The Greeks of Chic

Case study: ‘The Greeks of Chic' Task 1

Analyse the case "The Geeks of Chic" by critically discussing the following organizational behaviour issues as they pertain to the case:

Task 1.1

Draw on the content in Module 1 and 2 (and relevant text book chapters) to conduct a critical analysis of the two job related attitudes, job satisfaction and organisational commitment, as they manifest in this case. (600 words)

Assignment/Analysis - Task 1.1

Attitudes are predispositions to respond positively or negatively to someone or something in one's environment. Attitudes are similar to values and are influenced by them but have a more specific focus. They operate through intended behaviour to influence actual behavior or other outcomes. Attitudes have three components cognitive (beliefs, opinions, knowledge), affective (feelings) and behavioural (intentions to behave in a particular way though this may not necessarily eventuate). The affective component is the most essential and most accurately depicts the attitude. (Managing organizational behaviour USQ 2012 study Book Page. 41-42)

Cognitive dissonance describes a state of perceived inconsistency between a person's expressed attitudes and actual behaviour. There are a number of attitudes that have particular relevance in the workplace. The most important of these is job satisfaction, a specific attitude that indicates the degree to which individuals feel positively or negatively about their jobs. It is an emotional response to one's tasks as well as the physical and social conditions of the workplace. Often, job satisfaction is measured in terms of feelings about various job facets, including the work itself, pay, promotion, co-workers and supervision. (See Wood et al. 2012, pp. 56–61.)

In the case "The Geeks of Chic" staff morale was damaged badly by the down-sizing exercise and still has not completely recovered. Some staff feel that promotions and redundancies had more to do with who was liked or disliked by Warren Palmer than who was competent or essential to the company. Warren admits that early in the downsizing exercise he was persuaded too much by personal rather than professional reasons for the changes he introduced. Due to these reasons the staff job satisfaction and organisational commitment has dramatically reduced as seen in the case.

The most important factor of job satisfaction is a specific attitude that indicates the degree to which individuals feel