<select id="ddlViewBy">
<option value="value">text</option>
</select>
JQuery
var txt = $("#ddlViewBy option:selected").text();
var val = $("#ddlViewBy option:selected").val();
JS Fiddle DEMO
<select id="ddlViewBy">
<option value="value">text</option>
</select>
JQuery
var txt = $("#ddlViewBy option:selected").text();
var val = $("#ddlViewBy option:selected").val();
JS Fiddle DEMO