Programme: Mba Course: Behavioural Science Name Of Faculty: Prof. (col.) A.k.rajpal

PROGRAMME: MBA COURSE : BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCE NAME OF FACULTY: Prof. (Col.) A.K.RAJPAL

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UNIT - VI Attitude & Personality

What is Attitude ? “An important psychological attributes of

individuals which shape their behaviour.” “A predisposition to respond in a positive

or negative way to some one or some thing in one’s environment.”

Attitudes Varies in Several Ways: •Direction – For or Against Something. •Degree / Intensity – Degree of Confidence. •Negative, Positive or Neutral (To be indifferent).

Values And Attitudes Attitudes are different from values. •Values are the ideals (abstract ideals), positive or negative not tied to any specific object or situation that represents our beliefs about ideal conduct. •Whereas, attitudes are narrower. They are feelings, thoughts and behavioural tendencies towards a specific subject or a situation. •Attitudes are evaluative statements – either favourable or unfavourable, concerning the objects, people or events.

•Values are generally used either as characteristic of an object or as an attribute possessed by an individual and thought desirable (Focus is on the latter). •Thus values provide : Standards of competence and morality Are fewer in number then attitudes Transcend specific objects, situations or persons Are relatively permanent and resistant to change Are more central to the core of a person Provride focus on the judgment of what ought to be.

Dynamics / Characteristics of Attitudes Attitudes are characterized in terms of : • Valence • Multiplexity • Relation to Needs • Centrality

Factors That Determine Our Attitudes •Environment •Experiences •Education

Effect Of Attitude On Behaviour 

People have natural tendency to maintain consistency between attitude and behaviour.

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Attitudes thus lead to intended behaviour if there is no external intervention.

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Conversely speaking, change in behaviour calls for a change in attitudes of individuals.

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Employees’ attitudes have direct influence on their perception.

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Although, influence of attitudes on behaviour is not clearly discernible, two theories help us understand the direction of attitudinal influences :  Cognitive Dissonance  Self Fulfilling Prophecy

Attitudinal Influence on Perception 

Perceptual outcomes are derived from past experiences.

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Our five senses and past experiences create our perception or interpretation of a current situation.

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Based on what we see, smell, touch and taste; we develop our definition of what happened.

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If our attitudes are positive, things look brighter than if they are negative.

Attitude and Job Satisfaction 

Refers to an individual’s general attitude towards his job.

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In fact, two terms are used interchangeably.

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One of the important tasks of managers is, therefore, to provide satisfaction to employees from their respective jobs.

Attitude and Job Involvement 

Refers to which a person identifies psychologically with his job.

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High degree of involvement will lead to solid identification of the individual with his job and the result invariably will be a quality product.

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Needless to say, thus, that Attitude is an important variable in determining organizational commitment.

Attitudes and Organisational Commitment 

Another name for organisational loyalty resulting into a stable work force.

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Here again, Attitude is an important variable in determining organisational commitment.

What Different People Expect From Different Attitudes The Players

The Critics

The Spectators

Check Your Attitude Spectator At Home At Work In Life

Critic

Player

Attitude And Stress 

The word stress is derived from the Latin word “Stringer’ which means ‘to draw tight”.

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Stress is understood as a stimulus and / or a response which lays the foundations for three models of stress, which are conceived as Environmental, Medical and Personal.

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Stress is, thus, the response to events that threaten or challenge a person and make him/her extremely anxious.

Stress And Attitude 

Negative attitude emanating from lack of value and civility, being driven by consumerism, disconnected from society and reality, disloyalty, being too ambitious and cynical and cut throat competition often results in ‘stress and strain’.

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A positive attitude, on the other hand, has a surprisingly good effect on the way others respond to you.

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Success is not merely about managing the life and job if it does not complement a management of our inner selves to her positive attitude and remain destressed all the time.

Steps to Building A Positive Attitude 

We can build and maintain a positive attitude: Become aware of the principles that build a positive attitude  Desire to be positive  Cultivate the discipline and dedication to practise those principles.

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Let us get away from the past and get back in the main stream and think positive, be true, honest and good.

•Let us consciously practise the following steps for building and maintaining a positive attitude:Change Focus, Look for the Positive. Looking for the Gold. Make a habit of doing it now. Develop an Attitude of Gratitude. Get into a continuous Education Programme. Sharpen Your Axe. Build Positive Self Esteem.

Action Plan    

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“Dream are a dime a dozen ……It is their execution that counts”. List two problem you have with your attitude. Then write down at least one potential positive outcome. Though not easy, but can be done if we get used to looking for opportunities in problems. Practise this strategy with future problems your may encounter. Make a list of things you would like to change about yourself. Then list the benefits to you and others of each change. Finally, establish a timetable and commit yourself to make the changes.