Date of Award

6-1964

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. E. Jack Asher

Second Advisor

Dr. Frank Fatzinger

Third Advisor

Dr. R. H. Schmidt

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

Industrial managers are showing an increasing interest in employee attitudes, opinions and morale. This conclusion is reflected in the fact that many companies conduct attitude and opinion surveys, train their supervisors in human relations and provide other functions designed to create favorable attitudes.

Management concern for the promotion of favorable employee attitudes may be attributed to two main factors. Part of the concern may be attributed to a general trend toward greater social responsibilities of industry. The other, and perhaps greater part can be attributed to an assumption that employees with favorable attitudes are more productive than those with generally unfavorable attitudes. Management interest in a relationship such as this is quite understandable in the modern competitive economic system, where productivity is emphasized to such a great extent.

Brayfield and Crockett (1955) suggested, however, that it is time to question the strategic and ethical merits of selling to industry an assumed relationship between employee attitudes and employee performance. They emphasized that, although productivity or performance has economic value to industry, it does not mean that productivity is the only or even the most important aspect of organizational behavior.

At any rate it is apparent that the economic motives of management (and ultimately the society) have influenced the methodology of investigations of the relationship between employee attitudes and employee performance. This influence manifests itself particularly in the selection of performance criteria, a point which will be discussed in detail following a survey of pertinent research into the area of employee attitudes and employee performance.

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