(a) "A person can have thousands of attitudes but organizational behaviour focuses its attention on a very limited number of…

(a) Job-related attitudes and how they differ from other attitudes

An attitude is an evaluative statement about people, objects or events, with cognitive, affective and behavioural components. Organisational behaviour studies mainly the attitudes that bear on work and performance.

Job satisfaction is the positive feeling about one's job that follows from evaluating its characteristics, such as pay, work, supervision and colleagues. Job involvement is the degree to which a person identifies with the job and regards performance as important to self-worth. Psychological empowerment is the belief in one's impact, competence, meaningfulness of the work and autonomy. Organisational commitment is identification with the organisation and a wish to remain a member, and Meyer and Allen divide it into affective commitment (emotional attachment), continuance commitment (cost of leaving) and normative commitment (sense of obligation). Perceived organisational support is the belief that the organisation values contributions and cares for wellbeing. Employee engagement is enthusiasm and involvement in the work itself.

These attitudes are linked to performance, absenteeism, turnover and citizenship behaviour, so managers study and manage them.

Non-job attitudes, such as views on politics, religion, a brand or a sports team, have no direct link to the workplace. Differences follow. Job attitudes concern the work and employer, while others concern the wider world. Management can influence job attitudes through pay, design of jobs and supervision but cannot shape personal opinions. Job attitudes are tied to measurable work outcomes. Yet the two are not wholly separate, since strong outside beliefs can spill over into conflict at work.

(b) Delegation: loss or enhancement of power

Delegation is the transfer of authority to a subordinate to carry out specified tasks, while the manager keeps ultimate accountability.

The case that it enhances power is stronger. A manager who delegates routine matters gains time for planning and strategy and can achieve more through others, so the manager's effective power grows. Subordinates are developed and motivated, trust and commitment increase, and decisions get made faster at the point of action. Kanter and Follett argue that power is not a fixed quantity: sharing it multiplies it, since leaders who empower are seen as stronger.

There is a case for loss. Authority that is delegated is not available to the manager, and poor delegation leads to errors for which the manager is still accountable, loss of control and sometimes a subordinate becoming too independent. Fear of this is a reason why managers resist delegating.

The outcome depends on how delegation is done. It enhances power when the manager chooses capable people, gives clear goals and sufficient authority matched to responsibility, sets standards and feedback, and keeps control of strategic decisions. It causes loss when it becomes abdication, with vague instruction and no follow-up.

The judgement is that delegation, done with safeguards, enhances a manager's power and the loss is a risk only when it is badly done.

(c) Effectiveness of recruitment and cost-saving alternatives

An organisation judges the recruitment process by measuring outcomes against cost and quality.

Common measures are the cost per hire, the time taken to fill a vacancy, the yield ratio at each stage from applications to shortlist to offer to joining, and the offer acceptance rate. Quality is judged by the later performance of recruits, their performance in probation and their retention after one or two years, with source-wise comparison to see which channel produces the best people. Feedback from managers and candidates on the process, and the diversity of the pool, add to the picture.

To reduce the high cost of recruitment, firms use several alternatives. Internal sources, such as promotion, transfer and job posting, cost less than outside search. Employee referrals and campus hiring bring cheaper, pre-screened candidates. Online job portals and social media are cheaper than advertisements in print. Firms may use temporary or contract staff, employee leasing or staffing agencies for peak needs, and outsource recruitment altogether. Overtime, job sharing, recall of retirees and apprentices also reduce the need for external hiring.

Each alternative has limits. Internal hiring can narrow the talent pool, and outsourcing can reduce control over quality.