...Case study: Companies are trying to improve Employee attitudes during the recession. This is a case study which revolves around the steps taken by managers and corporations in improving the attitudes of employees towards recession. Real life examples are given in the form of consumer services giants like Bain & Co, Home Depot and Best buy. Now let us look at the facts and the answers to the questions asked. Facts Presented in the case: 1. Bain & co.’s CEO Steve Ellis hired people even during the recession. He added consultants in the hot-growth areas such as emerging markets and targeted experienced consultants who were left stranded during the hard financial times. 2. Home Depots chairman and chief executive Frank Blake set realistic goals to boost employee morale in spite of handing pink slips to some of the employees. This resulted in many employees getting high bonuses thus resulting in high employee morale. 3. Companies which took advantage of employees in the downturn were rewarded with many employees leaving the company. 4. Best buy found ways to boost employee morale by getting them involved in the organization. 5. JetBlue has cut back across the board and over the past year –delaying aircraft orders, trimming head count through voluntary unpaid leaves and even shedding the free pillows from its aircraft in order to cut costs. Identifying the Key issues: The key issues that can be observed from the above case are as follows. 1. Corporations...
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...subject of employee attitudes and job satisfaction. Research has been done on this subject, and it has been determined that there are 3 major knowledge gaps between HR practice and the scientific research. The article by Saari and Judge , “Employee Attitudes and Job Satisfaction” (2004), discusses not only what those gaps are but what could be done to bridge those gaps. Employee Attitudes The first of the 3 knowledge gaps between HR practice and the scientific research is finding out what the causes of employee attitudes are. The most crucial of the employee attitudes is job satisfaction. The definition of satisfaction as seen by E.A. Locke in his 1976 published article was “a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences” (Saari & Judge, 2004). We tend to use both feeling and thinking when we appraise our jobs, just like when we evaluate something of importance to us in our lives,. One of the influences that is usually overlooked by HR specialists when considering job satisfaction is the work itself (Saari & Judge, 2004). There have even been a number of studies that show how one’s job satisfaction can be influenced by one’s temperament. It has also been indicated that the differences in temperament or disposition of some employees can be linked to their differences in job satisfaction, although that relationship has not been fully understood yet. An employee’s culture can also have an impact on their attitude or job...
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...One of the main problems during a recession is employee attitudes. Excellent management skills are needed in trying economic times in order to boost employee morale and productivity. One of the methods used include Schwartz’s 10 values that guide a person’s behavior. Another method used is affective, cognitive, and behavioral components that influence behavior by increasing organizational commitment. Increasing employee involvement is also important to management. Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior can be used by managers to increase employee performance during a recession. Schwartz proposed that there are 10 values that guide a person’s behavior. The 10 values that he proposed are as follows: power, achievement, hedonism, stimulation, self-direction, universalism, benevolence, tradition, conformity, and security. Many of these values are driving the behavior of managers at Bain & Company, Home Depot, and Best Buy. Frank Blake the Chairman and Chief Executive of Home Depot decided to boost morale by lowering bonus guidelines for hourly employees to set more realistic goals. This exemplifies the values of achievement, power, stimulation, and self-direction. The end result was that the highest percentage of in store employees receiving bonuses in the first half of that year. Steve Ellis is the worldwide managing director of Bain & Company. His behavioral component of his attitude in managing during a recession is one that includes hiring managing consultants in...
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...During the recession, many retail and consumer businesses had to deal with a hit in profit and financial gains. Typically, mass retail giants cut down locations as well as employees, making it difficult for workers to get bonuses or raises, and possibly take losses in corporate offices as well. However, some big retail companies, like Home Depot, Best Buy, and Bain & Company were able to turn some of these downturns into positives and give more to their employees and continue to grow their companies. The behavior and attitude of management can drastically affect a company’s outcome during a recession, so being proactive and seeking out the positive is always the most effective during times of need. According to Shalom Schwartz, who created the theory of personal values in the workplace, there are values managers hold that can influence behavior unknowingly at work (Kreitner and Kinicki, 152). Amongst the ten values, Bain & Company, Home Depot, and Best Buy all hold on to universalism. Universalism, the “understanding, appreciation, tolerance and protection of the welfare of all people and of nature” in the workplace creates a positive work environment for everyone involved (153). Bain & Company’s CEO Steve Ellis took the proactive approach during the recession and added even more employees to his team. “This is an opportunity to grab very talented people,” Ellis stated, when talking about how many former consultants became stranded during the recession (176). He is giving...
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... 2. Who else influenced Paul’s decisions? 3. How did Paul’s definition of family expand to include the community later on in the film? 4. How and why does Paul’s attitude change over the course of the movie? 5. How would you characterize his level of personal responsibility and investment as events unfolded? 6. How would you describe Paul’s level of empowerment throughout the movie? Explain. Homework for next class: On a separate piece of paper write a paragraph where you explain how the colonization of Rwanda by the Belgians connects to the massacre and the conditions of the people today. You may use details from the movie, the timeline, and outside research to compose your answer. I expect that you use three examples to support your ideas. _____/15 NAME: ______________________________ Hotel Rwanda Movie Assignment Answer these questions on a separate piece of paper while watching the movie. First, take notes while watching the movie; then, rewrite your notes into complete sentences that answer these questions: 1. What role did Tatiana Rusesabagina play in shaping Paul’s actions? 2. Who else influenced Paul’s decisions? 3. How did Paul’s definition of family expand to include the community later on in the film? 4. How and why does Paul’s attitude change over the course of the movie? 5. How would you characterize his level of personal responsibility and investment as events unfolded? 6. How would you describe...
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...Implicit Association Test Gina Pylka ETH/125 October 27, 2013 Constance Dolecki Implicit Association Test I found taking a couple of the tests on the IAT homepage interesting. The test I took said I had an automatic preference for young compared to old. I found the results something to think about. I would of said I had no known preference. In examining our own prejudices I think we automatically respond in terms of race and ethnic backgrounds. There are so many other areas in life where our prejudices surface. My understanding of prejudice is a negative attitude towards an entire group of people. By this simple explanation after taking this test it becomes clear to me that without even realizing it there is a prejudice because I prefer one group to another. This being the case for most of us I will assume for right now. I would have to say that prejudice would be difficult to measure. Some prejudice is very clear and directly out in the open. Some examples would be in how we respond to other’s because of the where they live or how they dress. Jumping to conclusions about someone without getting to know them is such a loss for everybody involved I personally feel. What has come clear to me in this weeks assignments is that no matter how hard we try I think we are always prejudice against others. The lines aren’t always clear when it comes to how we approach or avoid people as we go about own individual lives. Boundaries can shift as things happen to us or around us...
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...Attitude Theories Your attitude is your positive or negative evaluation about an object. There is more than one theory about how a person’s attitude is formed through cognitive, behavioral, and affective processes. This paper will outline two theories of how a person’s attitude is formed. Self Perception Theory Fazio stated that self perception theory argued that attitudes stem from the observation of one’s behavior. (Fazio, 1987, p. 129) A person’s attitude toward something is formed after that person observes their behavior toward an object. An example is you listen to rock music, therefore you must like it, and you would form a positive attitude towards rock music based on your behavior of listening to it. An individual decides their attitude, and emotional feeling toward an object based on the observation of their own behavior and the circumstances that caused the behavior. Self-perception theory also suggests that when the internal cues are weak or uninterpretable, the individual is in the same position as the outside observer who must rely on external cues to infer the individual’s inner state. (Bem, 1972) What I believe to be a negative aspect of this attitude theory is I don’t believe an attitude toward an object is based solely on one’s behavior. An example would be as a child my mother told me to eat spinach and even though I ate the spinach, didn’t mean I liked it because I ate it. I ate it so I wouldn’t get in trouble but my attitude towards spinach was that I...
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...Name Writing Assignment #1 Date I have purchased a product within the last week and half using many of the marketing examples we recently learned about in Chapters 1-4. I have an app on my phone called Wanelo, and it allows you to browse through different items posted on a very simple screen. They have a good website because it saves everything that I have liked, looked at, and even pulls new items in based on what I recently have viewed. One day I was just browsing on this app using my technology, and came across a dress I liked, so I clicked on it and it took me to the website. I went to all the dress selection, and found a dress I just needed to have. I then realized a marketing transaction was going to occur because there was me and the owner, my desire of wanting the dress, communication through email or phone, and my money in exchange for the dress. With this product, I was part of the target market and when I was purchasing it I had to consider the Four P’s: product, price, promotion, and place. The product was my dress, the price was reasonable, the promotion was the convenience of “one click” buy, and the place was the newly installed app right at my fingertips. In the buying process, there were most of the environmental forces in play. I think the social force, played the biggest role as the site was aimed towards everyone but then did a special draw for the generation Y people. There was also the economic forces with knowing my income to whether I...
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...SUGENTHEERAN KOMANNAYAR (28380) GAYTHRI KUPUSAMY (26347) SELF PERCEPTION THEORY Self-perception theory is an account of attitude change developed by psychologist Daryl Bem. It asserts that people develop their attitudes by observing their behaviour and concluding what attitudes must have caused them. The theory is counterintuitive in nature, as the conventional wisdom is that attitudes come prior to behaviours. Furthermore, the theory suggests that a person induces attitudes without accessing internal cognition and mood states. The person reasons their own obvious behaviours rationally in the same way they attempt to explain others’ behaviours. The self perception theories is categories into three parts which is, Foot-In-The-Door technique There is both foot-in-the-door phenomenon and foot-in-the-door technique. As you can guess, the technique is used to get the phenomenon. The phenomenon is the tendency for people to comply with some large request after first agreeing to a small request. As you can then imagine, the technique is used to get compliance from others (to get them to behave in a way you want) in which a small request is made first in order to get compliance for a larger request. For example, someone might want you to give to give 5 hours of your time a week for the three months as a volunteer to a charity (a big request). But to get you to agree to this big request, they first ask you to volunteer for 1 hour one time and one time only. After hearing...
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...Organizational dynamics and employee attitude | An Indian IT industry Perspective | | | | | | | Contents | Page No. | Introduction | 2 | Organizational design and change in employee outlooks | 3 | Motivation Impact | 5 | Reward system as a driver | 7 | Diversity of Groups & teams | 9 | Stress | 12 | Bibliography | 15 | Introduction Organisational design is the alignment of structure, process, rewards, metrics and talent with the strategy of the business. Companies must assess the competencies needed and the established collaborative structures linking the organization together, and must devise a system for stimulating the demand for solutions, with informed expectations. Organizational dynamics refers to the interaction of different factors that define the organization and how it reacts to changes at a broad level . Employee attitude is dependent on the changes that keep taking place in an organization. The perception of the employees about an organization is ever changing and thus an amiable atmosphere needs to be created for people to work and contribute in the best possible way . This study is focussed on the impact of organizational behaviour in context of the Indian IT industry. We as a group have chosen this topic because all of us have prior work experience in the IT sector and we could easily relate it to the concepts that we studied. Organisational Design and change in employee attitude Organisational design is...
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...Chapter 7 1. An attitude is a lasting, general evaluation of people (including oneself), objects, advertisements, or issues. 2. The functional theory of attitudes was initially developed to explain how attitudes facilitate social behavior. 3. The knowledge function of attitudes applies when a person is in an ambiguous situation and needs order, structure, or meaning. 4. Which of the following attitude functions is associated with a focus on particular social identities and lifestyles (e.g., “What sort of man reads Playboy)? Value-expressive 5. What do the “A, B, Cs” of the ABC model of attitudes stand for? Affect, behavior, and cognition 6. According to the basic of ABC model of attitudes, _____ refers to the beliefs a consumer has about an attitude object. Cognition 7. What is the first step in the standard learning theory hierarchy approach? Cognition 8. The _____ hierarchy assumes the consumer does not initially have a strong preference from one brand over another. Instead, he acts on the basis of limited knowledge and then forms an evaluation only after the products has been purchased or used. Low-involvement 9. According to the _______ hierarchy, the consumer considers purchases based on an attitude of hedonic consumption (such as how the product makes him or her feel or the fun its use will provide). Experiential 10. Researchers agree that there are various levels of commitment to an attitude. The highest level of involvement...
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...Relationship between Attitudes and Behavior Attitude is holding a particular object in some degree of favor or disfavor. The attitude object can be a person, an event, an action or a thing. Previously it was believed that the inner dispositions are what controlled the actions of man. This is to say that man is rational with all behavior being deliberate. However, evidence has shown that this is not always the case and though attitude does influence behavior to an extent, it is not the only factor that influences behavior. Moreover, in some cases behavior can cause attitude change. Theory of planned behavior This theory aimed at predicting deliberate and premeditated behavior. The theory was an add on to the previously formulated theory of reasoned Action when research proved that human action is not entirely voluntary or controlled by rational reason. According to this theory the greatest determinant that leads to behavior is intention (a person’s willingness and readiness to perform a certain action).This intention is determined by attitude towards the behavior, subjective norms and an individual’s perception on their ability to control behavior (Ajzen 2005). Cognitive Dissonance theory According to this theory people have a tendency of seeking a consistency in their inner dispositions (both attitudes and beliefs). Further there is also a need for personal behavior to be in tune with attitudes and beliefs held. If there is a disconnect between behavior and attitudes, then it is...
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...Chapter 7 – Attitudes The Power of Attitudes Attitude: A lasting, general evaluation of people, (including oneself), objects, or issues. • Is lasting because it tends to endure over time • It is general because it applies to more than a momentary event • Can be very product-specific behaviours (Crest toothpaste rather than Colgate) • Can be toward more general consumption-related behaviours (how often they should brush their teeth) Attitude Object (A0): Anything toward which a person has an attitude, whether it is tangible or intangible. The Functions of Attitudes Functional Theory of Attitudes: Attitudes exist because they serve some function for the person; that is, they are determined by a person’s motives. • Developed by psychologist Danial Katz Attitude Functions 1. Utilitarian Function a. Related to the basic principles of reward and punishment b. Develop attitudes based on whether these products provide pleasure or pain c. Ads that stress straightforward product benefits appeal to the utilitarian function 2. Value-expressive Function a. Express the consumer’s central values or self-concept b. Product attitude not because of its objective benefits c. Of what the product says about him/her as a person d. Highly relevant to lifestyle analyses, where consumers cultivate a cluster of activities, interest and opinions to express a particular social identity 3. Ego-defensive Function a. Formed to protect the person, either from external threats...
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...environment at the Wilson Construction Company with a discussion between an employee and his supervisor. The employee, Walt Henderson, works at WCC as a drafting technician. He has brought his personal project from home to work on during assigned work hours. His supervisor, a man, named Ken, feels that this sets a poor precedent for the other employees and reminds him that his actions are inappropriate. Walt counters this by commenting that he has not only already finished his assigned work, but also worked while home to finish other company materials. He feels that this should entitle him personal time at work since he gave up time at home for company work. This case study is an excellent example of how attitudes, mainly Walt’s toward his use of time, play an important part in actions, feelings, and behavior in the workplace. Attitudes at work, such as Walt’s about his use of company time both at home and at work, are evaluative statements about objects, people, or events in the workplace. In this paper, I will evaluate the situation at work concerning Walts attitude related to work, his boss, and his time spent at home and work. I will also evaluate Walt’s discourse in order to try to predict his future behavior at work. In conclusion, I will suggest alternative ways on how Walt’s supervisor, Ken, should handle the manner in which Walt’s attitude affects his performance at work. Walt’s attitude towards work is mainly negative, especially in terms of how he regulates...
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...21 Values, Attitudes, and Work Behaviour * An attitude is and overall evaluation of an attitude object * We should study attitudes because so mahy important phenomena are attitudes * The nature of an attitude is typically formed in memory; once formed , relatively enduring and difficult to change. Components of an attitude 1. Cognitive component – your beliefs about the object 2. Affective component – your feelings, emotions about the object 3. Behavioural component – your past behaviour an/or your behavioral intentions about the object How do attitudes relate to behaviour * Long assumed that attitudes predict behaviour * Research reveals that the relationship is weak and complicated 1. Attitudes -> Behavioural Intentions 2. Behavioural intentions -> behaviour * Behavioural intentions could also be affected by situational factors and personal factors * Behavourial component is the most problematic 3. Behaviour -> attitude – we act first then form our attitude. We do this because of the cognitive Dissonance Theory. Cognitive Dissonance Theory * Hold and initial attitude * Voluntarily behave in a manner that in incongruent with your attitude – behave in a manner that is inconsistent with your attitude that you hold. * Experience feelings of dissonance - discomfort produced by violation of the self concept * If you can change the behaviour you change your attitude. Workplace...
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