Beliefs, Values and Attitudes
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Beliefs
.
Beliefs represent
ideas about someone or something and the conclusion people draw about them.
Beliefs convey a sense of “what is” to an individual.
- D R Adhikari
Beliefs are
assumptions or convictions one hold true about something, concept or person
based on values and attitudes. These are cognitions, or thoughts, about the
characteristics of objects. Some importants features of beliefs are:
ü Belief may be different from the fact
ü All attitudes incorporate beliefs, but all beliefs do not
form a part of attitudes.
ü Beliefs assign meaning to day-to-day perception and
activities and serve to achieve varied goals.
ü You can if you believe you can.
ü Belief gets affected both by cultural and functional
factors like demands, needs etc.
ü Beliefs can be changed overtime which is largely
determined by change in objectives.
Beliefs are formed as
attitude are formed (we discuss in “Attitudes” section)
Values
.
Value can be
defined as basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of
existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode
of conduct or end state of existence.
- Milton Rokeach
Values are beliefs and are defined as beliefs about
what is desirable and “good” and what is undesirable or bad. It represents the
basic convictions that refer to the worth or the degree of worth ascribed to an
object.
Value --- “a
framework of personal philosophy that governs and influences the individual’s
reactions and responses to any situations”
A manager who
believes strongly in the work ethics will tend to voice attitudes towards
workers or work practices as a means of reflecting this value and say “you got
to work harder, that has been the custom and tradition of the organization and
reason for being in the present position”. Value has contents and conviction
element. Every person has
value inbuilt in him; it is faith that he deposes in certain ethical aspects. The list of such values is
endless, nonetheless a person has hierarchy of value system. It is nothing but
various values that he nurtures and its relative importance, which can be
called as content and intensity. Value system is identified by the relative
importance we assign to various values such as truth, non-violence, equality
and so on.
Characteristics of
values are (Rao & Narayan, 1988)
- element like good or bad, right or wrong, preferable
- it contains something ethical aspects
- source of individual difference and affect behaviour
- every individuals have a set of values or a value system
- they can be determined by assessing the relative
significance assigned by an individual to various objects
- some of the values are highly stable and enduring
- basically learned; but some portion is genetically
determined
Value system – It is a hierarchy based on the ranking of an individual’s
value in terms of their intensity. This system is identified by the relative
importance assigned to such values as freedom, pleasure, self-respect, honesty,
obedience and equality.
Significance of
Values - Values play a significant role in OB. They are
the basis for the study of:
- Attitudes,
- Perception,
- Motivation,
- Morale,
- Formation of preconceived notions,
and
- Satisfaction and frustration
Types of Values
Allport and
associates described six types of values. These are discussed briefly as follows:
(a) Theoretical value: Theoretical value is related to
importance and discovery of truth through rational approach. If all the
employees practice truth in true sense, the organization would operate itself
and there won’t be any need for supervision. Truth is such a powerful value
that the British Empire had to leave Indian soil.
(b) Economic value: It emphasises usefulness and
practicability of resources, efforts put in by individuals and the consequent
value derived there from. If the project is economically viable (in a very
large sense) then it can be undertaken. Economic value is appreciated from a
very broad sense and it spells apart from economics of the issue. It also adds
human value to it when it is considered. It is the human aspect, which makes
economic value enlarged.
(c) Aesthetic value: It is form of Harmony. We believe
that all work must be done in a smooth manner and that there is mutual
understanding and sense of participation among all human elements. Aesthetic
value is displayed by cordial relations between various levels of organization,
effective communication, conflict free atmosphere and very congenial work
environment. The work in organizations, which has aesthetic value system among
workers, is done in harmony, peace and participation of one and all.
(d) Social value: Is related to love of people,
sense of belonging and an attitude of ‘we’ feeling. Such value is very
important in the organization that brings together the employees which are
bound by a sense of participation that leads to high level of motivation and
high productivity.
(e) Political value: It refers to power and influence
in the organization. Right people must be placed at the right positions so that
they are able to influence the people
(f) Religious value: As name suggest it is related to
display of value which would bring unity and understanding amongst the people
in the organization based on common religious platform. This value is no more
is being preached in organization as cross sections of people are now working
in organization world over. However, the positive impact on work environment in
the organizations cannot be underestimated based on religious value.
Rokeach Value
Survey – Milton Rokech is a pioneer in studying human
values. His research is known as the Rokeach value survey (RVS). The RVS
consists of two sets of values. Each of the sets contains 18 value items. The
first set of Terminal value refers to desirable end state of existence. These
are the goals that a person would like to achieve in lifetime. The second set
is called instrumental values;
it refers to preferable modes of behaviour. These are means of achieving
Terminal values. The details of both the value sets are given below.
Cross-cultural values
Values across
cultures differ significantly and thus affect individual behaviour at work.
Geert Hofstede provides the four cross-cultural values that affect employees’
work-related attitudes and behaviours (log on < http://geert-hofstede.com/dimensions.html>
for detail):
- Power distance (Higher in Mexico,
Argentina, France / Lower in USA, Canada and Germany)
- Uncertainty avoidance (Higher in
Japan, Iran / Lower in Hong Kong, USA and Canada)
- Individualism-collectivism (Higher
in Ind USA, Canada / Higher in Coll China, Singapore)
- Masculinity-femininity ( Japan,
Italy value M / Sweden, Netherland value F)
Attitude
.
Attitude is a
mental and neutral state of readiness organized through experience, exerting a
directive or dynamic influence upon individual’s response to all objects and
situations with which it is related.
- G.W. Allport
Attitude is a
tendency or predisposition to evaluate an object or symbol of that object in a
certain way.
- Katz and Scotland
Features of
Attitudes
i.
Positive
and Negative
ii.
Evaluative
statements regarding event, idea, object, or people
iii.
Affected
by environment
iv.
Attitudes
vary with different people
v.
Nearly
consistent until influenced by external factors
In effect attitude is
used in a generic sense, as to what people perceive, feel and express their
views about a situation, object or other people. Attitude cannot be seen, but
the behaviour can be seen as an expression of attitude.
Attitudes are
enduring feelings, beliefs, and/or behavior tendencies. When we say that a person has an
"attitude," we usually mean that he or she has an inclination or a
predisposition to respond in a positive or negative way to a person, a
situation, or an event. This is because people develop attitudes based on their
background and past experiences. Attitudes
have the following three components:
1. Cognitive. The cognitive aspect of an
attitude refers to beliefs and opinions about a person or a situation. For
example, if you had been bitten by a dog when you were a child, you might have
developed a negative predisposition toward dogs.
2. Affective. The affective component refers to
the feelings, sentiment, moods, and emotions evoked by some person, idea,
event, or object. This component is the attitude itself. For example, if you
are negatively disposed toward dogs, and a dog starts growling at you, you will
experience a feeling of intense dislike for it.
3. Behavioral. The behavioral component refers to
the action taken in response to the feeling. The person in whom intense dislike
is evoked by the growling dog will likely take steps to avoid the dog.
The ABC Model
of attitudes comprises three components: cognition, affection and behaviour. The
significance of the model is that to thoroughly understand an attitude, one
must assess all three components. Suppose, for example, one wants to evaluate
one’s employees’ attitudes towards flexitime. One would want to determine how
they feel about flexitime (affect), they would use flexitime (behaviour), and
what they think about the policy (cognition).
Diagram:
Types of Job
related Attitude
(Robbins & Judge, 2013:13-14)
Job satisfaction: Job satisfaction is
related to general attitude towards the job. A person having a high level of
satisfaction will generally hold a positive attitude while dissatisfied people
will generally display negative attitude towards life. When we talk about
attitude, we generally speak about job satisfaction because they are
inter-related in organizational behaviour.
Job involvement: Job involvement refers to the degree to which a person identifies himself (psychologically) with his job, actively participates and considers his perceived performance level important to self-worth. (Robbins). High level of involvement indicates that the individual cares for his job, that has an impact on high productivity. Higher the job satisfaction, lower will be absenteeism and employee turnover.
Organizational commitment: Organizational commitment refers to degree to which an employee identifies himself with the organizational goals and wishes to maintain membership in the organization. He wants to “belong” to the organization and take an active part in the its functioning. Absenting or resigning from the job versus job satisfaction is a predictor of organizational commitment. The concept has been very popular in the recent times. Organizational commitment depends upon job enrichment factor and degree to which the workers enjoy autonomy and freedom of action while performing.
Perceived Organizational Support Perceived organizational support (POS) is the degree to which employees believe the organization values their contribution and cares about their well-being (for example, an employee believes his organization would accommodate him if he had a child care problem or would forgive an honest mistake on his part). 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. Employees with strong POS perceptions have been found more likely to have higher levels of organizational citizenship behaviors, lower levels of tardiness, and better customer service.
Employee Engagement A new concept is employee engagement, an individual’s involvement with, satisfaction with, and enthusiasm for, the work she does. We might ask employees whether they have access to resources and the opportunities to learn new skills, whether they feel their work is important and meaningful, and whether their interactions with co-workers and supervisors are rewarding. 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.
Nine Attitudes of Highly Creative People
(Rao, 2010, p 50)
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Positive attitude towards job benefits the organization in
many ways ---
- Increases productivity
- Fosters teamwork
- Solves problems
- Improves quality
- Makes for congenial
atmosphere
- Breeds loyalty
- Increases profits
Functions of Attitude (Aswathappa & Reddy, 2012, p 228)
ü Adjustment
ü Ego-defensive
ü Value
expressive
ü Knowledge
Changing Attitudes
Employees’ attitudes need to be changed, particularly when they
are unfavourable. However, changing attitudes is a difficult task as they
generally endure. Difficulty is reinforced because of the escalation of
commitment, cognitive dissonance, and insufficient information.
§ Escalation
of commitment refers to the prior commitment of people to a particular cause
and their unwillingness to change.
§ Cognitive
dissonance explains a state of inconsistency between an individual’s attitude
and behaviour.
§ Insufficient
information refer to lack of reasons to change attitudes.
Ways of Changing
Attitudes
Changing
Attitudes of Self
- Be aware of one’s attitudes
- Think for self
- Realise that there are few, if any, benefits for
harbouring negative attitudes
- Keep an open mind
- Get into continuous education program
- Build a positive self-esteem
- Stay away from negative influences, such as smoking,
drugs, alcohol, pornography, negative movies, and television programmes
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Changing
Attitudes of Employees
- Giving feedback
- Providing quality of work life
- Positive role model
- Open communication
- Caring nature of supervisor
- Use of fear
- Influence of friends, media or celebrity
- Co-opting approach
- Others (development and education activities,
associations etc)
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Differences
between Values and Attitudes
Values
ü Values represent judgemental ideas – good or bad, right
wrong.
ü They represent a single belief focussed on objects or
situations.
ü These are derived from social and cultural mores and
patterns.
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Attitudes
ü Attitudes exhibit predisposition to respond.
ü They refer to several beliefs relating to a specific
object or situation.
ü These are one’s own personal experiences.
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SUMMARY
Value, attitude
and behaviour of
an individual indicate his personality. Value represents individual’s faith,
standards, ideals and belief. Attitude indicates feelings about another
person or events. It encompasses satisfaction level about an individual.
Individual behaviour is based on value system and attitude he possesses.
Value is the strongest element of human personality and therefore it shapes
human behaviour. Value is a permanent phenomenon while attitude is
comparatively less stable and can be changed. Values are long lasting
belief—what is desirable and good. Values are end state of existence. It is a
faith in certain ethical aspects. It has content and conviction element
inbuilt in it.
In social
environment, there exist a value system. Values are relatively permanent in
nature. They form organizational culture that has impact on higher
productivity and growth of the organization.
Allport and
associates have described six types of values. These are theoretical,
economic, aesthetic,
social, political
and religious value. Milton Rokeash has suggested two types of value in the
survey carried out by him called Rokeach Value Survey (RVS). These are
Terminal values and Instrumental values. Terminal values are end state of
existance like freedom or justice and instrumental values are preferable mode
of conduct or means of achieving terminal values like hard working, and
dependable person.
Attitude has three
components ie cognitive component, affective component and behavioural
component. Individual’s attitude can be judged based on level of job
satisfaction he enjoys, job involvement and organizational commitment he
displays. It has been observed that individual tries to maintain equilibrium
between attitude and attitude, between attitudes and attitude and behaviour
so that he conducts and interacts rationally.
Leon Festinger has
proposed “Cognitive Dissonance Theory” in 1950s that explains linkage between
attitude and behaviour. He explains that individual tries to reduce
incompatibility or inconsistency between attitude and behaviour so that a
stable state of behaviour is achieved. Reduction of dissonance depends upon
(a) importance of the issue, element or situation; (b) degree of influence
that individual enjoys and any (c) reward that may be associated with it.
Job satisfaction is an emotional response. Job satisfaction
is difference between what one actually gets and what one wishes to get. Less
such difference, higher the job satisfaction. Job satisfaction is related to
job dimensions. Work
contents, pay and promotion policy, supportive working conditions, work group
phenomenon, supervision and personality-job fit determine the job satisfaction.
If workers are satisfied productivity will improve, reduce absenteeism and
turnover. Dissatisfied workers express their dissatisfaction by leaving the
organization. Some of the dissatisfied workers will passively observe
deterioration of the organization while the others may come forward with
solid suggestion for the improvement. Organizational
commitment is an important
part of job satisfaction. It is related to the desire of an individual to
maintain the organizational membership and putting in best possible efforts
to realise self-worth. Organizational citizenship is also a part of
organizational commitment where an individual considers himself a part of the
organization one is serving.
(Source:
Kondalkar, 2007: 83)
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Rokeach Values Survey
(Rokeach, M. (1973). The Nature of Human Values. New
York: Free Press.)
On the following page
are two lists of values, each in alphabetical order. Each value is accompanied
by a short description and a blank space. Your goal is to rank each value in
its order of importance to you for each of the two lists. Study each list and
think of how much each value may act as a guiding principle in your life. To
begin, select the value that is of most importance to you. Write the number 1 in
the blank space next to that value. Next, choose the value is of second in
importance to you and write the number 2 in the blank next to it. Work your way
through the list until you have ranked all 18 values on this page.
Rank the two lists
of values separately. That is, after you have finished ranking the
first list of 18 values, rank the second list of 18 values in the same way.
When ranking, take your time and think carefully. Feel free to go back and
change your order should you have second thoughts about any of your answers. When you have completed the ranking
of both sets of values, the result should represent an accurate picture of how
you really feel about what’s important in your life.
RANK
A Comfortable Life _____
a prosperous life
Equality _____
brotherhood and equal opportunity for all
An Exciting Life _____
a stimulating, active life
Family Security _____
taking care of loved ones
Freedom _____
independence and free choice
Health _____
physical and mental well-being
Inner Harmony _____
freedom from inner conflict
Mature Love _____
sexual and spiritual intimacy
National Security _____
protection from attack
Pleasure _____
an enjoyable, leisurely life
Salvation _____
saved; eternal life
Self-Respect _____
self-esteem
A Sense of Accomplishment _____
a lasting contribution
Social Recognition _____
respect and admiration
True Friendship _____
close companionship
Wisdom _____
a mature understanding of life
A World at Peace _____
a world free of war and conflict
A World of Beauty _____
beauty of nature and the arts
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RANK
Ambitious _____
hardworking and aspiring
Broad-minded _____
open-minded
Capable _____
competent; effective
Clean _____
neat and tidy
Courageous _____
standing up for your beliefs
Forgiving _____
willing to pardon others
Helpful _____
working for the welfare of others
Honest _____
sincere and truthful
Imaginative _____
daring and creative
Independent _____
self-reliant; self-sufficient
Intellectual _____
intelligent and reflective
Logical _____
consistent; rational
Loving _____
affectionate and tender
Loyal _____
faithful to friends or the group
Obedient _____
dutiful; respectful
Polite _____
courteous and well-mannered
Responsible _____
dependable and reliable
Self-controlled _____
restrained; self-disciplined
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