A Critical Analysis of the Relationship Between Attitudes and Job Satisfaction - Paper Example

Executive Summary

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Organizational behavior refers to the examination of human behavior in the workplace through studying how they associate with others and the organization itself. Organizational behavior has been investigated by many theorists and researchers which have resulted in the rise of different theories. These theories include Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory, Herzberg's two-factor theory and Festinger's theory of cognitive dissonance. Organizational behavior encompasses; people, technology, structure and the social set up of the organization. To the managers and the organization in general, the analysis of organizational behavior which includes attitudes and job satisfaction helps in the understanding, analysis, description and the management of attitudes and behavior in organizations. The knowledge facilitates the attainment of profit maximization, productivity, improved customer and stakeholder relations and customer retention and attraction.

Maslows hierarchy of needs posits that people are motivated to work by unsatisfied needs. He classifies them in a pyramid which shows them as psychological needs, security needs, social needs, self-esteem and self-actualization needs in an ascending manner. Herzberg's two-factor theory posits that satisfaction and dissatisfaction at work are caused by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The intrinsic motivators include achievement, recognition, interesting work, responsibility, advancement and growth. The dissatisfiers or hygiene factors which arise from the context of the job include company policies, supervision, working conditions, interpersonal relationships, salary, status, and security. The Cognitive dissonance theory posits that an inconsistency between peoples actions and their beliefs negatively affects them. The acknowledgment of the inconsistency leads to dissonance which acts as a motivator towards a resolution of the dissonance. The individuals attempt to resolve the disagreement through either changing their belief system, actions or changing their perception of the dissonant.

IntroductionMotivation is a topic that has drawn the interest of researchers and theorists alike for decades. In the 40s, the theorists Abraham Maslow and Herzberg came up with the first widely acknowledged motivational theories the hierarchy of needs in 1943 and the two-factor theory in 1959 respectively. Their body of research concentrated on employee motivation precisely with the two-factor theory identifying factors which increase and decrease employees' job satisfaction which is an important facilitator to employee motivation. In 1957, Leon Festinger came up with the cognitive dissonance theory which was centered on the analysis of attitudes and attitude change another aspect that influences the motivation of employees as well as the overall organizational behavior.

Motivation is defined as the drive either internal or external for acting in a particular way while attitudes are the reactions that people have towards someone or something. Job satisfaction refers to the employees level of contention in their job while organizational behavior refers to the examination of human behavior in the office, how they relate to people and the organization, and the organization itself. Attitudes, job satisfaction, and motivation are the driving forces for organizational behavior. They determine the rate of employee turnover, their productivity; the corporate image the employees present and their overall feeling about the job. These concepts are imperative to managers and organizations since they affect the profitability, output levels as well as the customer attraction and retention for continuity of the organization. This paper will explore the correlation between job satisfaction and attitudes, employee motivation and their impact on organizational behavior with the aim of recommending ways in which managers and organizations can improve job satisfaction and motivational levels among employees for increased productivity. It will achieve this through the exploration of The Hierarchy of Needs theory, The Two Factor Theory and the Cognitive Dissonance Theory and how they contribute to the organizational behavior.

Attitudes in the workplaceAttitudes are defined as the positive or negative thoughts or feelings harbored by an individual towards someone or something (Gagne, 2015). They are formed through three stages; affect, behavior, and cognition. The affective aspect refers to the formation of attitudes based on emotional responses while actions trigger the behavioral aspect. The cognitive aspect is brought about by an individuals belief system (Harmon-Jones, 2012). Attitudes at the workplace are gauged by the levels of job Satisfaction, how dedicated the employees are on their workstations and their job involvement and how loyal and committed they are to the organization. Their perception of how supportive the company is to their advancement is also an indicator as well as their engagement in corporate activities (Gagne, 2015). The employees express their dissatisfaction through taking steps like leaving the organization and negligence in their work allowing the bad conditions to persist. They may also voice their concerns with the aim of improving the current state, or they could respond with loyalty waiting around for things to improve (Pouramini and Fayyazi, 2015). The cognitive dissonance theory explains how attitudes grow and how they work in conjunction with personal beliefs to either motivate or de-motivate employees.

The Cognitive Dissonance Theory

Leon Festinger coined the Cognitive Dissonance theory following the publication of his book When Prophecy Fails (Pider, 2014). The bookwith was based on the research he did after infiltrating a UFO doomsday cult whose leader Mrs. Keech had allegedly received a prophecy of the end of the world from extra-terrestrial beings which would only spare the cult members. Festingers research focused on how the cult members responded to the failure of the prophecy (Harmon-Jones, 2012). He hypothesized his research on how people, social groups and the physical world act as cognitive representations of individuals' perceptions and how inconsistencies between the representations and the reality lead to dissonance (Harmon-Jones, 2012). The dissonance is uncomfortable which leads to attempts by the individuals to marry their beliefs with their actions to get rid of the conflict (Naylor et.al., 2013). Festinger had made assumptions that the failure of the space ship coming for the cult members would lead to a condition of cognitive dissonance which would cause discomfort and the cult members would look for remedial means to reduce it.

Festinger had made predictions that the commitment of the cult members to their faith would lead to persistence in belief leading to increased evangelism (Harmon-Jones, 2012).Mrs.Keech the cult leader allegedly received a new message which stated that the cults goodness had caused the change in the prophesied apocalyptic event and saved the earth. The group was also commanded to broadcast the message to as many people as they could which they did through all media accessible to them (Gagne, 2015). The discrepancy between their world ending belief and the cognitive dissonance caused by the world not ending was appeased by the belief that the cult had stopped the world from ending (Harmon-Jones, 2012). Festinger posits that people find it easier to rationalize, or alter beliefs and attitudes than to dispel the beliefs that come with cognitive dissonance.

The cognitive dissonance theory, therefore, posits that human beings are sensitive to inconsistencies between their actions and what they believe in and a discrepancy between the two causes discomfort (Harmon-Jones, 2012). The human mind points out the inconsistencies involuntarily which acts as a motivating factor for the individual to seek solutions to the dissonance. Until the person finds a way to harmonize the actions and the belief they remain mentally anguished. The degree of dissonance is determined by how important the belief is to the individual, the stronger the dissonance, the higher the motivation to resolve it (Harmon-Jones, 2012). Festinger posited that individuals resolve dissonance through the change of beliefs to accommodate the negative beliefs, but this is a rare course of action since beliefs are deeply ingrained in people, so it is the least opted for choice when dealing with dissonance (Gagne, 2015). They could also change their actions since dissonance is uncomfortable and a change of action reduces the negative emotions associated with it. They could also change their perceptions of the action that causes dissonance through rationalization of the actions.

Employee Job SatisfactionJob satisfaction refers to the sum of positive and/or negative feelings that an individual has towards their job (Pouramini and Fayyazi, 2015). It plays a significant role in the work process since it affects the level of productivity of the workers, job attendance, turnover rates, and customer relations and also affects the organizational loyalty and commitment of the employees (Gagne, 2015). Job satisfaction is, therefore, a topic that managers and organizations cannot afford to ignore since it is the heartbeat of a thriving organization. In the long run, its effects spill over to the corporate image and identity of the organization, the stakeholder relations as well as the equity and profitability of the organization (Pinder, 2014). It is, therefore, an invaluable asset in employee motivation tactics and directly affects the organizational behavior (Riggio, 2015). Job satisfaction has been studied, researched on and theorized by various people and one of the most notable theories of job satisfaction is Herzbergs two-factor theory which posits that job satisfaction is not the opposite of dissatisfaction but rather no satisfaction is the opposite of job satisfaction (Gagne, 2015). The theory breaks down the effect of job satisfaction on motivation and organizational behavior.

Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene Theory (Two Factor Theory)Frederick Herzberg developed the two-factor theory from a data analysis of interviews with 203 respondents from the accounting and engineering professions (McShane and Young, 2014).The research questions sought to ascertain the factors that pleased or displeased the respondents about their job. The findings showed that employees are more driven by the desire to be higher achievers, be more recognized, earn additional responsibilities and advance in their jobs than they were motivated by financial prospects or improved working conditions (Riggio, 2015). The theory posits that certain sets of job characteristics lead to satisfaction while another set leads to dissatisfaction (Gagne, 2015).Herzberg labeled the satisfiers motivators and the dissatisfiers hygiene factors. The hygiene factors were defin...