his efforts. B) Joanna, an HR executive, uses work time to surf articles on the latest fashion trends. C) Wilson takes work supplies like pens and paper clips home for personal use. D) Lily does not show up for work for more than 3 days a week. E) Cara wraps up her work early to attend her daughter’s ballet recital. Answer: E Explanation: E) Job dissatisfaction and antagonistic relationships with coworkers predict a variety of behaviours organizations find undesirable, including unionization attempts, substance abuse, stealing at work, undue socializing, and tardiness. These behaviours are indicators of deviant behaviour in the workplace (or counterproductive behaviour or employee withdrawal). 25) Thad, Jamarcus, and Willy have been working for Davidson International for three years. While the trio started together as analysts and are all still on the same team, Jamarcus has recently been made a team lead while Willy and Thad are still in their respective positions, although Willy did receive a small raise after his last performance evaluation. Which of the following is most probably to occur soon? A) Jamarcus fires Thad…we do not need all that negativity on the team! B) Thad sabotages Willy…he did not deserve the raise, I did! C) Willy encourages everyone…let’s all stick together! D) Jamarcus promotes Willy…he is doing a great job! E) Thad quits…I do not need this job! Answer: B Explanation: B) While all of these events may occur, given the circumstances, it is unlikely that Jamarcus or Willy see the need to act in any way. Thad is the only player who is experiencing a negative affective attitude. When this attitude translates to behaviour, it is likely that Thad will first express workplace deviance prior to exiting the organization. 26) Why should managers be interested in their employees’ attitudes? A) They result from behaviour. B) They cause problems. C) They give warnings of potential problems. D) They are generally low. E) They result in cognitive dissonance. Answer: C Explanation: C) Managers should be interested in their employees’ attitudes because attitudes can influence behaviour, resulting in higher or lower profits and productivity. Some researchers believe that attitudes follow behaviour, not the other way around. Although negative attitudes can cause problems, there are many positive reasons managers should look at job attitudes. Job satisfaction and attitudes are generally high. Cognitive dissonance is the result of a disparity between an attitude and a behaviour. 27) A satisfied workforce does not guarantee successful organizational performance. In order to improve organizational effectiveness, managers ________. A) must formulate strategies to attack and eliminate deviant behaviours B) must keep track of absenteeism and turnover among the employees C) must make jobs easier and targets achievable D) must offer periodic salary increments E) must try to improve employee attitudes Answer: E Explanation: E) Creating a satisfied workforce is not a guarantee of successful organizational performance, but evidence strongly suggests that whatever managers can do to improve employee attitudes will likely result in positive outcomes, including greater organizational effectiveness, higher customer satisfaction, and increased profits. True or False 1) Attitudes are evaluative statements. Answer: TRUE Explanation: Attitudes in OB are defined as evaluative statements or judgments concerning objects, people, or events. 2) The intent to act in a certain way is the affective component of an attitude. Answer: FALSE Explanation: The affective component is the emotional or feeling segment of an attitude. An intent to act in a certain way is the behavioural component of an attitude. 3) According to Festinger, people seek consistency among their attitudes and their behaviours. Answer: TRUE Explanation: Festinger argued that any form of inconsistency is uncomfortable and that individuals will, therefore, attempt to reduce it. They will seek a stable state, which is a minimum of dissonance. 4) The more specific the attitude and the more specific the behaviour, the stronger the link between the two. Answer: TRUE Explanation: Specific attitudes tend to predict specific behaviours, whereas general attitudes tend to best predict general behaviours. 5) Organizational commitment is a more global response to the organization than is job satisfaction. Answer: TRUE Explanation: In organizational commitment, an employee identifies with a particular organization and its goals and wishes to remain a member. 85) Summing up responses to a number of job factors achieves a more accurate evaluation of job satisfaction than does a single global rating. Answer: TRUE Explanation: The summation of job facets helps managers zero in on problems and deal with them faster and more accurately. 6) Voice is an active and constructive response to dissatisfaction. Answer: TRUE Explanation: Voice response is the dissatisfaction expressed through active and constructive attempts to improve conditions. 7) Neglect is an active and destructive response to dissatisfaction. Answer: FALSE Explanation: The neglect response to dissatisfaction passively allows conditions to worsen.