Final Exam Answers:
1. What are the three components of an attitude and give an example using job satisfaction?
The three components of an attitude are: belief, evaluation, and behavioral intention. Beliefs are statements of
perceptions, for example, “my boss does not pay attention to me.” Evaluations are judgments about those
beliefs (i.e., the attitude itself), for example, “I am dissatisfied with my job.” Behavioral intentions are
intentions to act in a certain way: “I am going to punch him in the face next time I see him.”
2. Which is more enduring? Mood or emotion?
Moods are more enduring…they are not tied to specific environmental inputs (or events). They are probably in
a large part either biological or trait-based in some specific way. Emotions are reactions to environmental
events.
In the organizational context, moods are mostly likely detected at the selection stage. They may also exacerbate
existing organizational problems. For example, a person more attuned or more likely to perceive events in a
negative light may feel far more dissatisfied if they experience the same negative event as a person with a
positive mood. It is likely, that is, that moods and emotions interact with one another, such that moods may
inflate or deflate the intensity of emotional reactions depending on whether the direction (positive or negative)
of the mood and the direction (positive or negative) of the emotion match or are dissimilar.
3. What’s the difference between self esteem, self-efficacy and LOC? Give an example of each.
Self-esteem is one’s view of one’s social value; that is, how accepted and valued you feel by others. Self-
efficacy is one’s view of one’s capacity to succeed in a given situation at a given task. Locus of control one’s
perception of where one’s actions and decisions are controlled. That is, usually external or internal: one’s
actions are controlled from outside one’s self (i.e., external LOC) or actions are controlled from the inside of
one’s self (i.e., internal LOC).
These variables are important individual differences in the organizational context. Self-esteem is malleable, but
the degree of it’s movement is slow and quick to bounce back to original levels. Self-efficacy is very important
in the work context, because if workers do not feel like they can accomplish what they set out to do, then they
probably won’t do it. So, a low self-efficacy is a very dangerous thing. LOC is important because people make
different judgments depending on their LOC; that is, I am more apt to blame my boss for bad things and even
for good things if I have an external LOC. In this scenario, outcomes are not likely to be viewed by the worker
as under one’s control, and therefore, the worker will be less motivated to accomplish goals that are apparently
out one’s hand anyway.
4. Which is most important for work motivation, affective, continuance, or normative commitment?
Why?
Affective commitment is the most important for work motivation. Affective commitment refers to one’s feeling
of commitment to the organization. This commitment is not due to feelings of obligation or fear of punishment,
it is because one actually feels attached to the organization, takes responsibility for the organization, and may
perhaps even refer others to the organization.
Continuance commitment is really only avoiding the discomfort of leaving—changing organizations is a costly
process…in continuance commitment, the only reason one is committed is to avoid being without an
organization. This is like the employee who hates coming to work and feels no desire to be at the job, except to
, not get fired. They perhaps may be thinking about changing jobs, but the person has not yet found one, so they
are just working to not be without a job.
Normative commitment refers to feelings of obligation toward an organization. In this case, the worker
perceives that he/she is “supposed” to work for the organization. However this feeling is not because of any
personal attachment to the organization, its values, etc.
5. How would you use what is known about the dispositional and situational (job characteristics)
approaches to design an effective employee selection process?
Hackman & Oldham’s Job Characteristics Model suggests that there are several important characteristics of job
that need to be present in order for the job to effectively motivate employess. These characteristics are: skill
variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback. While these characteristics provide a
convenient framework from which to view and correct job designs in order to improve worker motivation, they
are not the whole picture. For example, individuals may differ as to the degree of autonomy they want in their
job; also, a person with a limited skill set would not perform well in a job that required as large skill variety.
Therefore, an effective employee selection process entails identifying the applicant’s dispositions and strengths
and matching them to a job that fits those characteristics. A person who wants to learn, grow, be challenged,
and have freedom should be placed in a job that will afford those opportunities and require those skills. A
person who wants a simple job, wants to be told what to do, and is satisfied with their current levels of skills
and abilities should not be put in a job that has been designed to require and/or provide those.
6. Why has job satisfaction not been shown to be highly related to absenteeism and turnover?
Past research have found a consistent, yet relatively small correlation between job satisfaction and absenteeism
and turnover. This is for several reasons. First, the research on job satisfaction has, by and large, revealed that
most employees are satisfied. There is not a wide range of satisfaction levels among employees.
In addition, absenteeism and turnover are work-behaviors, that, while may be related to job attitudes, they are
not attitudes… While attitudes are often thought to be predictive of behaviors, they are often not (especially not
as predictors of immediate and short-term actions).
Also, job satisfactions comes in many different forms (i.e., facets). They may be particular components of job
satisfaction that are more related to turnover and absenteeism than overall or general job satisfaction. Finally,
employees often have reasons to stay on a job even when they are dissatisfied. For example…individuals may
be affectively committed to an organization, may fear switching jobs, or may feel obligated to stay at the
organization. These commitments moderate the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover/absenteeism.
1. How did Cropanzano get interested in studying “justice”?
Cropanzano recalled the story of Ludlow, CO; a mining town that underwent a strike that ended by the National
Guard killing miners, women, and children in a face-off. He was convinced the miners were willing to risk
death and injury because they were seeking justice.
2. Give an example of a situation where justice was a problem at work.
First, it is important to understand that there is more than one type of justice. The commonly noted facets of
justice are procedural (i.e., the way things are done, the procedure for carrying out business and
rewarding/punishing, etc.), distributive (i.e., who gets what—are the “desserts” received given out fairly?), and
1. What are the three components of an attitude and give an example using job satisfaction?
The three components of an attitude are: belief, evaluation, and behavioral intention. Beliefs are statements of
perceptions, for example, “my boss does not pay attention to me.” Evaluations are judgments about those
beliefs (i.e., the attitude itself), for example, “I am dissatisfied with my job.” Behavioral intentions are
intentions to act in a certain way: “I am going to punch him in the face next time I see him.”
2. Which is more enduring? Mood or emotion?
Moods are more enduring…they are not tied to specific environmental inputs (or events). They are probably in
a large part either biological or trait-based in some specific way. Emotions are reactions to environmental
events.
In the organizational context, moods are mostly likely detected at the selection stage. They may also exacerbate
existing organizational problems. For example, a person more attuned or more likely to perceive events in a
negative light may feel far more dissatisfied if they experience the same negative event as a person with a
positive mood. It is likely, that is, that moods and emotions interact with one another, such that moods may
inflate or deflate the intensity of emotional reactions depending on whether the direction (positive or negative)
of the mood and the direction (positive or negative) of the emotion match or are dissimilar.
3. What’s the difference between self esteem, self-efficacy and LOC? Give an example of each.
Self-esteem is one’s view of one’s social value; that is, how accepted and valued you feel by others. Self-
efficacy is one’s view of one’s capacity to succeed in a given situation at a given task. Locus of control one’s
perception of where one’s actions and decisions are controlled. That is, usually external or internal: one’s
actions are controlled from outside one’s self (i.e., external LOC) or actions are controlled from the inside of
one’s self (i.e., internal LOC).
These variables are important individual differences in the organizational context. Self-esteem is malleable, but
the degree of it’s movement is slow and quick to bounce back to original levels. Self-efficacy is very important
in the work context, because if workers do not feel like they can accomplish what they set out to do, then they
probably won’t do it. So, a low self-efficacy is a very dangerous thing. LOC is important because people make
different judgments depending on their LOC; that is, I am more apt to blame my boss for bad things and even
for good things if I have an external LOC. In this scenario, outcomes are not likely to be viewed by the worker
as under one’s control, and therefore, the worker will be less motivated to accomplish goals that are apparently
out one’s hand anyway.
4. Which is most important for work motivation, affective, continuance, or normative commitment?
Why?
Affective commitment is the most important for work motivation. Affective commitment refers to one’s feeling
of commitment to the organization. This commitment is not due to feelings of obligation or fear of punishment,
it is because one actually feels attached to the organization, takes responsibility for the organization, and may
perhaps even refer others to the organization.
Continuance commitment is really only avoiding the discomfort of leaving—changing organizations is a costly
process…in continuance commitment, the only reason one is committed is to avoid being without an
organization. This is like the employee who hates coming to work and feels no desire to be at the job, except to
, not get fired. They perhaps may be thinking about changing jobs, but the person has not yet found one, so they
are just working to not be without a job.
Normative commitment refers to feelings of obligation toward an organization. In this case, the worker
perceives that he/she is “supposed” to work for the organization. However this feeling is not because of any
personal attachment to the organization, its values, etc.
5. How would you use what is known about the dispositional and situational (job characteristics)
approaches to design an effective employee selection process?
Hackman & Oldham’s Job Characteristics Model suggests that there are several important characteristics of job
that need to be present in order for the job to effectively motivate employess. These characteristics are: skill
variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback. While these characteristics provide a
convenient framework from which to view and correct job designs in order to improve worker motivation, they
are not the whole picture. For example, individuals may differ as to the degree of autonomy they want in their
job; also, a person with a limited skill set would not perform well in a job that required as large skill variety.
Therefore, an effective employee selection process entails identifying the applicant’s dispositions and strengths
and matching them to a job that fits those characteristics. A person who wants to learn, grow, be challenged,
and have freedom should be placed in a job that will afford those opportunities and require those skills. A
person who wants a simple job, wants to be told what to do, and is satisfied with their current levels of skills
and abilities should not be put in a job that has been designed to require and/or provide those.
6. Why has job satisfaction not been shown to be highly related to absenteeism and turnover?
Past research have found a consistent, yet relatively small correlation between job satisfaction and absenteeism
and turnover. This is for several reasons. First, the research on job satisfaction has, by and large, revealed that
most employees are satisfied. There is not a wide range of satisfaction levels among employees.
In addition, absenteeism and turnover are work-behaviors, that, while may be related to job attitudes, they are
not attitudes… While attitudes are often thought to be predictive of behaviors, they are often not (especially not
as predictors of immediate and short-term actions).
Also, job satisfactions comes in many different forms (i.e., facets). They may be particular components of job
satisfaction that are more related to turnover and absenteeism than overall or general job satisfaction. Finally,
employees often have reasons to stay on a job even when they are dissatisfied. For example…individuals may
be affectively committed to an organization, may fear switching jobs, or may feel obligated to stay at the
organization. These commitments moderate the relationship between job satisfaction and turnover/absenteeism.
1. How did Cropanzano get interested in studying “justice”?
Cropanzano recalled the story of Ludlow, CO; a mining town that underwent a strike that ended by the National
Guard killing miners, women, and children in a face-off. He was convinced the miners were willing to risk
death and injury because they were seeking justice.
2. Give an example of a situation where justice was a problem at work.
First, it is important to understand that there is more than one type of justice. The commonly noted facets of
justice are procedural (i.e., the way things are done, the procedure for carrying out business and
rewarding/punishing, etc.), distributive (i.e., who gets what—are the “desserts” received given out fairly?), and
