Organization & Environment 

aims to publish rigorous and impactful research on

the management of organizations and its implications for the sustainability and
flourishing of the social, natural and economic environment in which they act.
An organization and its environment exchange information between themselves .
Organizations need information about the external environment for planning, decision-
making and control purposes. Hence, they analyze the environment's variables along
with studying their behavior and changes.
WHAT IS environment in an organization? The organizational environment is the set of
forces surrounding an organization . These forces may hamper or facilitate the
organization's access to resources, which means they can both offer opportunities and
pose threats.
Why do we study organization and environment? The study of organizational
behaviour gives insight on how employees behave and perform in the workplace . It
helps us develop an understanding of the aspects that can motivate employees,
increase their performance, and help organizations establish a strong and trusting
relationship with their employees.
How does environment affect organizational behavior? The Environment
The environmental influences on organizational behavior can come from both internal
and external sources. A company engaged in a highly regulated business may have a
strict and structured culture due to the need to conform to certain laws and regulations
from the company's external environment .
How do organizations adapt to their environment? To adapt to environmental changes,
a business organization may implement different strategies consisting of mergers,
takeover, acquisition and alliances . Organization design and flexibility- In a dynamic
environment, it is essential to choose a few standard operating procedures.
What is organizational culture and environment? Organizational culture is defined as
the underlying beliefs, assumptions, values and ways of interacting that contribute to
the unique social and psychological environment of an organization .
What is an example of organizational environment? It includes all of the elements that
exist outside of the organization's boundaries and have the potential to affect a portion
or all of the organization. Examples include government regulatory agencies,
competitors, customers, suppliers, and pressure from the public .
What is the importance of understanding the organization? Serve you in your current
employment position by helping you find your organizational fit . Help you build
observance skills that will help you more quickly find “your fit” in future employment
scenarios.
What is the importance of environment? Environment plays an important role in
healthy living and the existence of life on planet earth . Earth is a home for different
living species and we all are dependent on the environment for food, air, water, and
other needs. Therefore, it is important for every individual to save and protect our
environment.
Why do we need the environment? Healthy ecosystems clean our water, purify our air,
maintain our soil, regulate the climate, recycle nutrients and provide us with food . They
provide raw materials and resources for medicines and other purposes. They are at the
foundation of all civilisation and sustain our economies.
Environmental influences are  hypothesized to influence behavior both
indirectly and directly . The indirect causal mechanism reflects the
mediating role of behavior-specific cognitions in the influence of the
environment on behavior.
8 Environmental Factors that Affect Health
From the quality of the air you breathe to the condition of the roads you drive on,
environmental factors can have a major influence on your health. What’s more, these
factors have evolved considerably over time, due to both natural and human-caused
events.
Professionals in the environmental health field examine how people interact with the
world around them, chronicling the many ways that these interactions can impact
physical fitness, vulnerability to disease, and other aspects of human wellness.
In this article, we will explore eight key environmental factors that affect health:
Chemical safety
Air pollution
Climate change and natural disasters
Diseases caused by microbes
Lack of access to health care
Infrastructure issues
Poor water quality
Global environmental issues
Why Is Environmental Health Important?
Through strategic efforts to improve environmental health, public health professionals
can enhance personal wellness for individuals, families, and communities.
Environmental Influences
The environments that surround adolescents contribute to their health and wellbeing
both directly and indirectly. A clear way to look at all these influences is through
the social-ecological model, developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner, which is often used
within public health and human service settings to help explain an issue or situation and
identify strengths and areas of weakness.1
The different environments in this model (Figure 1) typically include:
the individual: the adolescent, or person of focus
the microsystem: relationships with family, school personnel, peers, health service
professionals
the mesosystem: interactions between microsystems (e.g., families and teachers)
the exosystem: local politics, mass media
and the macro system: national policies, attitudes of the culture.
Child growth and development are affected by 4 major types of environmental factors:
biological, physical, psychosocial, and familial .
What are the 5 environmental factors? Air, water, climate, soil, natural vegetation and
landformsare all environmental factors. By definition, the environmental factors affect
everyday living, and play a key role in bringing health differences across the geographic
areas.
How does environment influence our behavior? The environment can facilitate or
discourage interactions among people (and the subsequent benefits of social support).
For example, an inviting space with comfortable chairs and privacy can encourage a
family to stay and visit with a patient. The environment can influence peoples' behavior
and motivation to act.
What are some environmental influences that affect you physically? Physical
Environmental Factors
Sleep deprivation.
Smoking.
Substance abuse.
Pollution.
Exposure to toxins during childhood.
Extreme weather conditions (such as excessive rain or snow)
Hazardous conditions at work.
Organizational design is a step-by-step methodology which identifies
dysfunctional aspects of work flow, procedures, structures and systems,
realigns them to fit current business realities/goals and then develops
plans to implement the new changes.
The process focuses on improving both the technical and people side of the business.
For most companies, the design process leads to a more effective organization design,
significantly improved results (profitability, customer service, internal operations), and
employees who are empowered and committed to the business. The hallmark of the
design process is a comprehensive and holistic approach to organizational improvement
that touches all aspects of organizational life, so you can achieve:
Excellent customer service
Increased profitability
Reduced operating costs
Improved efficiency and cycle time
A culture of committed and engaged employees
A clear strategy for managing and growing your business
By design we’re talking about the integration of people with core business processes,
technology and systems. A well-designed organization ensures that the form of the
organization matches its purpose or strategy, meets the challenges posed by business
realities and significantly increases the likelihood that the collective efforts of people
will be successful.
As companies grow and the challenges in the external environment become more
complex, businesses processes, structures and systems that once worked become
barriers to efficiency, customer service, employee morale and financial profitability.
Organizations that don’t periodically renew themselves suffer from such symptoms as:
Inefficient workflow with breakdowns and non value-added steps
Redundancies in effort (“we don’t have time to do things right, but do have time to do
them over”)
Fragmented work with little regard for good of the whole (Production ships bad parts to
meet their quotas)
Lack of knowledge and focus on the customer
Silo mentality and turf battles
Lack of ownership (“It’s not my job”)
Cover up and blame rather than identifying and solving problems
Delays in decision-making
People don’t have information or authority to solve problems when and where they
occur
Management, rather than the front line, is responsible for solving problems when things
go wrong
It takes a long time to get something done
Systems are ill-defined or reinforce wrong behaviors
Mistrust between workers and management
METHODOLOGY
Although adaptable to the size, complexity and needs of any organization, the design
process consists of the following steps.
Charter the design process
WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN?BY  DR. ROGER K. ALLEN   22 COMMENTS
Organizational design   is a step-by-step methodology which identifies dysfunctional
aspects of work flow, procedures, structures and systems, realigns them to fit current
business realities/goals and then develops plans to implement the new changes. The
process focuses on improving both the technical and people side of the business.
(At times, senior teams may go through either a strategic planning process or an
executive team development process prior to beginning a redesign initiative, depending
on how clear they are about their strategy and how well they work together as a team.)
Assess the current state of the business
You don’t want to begin making changes until you have a good understanding of the
current organization. Using our  Transformation Model , we facilitate a comprehensive
assessment of your organization to understand how it functions, its strengths and
weaknesses, and alignment to your core ideology and business strategy. The assessment
process is astounding in the clarity it brings an organization’s leaders and members, not
only regarding how the organization currently works but how the various parts are
interrelated, its overall state of health and, most importantly, what needs to be done to
make improvements.
Design the new organization
The senior team (and/or others who have been invited to participate in the process),
look to the future and develop a complete set of design recommendations for the “ideal
future.” At a high level, the steps in this process include the following:
Defining your basic organizing principle. (Will you organize primarily around functions,
processes, customer-types, technologies, geographies, etc.?)
Streamlining core business processes—those that result in revenue and/or deliverables
to customers.
Documenting and standardizing procedures.
Organizing people around core processes. Identifying headcount necessary to do core
work.
Defining tasks, functions, and skills. What are the performance metrics for each
function/team? How are they evaluated and held accountable?
Determining facility, layout and equipment needs of various teams and departments
throughout the organization.
Identifying support resources (finance, sales, HR, etc.), mission, staffing, etc. and where
should these should be located.
Defining the management structure that provides strategic, coordinating and
operational support.
Improving coordinating and development systems (hiring, training, compensation,
information-sharing, goal-setting, etc.).
At some point the design process morphs into transition planning as critical
implementation dates are set and specific, concrete action plans created to implement
the new design. And a key part of this step includes communicating progress to other
members of the organization. A communications plan is developed that educates people
in what is happening. Education brings awareness, and everyone’s inclusion brings the
beginning of commitment.
Pre-design Workflow

Post-design Workflow
The first chart illustrates the tendency of most people within organizations to think in
terms of silos and organize people according to the similarity of their functions.
What are the 4 types of organizational design? The four types of organizational
structures are functional, divisional, flatarchy, and matrix structures
What is organizational design example? Examples include a strong culture, trustful
communication, swift decision making, undistorted communication, and interaction
between the organization and its parts .
What are the types of organization design? The six most common approaches to
organizational design include simple, functional, divisional, matrix, team and network
designs . A company will choose their organizational structure based on their needs. The
organizational design will reflect a structure that aligns to the business at any given
moment in time.
What is organizational design and why is it important? Deloitte defines organizational
design as a model that allows organizations to accelerate in complex business
environments by creating direct alignment of the organization to its strategy and
business model . With success, the performance of people within the business is
enhanced with corresponding benefits to results.
Organization DesignCreating an Effective Organizational Structure
Organization Design can drive efficiency and success in your business.
Organization Design is a process for shaping the way organizations are structured and
run.
It involves many different aspects of life at work, including team formations, shift
patterns, lines of reporting, decision-making procedures, communication channels, and
more.
Organization Design – and redesign – can help any type of organization to achieve its
goals. Sometimes, a large-scale reorganization is necessary. At other points, more subtle
shifts in structures and systems can ensure that an organization continues to thrive.
In this article, we'll look at when and why Organization Design is necessary, how it can
affect people, and how to implement it effectively.

The Impact of Organization Design

Organizational design involves implementing organizational structures and systems that
align to an organization's core strategies. Often organization redesign happens because
a business is growing or needs to downsize. However, it may also be because of a
change in leadership, strategy, or due to changes in the organization's wider
environment in which it operates.
When organizational design is effective it can have a number of benefits, including:
Increased effiency.
Faster and more effective decision making.
Improved quality of goods and services.
Higher profits.
Better customer relations.
Safer working conditions.
A happier, healthier and more motivated workforce.
Greater preparedness for future challenges.
However, if there are flaws in its design, an organization can suffer serious problems,
including:
Ineffective problem solving.
Wasted time.
Lack of coordination between different parts of the business.
Inconsistent quality of work.
Failures of legal compliance.
Reputational damage.
Low morale, leading to high staff turnover.
Missed targets and poor performance. [1]
What Triggers Organizational Design?
Organization design is often triggered by three common issues:
1. Changes in the Environment
Changes here could refer to internal or external changes. Perhaps you've bought some
new technology, or a rival has entered your territory. Maybe an important piece of
legislation affecting your business has changed.
Some changes may be exciting, but some are worrying. However, they all require a
response – and that likely means some alterations to the way you operate.
2. You've Launched a New Strategy
An organization might take the strategic decision to approach its work in a different way
for any number of reasons. It might also change the ways it measures success.
For example, a publishing company might decide to produce less in print, offer more
free content online, and aim to generate more of its profits from advertising. In which
case, it would have to set new goals for website engagement and advertising revenue,
which would in turn trigger a need to redesign its organization and structure so that it
could successfully achieve its new strategic goals.
3. Your Current Design Is Not Fit for Purpose
Change is often gradual, but at some point in time, a "tipping point" is reached at which
the organization recognizes a need to adapt to such changes.
Perhaps you're organization has continued to uphold a very strict, hierarchical structure
and has so far been unwilling to offer flexible working options, but recently its noticed
that this has negatively affected recruitment and staff retention. Absences are also up
and engagement is low. Enough's enough: your organizational design needs to change if
you are to continue to attract and retain the talent you need to stay competitive.
Types of Organization Design
Organization Design is often divided into two distinct styles:
Hierarchical.
Organic.
The table below shows some of the key features of hierarchical and organic designs –
examined in terms of complexity, formality, levels of participation, and communication
styles.
Characteristic Hierarchical Structure Organic Structure
Complexity High – with an emphasisUsually lower – less
on horizontal separationdifferentiation and
into functions,functional separation.
departments and divisions.
Formality High – lots of well-definedLower – no real hierarchy,
lines of control andand less formal division of
responsibility. responsibilities.
Participation Low – employees lowerHigher – ower-level
down the organizationemployees have more
 have little involvement ininfluence on decision
decision making. makers.

Communication Downward – informationLateral, upward and

starts at the top anddownward – information
trickles down toflows through the
employees. organization with fewer
barriers.
It's worth emphasizing that one isn't intrinsically better than the other. Organizations
need to choose a design that matches their strategies and goals, suits the environment
they're operating in, and is right for their people.
It's also possible to mix elements of both styles, or to emphasize one or the other at
particular times, or in specific areas. There's a good example of this in our Book Insight
podcast on "Holacracy,"  a tightly organized system that also allows for creative
connections.
Hierarchical Organization Designs
Hierarchical organizational designs often fall into two main categories:
Functional structures. Functions – such as accounting, marketing, HR and so on – are
separate, each led by a senior executive who reports to the CEO. This can be a very
efficient structure, allowing for economies of scale because specialists work for the
whole organization. However, there needs to be clear lines of communication and
accountability. There's also a danger that functional goals end up overshading the
overall aims of the organization, and there's often little scope for cross-team
collaboration.
Divisional structures. The company is organized by office or customer location. Each
division is autonomous and has a manager who reports to the CEO. A key advantage of
this type of structure is that each division is free to concentrate on its own performance,
and its people can build up strong local links. However, this can also lead to duplication
of duties. People may also feel disconnected from the company as a whole, and enjoy
fewer opportunities to gain training in different areas of the business.
Organic Organization Designs
Organic organizational designs include:
Simple/Flat structure. This type of structure is common among small businesses. There
may only be two or three management levels, with people working together as one,
large team, and reporting to the same, single person. This can be a very efficient way of
working, as responsibilities are clear, and there's a useful level of flexibility. However, it
can also hold back progress if the company grows to a point where the founder or CEO
no longer has enough time to make all the decisions.
Matrix structure. Here, people typically have two or more lines of report. This type of
organization may combine both functional and divisional lines of responsibility, allowing
it to focus on divisional performance, while also sharing specialized skills and resources.
However, matrix structures can become overly complex, effectively having to uphold
two different hierarchies, which may start to compete. This may even create tension
and result in conflict, in some cases.
Network structures. Often known as a "lean" structure, this type of organization has
central, core functions that operate the strategic business, and outsources or
subcontracts non-core functions. This structure is very flexible, and it can adapt to new
market challenges almost immediately. However, there's an inevitable loss of control
due to its dependence on third parties, and all the potential problems that result from
managing outsourced or subcontracted teams.
Organization Design is generally divided into two main approaches:
Hierarchical. Usually very rigid and complex, with a top-down management approach.
Organic. A more flexible, flat structure, where collaboration and two-way participation is
encouraged between leaders and team members.
There are three key steps that can help you to implement a new organization design.
These are:
Considering the impact.
Creating a collaborative plan of action.
Communicating and providing support.
Human behavior is an inherently complex subject matter which pertains to the manner
and reasons behind people’s actions. Of course, there are countless theories associated
with human behavior and various types of conduct. Understanding human behavior is
very important in society; the knowledge sheds light on patterns, the reasons people
make certain decisions, and much more. Of course, the more one understands about
human behavior, the better they can position themselves and comprehend how others
see, interpret, and adapt to their various environments.
Theories Of Human Behavior
Of theories about human behavior, one of the most prevalent ones of all is that of
conditioning. Conditioning occurs when someone is groomed into behaving in a certain
manner. There are two main types of conditioning, and different people may be more
impacted by one form over the other. Of course, conditioning human beings to behave
in a certain way can have prompt ethical or moral debates, especially when someone is
conditioned to act in a manner which fails to suit their best interests. Then, others
maintain that human beings are all inherently programmed to behave in one way or
another.
Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning occurs when someone comes to associate specific stimuli with
various outcomes. In turn, this manner of conditioning often encourages people to
behave in ways which will bring them joy and pleasure. For instance, if someone finds
that they tend to do well when they follow their instincts as opposed to following the
rules, they are likelier to be a nonconformist and take risks. Classical conditioning does
not always have to occur from the actions or manipulations of a specific individual.
Sometimes, this type of conditioning happens from society or from the environment in
which someone is routinely exposed to.
Operant Conditioning
Quite simply, operant conditioning controls human behavior via positive and negative
reinforcement. A person who finds themselves constantly in trouble with the law when
they break certain rules typically learns to associate rule-breaking with legal issues.
Likewise, an individual who regularly studies for exams and aces them comes to
associate studying with positive grades. When it comes to human behavior, people tend
to steer clear of what causes them pain and gravitate towards pleasure and personal
satisfaction. These are some of how conditioning, both classical and operant, is
theorized to impact human behavior.
Cognition
In the realm of human behavior, cognition is a very prevalent theory which maintains
that human behavior is determined by an individual’s thoughts, inner judgment,
personal motivations, etc. This particular theory places great emphasis on people’s
internal states and maintains that what a person is feeling, thinking, or battling will
eventually impact the behavior which the world sees. Of course, cognitive theories
which pertain to human behavior are heavily supported by mental health studies,
psychological studies, and more. Much of what exists within the tangible, external world
today originally existed within an individual’s mind.
Types Of Human Behavior
Many theories of human behavior are widely used and accepted in today’s world.
Understanding these theories makes a difference, but so does understanding
the types of human behavior and the factors which drive them. As a unique species,
human beings will collectively and individually fall into different or even multiple
categories. Certain people may be inclined in one direction, whereas others are driven
by something else entirely. Nevertheless, the following information is required to
understand what human behavior is true.
Personality-Based
How people behave is largely impacted by their personality. Some individuals may be
patient and easygoing, while others are impatient and hot-headed. In most cases, you
cannot tell someone’s personality right off the bat. Usually, it takes time to get to know
them, interact with them, and truly get a feel for what you’re dealing with. Some
personalities are friendlier than others, and there are a series of factors which can shape
or alter someone’s personality. Culture, environment, the peer can influence an
individual’s personality, and so much more.
Interest-Based
A person’s level of interest significantly plays a role in their human behavior. Interest
can determine whether or not someone behaves in a way which is not consistent with
who they are. Furthermore, interest often determines whether or not someone takes
risks or pursues a goal. More often than not, when someone is interested in a person or
subject, they are more likely to devote attention than if they were not interested.
Gauging a person’s interest in something can be a very great way of predicting or
theorizing forthcoming human behavior.
Attitude-Based
Like personality and interest, individual attitude also deeply affects human behavior.
Attitudes can be right or wrong, by one’s development or by outside influence.
Nevertheless, there is no denying that a person’s attitude determines the choices they
make, the way they interact with others, and their general human behavior in a
nutshell. A positive attitude can make someone more open and receptive to a certain
person or situation. Likewise, a negative attitude tends to cause individuals to avoid or
shut out what they view disfavorably.
Emotion-Based
Emotions are deeply relevant when it pertains to human behavior. So many actions and
decisions in life are emotionally charged, even when people don’t realize this on the
surface. A positive emotional state can cause someone to be open-minded, more likely
to take risks, and otherwise engage in certain behaviors. Likewise, a negative emotional
state can lead to destruction, isolation, or a person’s decision to withdraw. Virtually all
manners of human behavior can be traced back to emotions of some sort, even if
additional factors are involved.
Human Behavior And Self-Control
A more thorough comprehension of human behavior has positively contributed to
society on so many levels. This is an undeniable fact, and yet, in spite of the definition,
theories, and types of human behavior, self-control is still very much relevant. How you
behave always makes a difference because when it’s all said and done, you are
accountable for your actions. Behaving well and controlling yourself is very easy when
everything is going well, and your back isn’t against the wall. However, behavior in the
face of stress, worries, and challenges is often what turns out to be the most defining.
Self-control matters because it determines whether or not you stay grounded even in
the face of adversity or tough times. Someone who lacks self-control will have a
significantly harder time staying out of trouble than someone who knows how to
manage themselves. Exercising self-control doesn’t mean that you will never feel angry.
It doesn’t mean that your personality, interest levels, and attitudes won’t come into
play; however, when you have self-control, you can manage these factors instead of
allowing them to manage you.
Consequences, whether positive or negative, are inevitable factors when it comes to
human behavior. The choices you make and how you choose to behave determine
whether or not you experience desirable or undesirable outcomes. Self-control is what
allows you to manage your behavior and avoid negative consequences which you don’t
want to be exposed to. There are countless situations where people have looked back
and either wished they’d exercised better self-control or felt thankful that they did
exercise self-control.
What If You Struggle With Your Human Behavior?
If you find yourself struggling with managing your behavior, then this could very well be
a sign of a deeper issue which needs to be addressed. Even when someone is feeling
frustrated or under the weather, there still tends to be a degree of self-control, which
allows them to manage the choices they make and how they interact with others.
Regardless of who you are or what you may be going through, you deserve access to the
best care possible, and you deserve the opportunity to make the rest of your life the
best of your life.
CONTENTSORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR3.3 Individual Differences: Values and
PersonalityLearning Objectives
Values
Values   refer to stable life goals that people have, reflecting what is most important to
them. Values are established throughout one’s life as a result of the accumulating life
experiences and tend to be relatively stable (Lusk & Oliver, 1974; Rokeach, 1973). The
values that are important to people tend to affect the types of decisions they make, how
they perceive their environment, and their actual behaviors. Moreover, people are more
likely to accept job offers when the company possesses the values people care about
(Judge & Bretz, 1992; Ravlin & Meglino, 1987). Value attainment is one reason why
people stay in a company, and when an organization does not help them attain their
values, they are more likely to decide to leave if they are dissatisfied with the job itself
(George & Jones, 1996).
Personality
Personality   encompasses the relatively stable feelings, thoughts, and behavioral
patterns a person has. Our personality differentiates us from other people, and
understanding someone’s personality gives us clues about how that person is likely to
act and feel in a variety of situations. In order to effectively manage organizational
behavior, an understanding of different employees’ personalities is helpful. Having this
knowledge is also useful for placing people in jobs and organizations.
If personality is stable, does this mean that it does not change? You probably remember
how you have changed and evolved as a result of your own life experiences, attention
you received in early childhood, the style of parenting you were exposed to, successes
and failures you had in high school, and other life events. In fact, our personality
changes over long periods of time. For example, we tend to become more socially
dominant, more conscientious (organized and dependable), and more emotionally
stable between the ages of 20 and 40, whereas openness to new experiences may begin
to decline during this same time (Roberts, Walton, & Viechtbauer, 2006). In other
words, even though we treat personality as relatively stable, changes occur. Moreover,
even in childhood, our personality shapes who we are and has lasting consequences for
us. For example, studies show that part of our career success and job satisfaction later
in life can be explained by our childhood personality (Judge & Higgins, 1999; Staw, Bell,
& Clausen, 1986).
Is our behavior in organizations dependent on our personality? To some extent, yes,
and to some extent, no. While we will discuss the effects of personality for employee
behavior, you must remember that the relationships we describe are modest
correlations. For example, having a sociable and outgoing personality may encourage
people to seek friends and prefer social situations. This does not mean that their
personality will immediately affect their work behavior. At work, we have a job to do
and a role to perform. Therefore, our behavior may be more strongly affected by what is
expected of us, as opposed to how we want to behave. When people have a lot of
freedom at work, their personality will become a stronger influence over their behavior
(Barrick & Mount, 1993).
Big Five Personality Traits
How many personality traits are there? How do we even know? In every language,
there are many words describing a person’s personality. In fact, in the English language,
more than 15,000 words describing personality have been identified. When researchers
analyzed the terms describing personality characteristics, they realized that there were
many words that were pointing to each dimension of personality. When these words
were grouped, five dimensions seemed to emerge that explain a lot of the variation in
our personalities (Goldberg, 1990). Keep in mind that these five are not necessarily the
only traits out there. There are other, specific traits that represent dimensions not
captured by the Big Five. Still, understanding the main five traits gives us a good start for
describing personality. A summary of the Big Five traits is presented in  Figure 3.4 “Big
Five Personality Traits” .
Figure 3.4   Big Five Personality Traits
Trait Description
O Being curious, original, intellectual,
creative, and open to new ideas.
penness
C Being organized, systematic, punctual,
achievement oriented, and dependable.
onscientiousness
E Being outgoing, talkative, sociable, and
enjoying social situations.
xtraversion
A Being affable, tolerant, sensitive,
trusting, kind, and warm.
greeableness
N Being anxious, irritable, temperamental,
and moody.
euroticism
Openness   is the degree to which a person is curious, original, intellectual, creative, and
open to new ideas. People high in openness seem to thrive in situations that require
being flexible and learning new things. They are highly motivated to learn new skills, and
they do well in training settings (Barrick & Mount, 1991; Lievens et al., 2003). They also
have an advantage when they enter into a new organization. Their open-mindedness
leads them to seek a lot of information and feedback about how they are doing and to
build relationships, which leads to quicker adjustment to the new job (Wanberg &
Kammeyer-Mueller, 2000).
Conscientiousness   refers to the degree to which a person is organized,
systematic, punctual, achievement oriented, and dependable. Conscientiousness is the
one personality trait that uniformly predicts how high a person’s performance will be,
across a variety of occupations and jobs (Barrick & Mount, 1991). In fact,
conscientiousness is the trait most desired by recruiters and results in the most success
in interviews (Dunn et al., 1995; Tay, Ang, & Van Dyne, 2006).
Extraversion   is the degree to which a person is outgoing, talkative, and sociable, and
enjoys being in social situations.
Agreeableness   is the degree to which a person is nice, tolerant, sensitive, trusting, kind,
and warm. In other words, people who are high in agreeableness are likeable people
who get along with others. Not surprisingly, agreeable people help others at work
consistently, and this helping behavior is not dependent on being in a good mood (Ilies,
Scott, & Judge, 2006). They are also less likely to retaliate when other people treat them
unfairly (Skarlicki, Folger, & Tesluk, 1999). This may reflect their ability to show empathy
and give people the benefit of the doubt.
How Accurately Can You Describe Your Big Five Personality Factors?
Neuroticism   refers to the degree to which a person is anxious, irritable, aggressive,
temperamental, and moody. These people have a tendency to have emotional
adjustment problems and experience stress and depression on a habitual basis. People
very high in neuroticism experience a number of problems at work. For example, they
are less likely to be someone people go to for advice and friendship (Klein et al., 2004).
In other words, they may experience relationship difficulties. They tend to be habitually
unhappy in their jobs and report high intentions to leave, but they do not necessarily
actually leave their jobs (Judge, Heller, & Mount, 2002; Zimmerman, 2008). Being high in
neuroticism seems to be harmful to one’s career, as they have lower levels of career
success (measured with income and occupational status achieved in one’s career).
Finally, if they achieve managerial jobs, they tend to create an unfair climate at work
(Mayer et al., 2007).
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Aside from the Big Five personality traits, perhaps the most well-known and most often
used personality assessment is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Unlike the Big
Five, which assesses traits, MBTI measures types. Assessments of the Big Five do not
classify people as neurotic or extravert: It is all a matter of degrees. MBTI on the other
hand, classifies people as one of 16 types (Carlyn, 1977; Myers, 1962). In MBTI, people
are grouped using four dimensions. Based on how a person is classified on these four
dimensions, it is possible to talk about 16 unique personality types, such as ESTJ and
ISTP.
Dimension Explanation
EI Extraversion: Those whoIntroversion: Those who
derive their energy fromderive their energy from
other people and objects. inside.
SN Sensing: Those who rely onIntuition: Those who rely
their five senses toon their intuition and
perceive the externalhuches to perceive the
environment. external environment.
TF Thinking: Those who useFeeling: Those who use
their logic to arrive attheir values and ideas
solutions. about what is right an
wrong to arrive at
solutions.
JP Judgment: Those who arePerception: Those who are
organized, systematic, andcurious, open minded, and
would like to have clarityprefer to have some
and closure. ambiguity.
Positive and Negative Affectivity
You may have noticed that behavior is also a function of moods. When people are in a
good mood, they may be more cooperative, smile more, and act friendly. When these
same people are in a bad mood, they may have a tendency to be picky, irritable, and
less tolerant of different opinions. Yet, some people seem to be in a good mood most of
the time, and others seem to be in a bad mood most of the time regardless of what is
actually going on in their lives. This distinction is manifested by positive and negative
affectivity traits.  Positive affective people   experience positive moods more frequently,
whereas   negative affective people   experience negative moods with greater
frequency. Negative affective people focus on the “glass half empty” and experience
more anxiety and nervousness (Watson & Clark, 1984). Positive affective people tend to
be happier at work (Ilies & Judge, 2003), and their happiness spreads to the rest of the
work environment. As may be expected, this personality trait sets the tone in the work
atmosphere. When a team comprises mostly negative affective people, there tend to be
fewer instances of helping and cooperation. Teams dominated by positive affective
people experience lower levels of absenteeism (George, 1989). When people with a lot
of power are also high in positive affectivity, the work environment is affected in a
positive manner and can lead to greater levels of cooperation and finding mutually
agreeable solutions to problems (Anderson & Thompson, 2004).
OB Toolbox: Help, I work with a negative person!
Employees who have high levels of neuroticism or high levels of negative affectivity may
act overly negative at work, criticize others, complain about trivial things, or create an
overall negative work environment. Here are some tips for how to work with them
effectively.
Understand that you are unlikely to change someone else’s personality. Personality is
relatively stable and criticizing someone’s personality will not bring about change. If the
behavior is truly disruptive, focus on behavior, not personality.
Keep an open mind. Just because a person is constantly negative does not mean that
they are not sometimes right. Listen to the feedback they are giving you.
Set a time limit. If you are dealing with someone who constantly complains about
things, you may want to limit these conversations to prevent them from consuming your
time at work.
You may also empower them to act on the negatives they mention. The next time an
overly negative individual complains about something, ask that person to think of ways
to change the situation and get back to you.
Ask for specifics. If someone has a negative tone in general, you may want to ask for
specific examples for what the problem is.
Self-Monitoring
Self-monitoring   refers to the extent to which a person is capable of monitoring his or
her actions and appearance in social situations. In other words, people who are social
monitors are social chameleons who understand what the situation demands and act
accordingly, while low social monitors tend to act the way they feel (Snyder, 1974;
Snyder, 1987).
Proactive Personality
Proactive personality   refers to a person’s inclination to fix what is perceived as wrong,
change the status quo, and use initiative to solve problems. Instead of waiting to be told
what to do, proactive people take action to initiate meaningful change and remove the
obstacles they face along the way. In general, having a proactive personality has a
number of advantages for these people. For example, they tend to be more successful in
their job searches (Brown et al., 2006). They are also more successful over the course of
their careers, because they use initiative and acquire greater understanding of the
politics within the organization (Seibert, 1999; Seibert, Kraimer, & Crant, 2001).
Proactive people are
Self-Esteem
Self-esteem   is the degree to which a person has overall positive feelings about his or
herself. People with high self-esteem view themselves in a positive light, are confident,
and respect themselves. On the other hand, people with low self-esteem experience
high levels of self-doubt and question their self-worth. High self-esteem is related to
higher levels of satisfaction with one’s job and higher levels of performance on the job
(Judge & Bono, 2001). People with low self-esteem are attracted to situations in which
they will be relatively invisible, such as large companies (Turban & Keon, 1993).
Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy   is a belief that one can perform a specific task successfully. Research
shows that the belief that we can do something is a good predictor of whether we can
actually do it. Self-efficacy is different from other personality traits in that it is job
specific. You may have high self-efficacy in being successful academically, but low self-
efficacy in relation to your ability to fix your car. At the same time, people have a certain
level of generalized self-efficacy and they have the belief that whatever task or hobby
they tackle, they are likely to be successful in it. Having high self-efficacy and self-
esteem are boons to your career. People who have an overall positive view of
themselves and those who have positive attitudes toward their abilities project an aura
of confidence. How do you achieve higher self-confidence?
Locus of Control
Locus of control deals with the degree to which people feel accountable for their own
behaviors. Individuals with high  internal locus of control   believe that they control their
own destiny and what happens to them is their own doing, while those with high  
external locus of control   feel that things happen to them because of other people, luck,
or a powerful being. Internals feel greater control over their own lives and therefore
they act in ways that will increase their chances of success. For example, they take the
initiative to start mentor-protégé relationships. They are more involved with their jobs.
They demonstrate higher levels of motivation and have more positive experiences at
work (Ng, Soresen, & Eby, 2006; Reitz & Jewell, 1979; Turban & Dougherty, 1994).
Values and personality traits are two dimensions on which people differ. Values are
stable life goals. When seeking jobs, employees are more likely to accept a job that
provides opportunities for value attainment, and they are more likely to remain in
situations that satisfy their values. Personality comprises the stable feelings, thoughts,
and behavioral patterns people have. The Big Five personality traits (openness,
conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) are important traits
that seem to be stable and can be generalized to other cultures. Other important traits
for work behavior include self-efficacy, self-esteem, social monitoring, proactive
personality, positive and negative affectivity, and locus of control. It is important to
remember that a person’s behavior depends on the match between the person and the
situation. While personality is a strong influence on job attitudes, its relation to job
performance is weaker. Some companies use personality testing to screen out
candidates. This method has certain limitations, and companies using personality tests
are advised to validate their tests and use them as a supplement to other techniques
that have greater validity.
Attitudes and perceptions Jeffrey Pickens Organizational behavior in health care 4
(7), 43-76, 2005 What is an attitude? Allport (1935) defined an attitude as a
mental or neural state of readiness, organized through experience, exerting a
directive or dynamic influence on the individual’s response to all objects and
situations to which it is related. A simpler definition of attitude is a mindset or a
tendency to act in a particular way due to both an individual’s experience and
temperament. Typically, when we refer to a person’s attitudes, we are trying to
explain his or her behavior. Attitudes are a complex combination of things we
tend to call personality, beliefs, values, behaviors, and motivations. As an
example, we understand when someone says,“She has a positive attitude toward
work” versus “She has a poor work attitude.” When we speak of someone’s
attitude, we are referring to the person’s emotions and behaviors. A person’s
attitude toward preventive medicine encompasses his or her point of view about
the topic (eg, thought); how he or she feels about this topic (eg, emotion), as well
as the actions (eg, behaviors) he or she engages in as a result of attitude to
preventing health problems. This is the tri-component model of attitudes (see
Figure 3-1). An attitude includes three components: an affect (a feeling), cognition
(a thought or belief), and behavior (an action).
Closely related to the topic of perception and attribution—indeed,
largely influenced by it—is the issue of attitudes. An  attitude   can be
defined as a predisposition to respond in a favorable or unfavorable
way to objects or persons in one’s environment.
When we like or dislike something, we are, in effect, expressing our attitude toward the
person or object.
Three important aspects of this definition should be noted. First, an attitude is a
hypothetical construct; that is, although its consequences can be observed, the attitude
itself cannot. Second, an attitude is a unidimensional concept: An attitude toward a
particular person or object ranges on a continuum from very favorable to very
unfavorable. We like something or we dislike something (or we are neutral). Something
is pleasurable or unpleasurable. In all cases, the attitude can be evaluated along a single
evaluative continuum. And third, attitudes are believed to be related to subsequent
behavior. We will return to this point later in the discussion.
An attitude can be thought of as composed of three highly interrelated components: (1)
a cognitive component, dealing with the beliefs and ideas a person has about a person
or object; (2) an affective component ( affect ), dealing with a person’s feelings toward
the person or object; and (3) an   intentional   component, dealing with the behavioral
intentions a person has with respect to the person or object.
Jain, Triandis, and Weick op. cit.

Now that we know what an attitude is, let us consider how attitudes are formed and
how they influence behavior. A general model of the relationship between attitudes and
behavior is shown in  (Figure) . As can be seen, attitudes lead to behavioral intentions,
which, in turn, lead to actual behavior. Following behavior, we can often identify efforts
by the individual to justify his behavior. Let us examine each of these components of the
model separately, beginning with the process of attitude formation.
Relationship between Attitudes and Behavior(Attribution: Copyright Rice University,
OpenStax, under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license)

How Are Attitudes Formed?

There is considerable disagreement about this question. One view offered by
psychologist Barry Staw and others is the  dispositional approach ,
B. M. Staw and J. Ross, “Stability in the Midst of Change: A Dispositional Approach to Job
Attitudes,”  Journal of Applied Psychology , 1985, 70, pp. 469–480.
 which argues that attitudes represent relatively stable predispositions to respond to
people or situations around them. That is, attitudes are viewed almost as personality
traits. Thus, some people would have a tendency—a predisposition—to be happy on the
job, almost regardless of the nature of the work itself. Others may have an internal
tendency to be unhappy, again almost regardless of the actual nature of the work.
Evidence in support of this approach can be found in a series of studies that found that
attitudes change very little among people before and after they make a job change. To
the extent that these findings are correct, managers may have little influence over
improving job attitudes short of trying to select and hire only those with appropriate
dispositions.
A second approach to attitude formation is called the  situational approach . This
approach argues that attitudes emerge as a result of the uniqueness of a given situation.
They are situationally determined and can vary in response to changing work conditions.
Thus, as a result of experiences at work (a boring or unrewarding job, a bad supervisor,
etc.), people react by developing appropriate attitudes. Several variations on this
approach can be identified. Some researchers suggest that attitudes result largely from
the nature of the job experience itself. That is, an employee might reason: “I don’t get
along well with my supervisor; therefore, I become dissatisfied with my job.” To the
extent that this accurately describes how attitudes are formed, it also implies that
attitudes can be changed relatively easily. For example, if employees are dissatisfied
with their job because of conflicts with supervisors, either changing supervisors or
changing the supervisors’ behavior may be viable means of improving employee job
attitudes. In other words, if attitudes are largely a function of the situation, then
attitudes can be changed by altering the situation.
Other advocates of the situational approach suggest a somewhat more complicated
process of attitude formation—namely, the  social-information-processing approach .
This view, developed by Pfeffer and Salancik, asserts that attitudes result from “socially
constructed realities” as perceived by the individual (see   (Figure) ).
G. Salancik and J. Pfeffer, “A Social Information Processing Approach to Job Attitudes
and Task Design,”  Administrative Science Quarterly , 1978, 23, pp. 224–253.
That is, the social context in which the individual is placed shapes his perceptions of the
situation and hence his attitudes.
A Social-Information-Processing View of Attitudes(Attribution: Copyright Rice University,
OpenStax, under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license)

Here is how it works. Suppose a new employee joins a work group consisting of people
who have worked together for some time. The existing group already has opinions and
feelings about the fairness of the supervisor, the quality of the workplace, the adequacy
of the compensation, and so forth. Upon arriving, the new worker is fed socially
acceptable cues from co-workers about acceptable attitudes toward various aspects of
the work and company. Thus, due in part to social forces, the new employee begins to
form attitudes based on externally provided bits of information from the group instead
of objective attributes of the workplace. If the social-information-processing perspective
is correct, changing the attitudes of one person will be difficult unless the individual is
moved to a different group of coworkers or unless the attitudes of the current
coworkers are changed.
Which approach is correct? In point of fact, research indicates that both the
dispositional and the social-information-processing views have merit, and it is probably
wise to recognize that socially constructed realities and dispositions interact to form the
basis for an individual’s attitudes at work. The implication of this combined perspective
for changing attitudes is that efforts should not assume that minor alterations in the
situation will have significant impacts on individual attitudes, but that systematic efforts
focusing on groups and interconnected social systems are likely required for successful
changes in attitudes.
Behavioral Intentions and Actual Behavior
Regardless of how the attitudes are formed (either through the dispositional or social-
information-processing approach), the next problem we face is understanding how
resulting behavioral intentions guide actual behavior (return to  (Figure) ). Clearly, this
relationship is not a perfect one. Despite one’s intentions, various internal and external
constraints often serve to modify an intended course of action. Hence, even though you
decide to join the union, you may be prevented from doing so for a variety of reasons.
Similarly, a person may have every intention of coming to work but may get the flu.
Regardless of intent, other factors that also determine actual behavior often enter the
picture.
Behavioral Justification
Finally, people often feel a need for  behavioral justification   to ensure that their
behaviors are consistent with their attitudes toward the event (see   (Figure) ). This
tendency is called   cognitive consistency .
L. Festinger,  A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance   (Palo Alto: Stanford University Press,
1957).
When people find themselves acting in a fashion that is inconsistent with their attitudes
—when they experience   cognitive dissonance —they experience tension and attempt
to reduce this tension and return to a state of cognitive consistency.
For example, a manager may hate his job but be required to work long hours. Hence, he
is faced with a clear discrepancy between an attitude (dislike of the job) and a behavior
(working long hours) and will probably experience cognitive dissonance. In order to
become cognitively consistent, he can do one of two things. First, he can change his
behavior and work fewer hours. However, this may not be feasible. Alternatively, he can
change his attitude toward the job to a more positive one. He may, for example,
convince himself that the job is really not that bad and that working long hours may lead
to rapid promotion. In doing so, he achieves a state of cognitive consistency. Failure to
do so will more than likely lead to increased stress and withdrawal from the job
situation.
What is attitude, and how does it impact the work environment?
What is behavioral justification?
How can a work environment characterized by positive work attitudes be created and
maintained?
An attitude can be defined as a predisposition to respond in a favorable or unfavorable
way to objects or persons in one’s environment. There are two theories concerning the
manner in which attitudes are formed. The first, called the dispositional approach,
asserts that attitudes are fairly stable tendencies to respond to events in certain ways,
much like personality traits. Thus, some people may be happy on almost any job
regardless of the nature of the job. The second, called the situational approach, asserts
that attitudes result largely from the particular situation in which the individual finds
himself. Thus, some jobs may lead to more favorable attitudes than others. The social-
information-processing approach to attitudes is a situational model that suggests that
attitudes are strongly influenced by the opinions and assessments of coworkers.
Cognitive consistency is a tendency to think and act in a predictable manner. Cognitive
dissonance occurs when our actions and our attitudes are in conflict. This dissonance
will motivate us to attempt to return to a state of cognitive consistency, where attitudes
and behaviors are congruent.
GlossaryAffectDealing with a person’s feelings toward the person or object.AttitudeA
predisposition to respond in a favorable or unfavorable way to objects or persons in
one’s environment.Behavioral justificationThe need to ensure that one’s behaviors are
consistent with their attitudes toward the event.Cognitive consistencyThe need for
behavioral justification to ensure that a person’s behaviors are consistent with their
attitudes toward an event.Cognitive dissonanceFinding one’s self acting in a fashion that
is inconsistent with their attitudes and experiencing tension and attempting to reduce
this tension and return to a state of cognitive consistency.Dispositional approachArgues
that attitudes represent relatively stable predispositions to respond to people or
situations around them.Situational approachThis approach argues that attitudes emerge
as a result of the uniqueness of a given situation.Social-information-processing
approachAsserts that attitudes result from “socially constructed realities” as perceived
by the individual.  Previous: Attributions: Interpreting the Causes of Behavior
Attitude refers to feelings, beliefs, and behavior predispositions directed towards
people, groups, ideas, or objects . It influences the behavior of the individuals. It decides
how to act or behave in a particular situation. Attitude is a kind of habit.
Attitude: Definition, Nature and Characteristics (Explained)
An attitude is a positive, negative, or mixed evaluation of an object expressed
at some level of intensity. It is an expression of a favorable or unfavorable evaluation of
a person, place, thing, or event. These are fundamental determinants of our perceptions
of and actions toward all aspects of our social environment. Attitudes involve a complex
organization of evaluative beliefs, feelings, and tendencies toward certain actions.
How much we like or dislike something that determines our behavior towards that
thing.
We tend to approach, seek out, or be associated with things we like; we avoid, shun, or
reject things we do not like.
Some examples of attitudes are- he has a positive attitude about the changes, she is
friendly and has a good attitude, he was showing some attitude during practice today, so
the coach benched him, I like my friends that means I am expressing my attitudes
towards my friends, etc.
Definition of Attitude
Attitude is the manner, disposition, feeling, and position about a person or thing,
tendency, or orientation, especially in mind.
According to Gordon Allport, “An attitude is a mental and neural state of readiness,
organized through experience, exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon the
individual’s response to all objects and situations with which it is related.”
Frank Freeman said, “An attitude is a dispositional readiness to respond to certain
institutions, persons or objects in a consistent manner which has been learned and has
become one’s typical mode of response.”
Thurstone said, “An attitude denotes the total of man’s inclinations and feelings,
prejudice or bias, preconceived notions, ideas, fears, threats, and other any specific
topic.”
Anastasi defined attitude as “A tendency to react favorably or unfavorably towards a
designated class of stimuli, such as a national or racial group, a custom or an
institution.”
According to N.L. Munn, “Attitudes are learned predispositions towards aspects of our
environment. They may be positively or negatively directed towards certain people,
service, or institution.”
“Attitudes are an ‘individual’s enduring favorable or unfavorable evaluations, emotional
feelings, and action tendencies toward some object or idea.” — David Krech, Richard S.
Crutchfield, and Egerton L. Ballackey.
“Attitude can be described as a learned predisposition to respond in a consistently
favorable or unfavorable manner for a given object.” — Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen.
“An attitude is a relatively enduring organization of beliefs around an object or situation
predisposing one to respond in some preferential manner.” — Milton Rokeach.
Characteristics of Attitude
Attitude can be described as a tendency to react positively or negatively to a person or
circumstances.
Thus the two main elements of attitude are this tendency or predisposition and the
direction of this predisposition.
It has been defined as a mental state of readiness, organized through experience, which
exerts a directive or dynamic influence on the responses.
These can also be explicit and implicit.
Explicit attitudes are those that we are consciously aware of and that clearly influences
our behaviors and beliefs. Implicit attitudes are unconscious but still affect our beliefs
and behaviors.
Psychologists Thomas, which imposes limits as a level attitude trend, is positive and
negative, associated with psychology.
Object psychology here includes symbols, words, slogans, people, institutions, ideas,
etc.
Characteristics of Attitude are;
Attitudes are the complex combination of things we call personality, beliefs, values,
behaviors, and motivations.
It can fall anywhere along a continuum from very favorable to very unfavorable.
All people, irrespective of their status or intelligence, hold attitudes.
An attitude exists in every person’s mind. It helps to define our identity, guide our
actions, and influence how we judge people.
Although the feeling and belief components of attitude are internal to a person, we can
view a person’s attitude from their resulting behavior.
Attitude helps us define how we see situations and define how we behave toward the
situation or object.
It provides us with internal cognitions or beliefs and thoughts about people and objects.
It can also be explicit and implicit. Explicit attitude is those that we are consciously
aware of an implicit attitude is unconscious, but still, affect our behaviors.
Attitudes cause us to behave in a particular way toward an object or person.
An attitude is a summary of a person’s experience; thus, an attitude is grounded in
direct experience predicts future behavior more accurately.
It includes certain aspects of personality as interests, appreciation, and social conduct.
It indicates the total of a man’s inclinations and feelings.
An attitude is a point of view, substantiated or otherwise, true or false, which one holds
towards an idea, object, or person.
It has aspects such as direction, intensity, generality, or specificity.
It refers to one’s readiness for doing Work.
It may be positive or negative and may be affected by age, position, and education.
Attitude may be defined as a feeling or disposition to favor or be against objects,
persons, and situations.
It is a well-defined object of reference. It may be defined as ‘an enduring predisposition
or readiness to react or behave in a particular manner to a given object or situation,
idea, material, or person.’
It describes and evaluates an object or a situation, with each belief having a cognitive
effect and behavioral components.
Each of these beliefs is a predisposition that results in some preferential response
towards the object or the situation.
Actually, it is frequently used in describing people and explaining their behavior.
For example:-
“I like her attitude,” “He has a good attitude,” etc. Actually, it is characterized by the
tendency to feel and behave in a particular way toward some object.
Components of Attitude
Attitudes are simply expressions of much we like or dislike various things. Attitudes
represent our evaluations, preferences, or rejections based on the information we
receive.
3 components of attitude are (1) Cognitive Component, (2) Affective Component, and
(3) Behavioral Component.
Factors Influencing Attitudes
By attitudes, we mean the beliefs, feelings, and action tendencies of individuals or
individuals towards objects, ideas, and people.
Attitudes involve some knowledge of a situation.
However, the essential aspect of the attitude is found in the fact that some
characteristic feeling or emotion is experienced and, as we would accordingly expect,
some definite tendency to action is associated.
Subjectively, then, the important factor is the feeling or emotion.
Many different factors can influence how and why attitudes form. These are-
Social Factors.
Direct Instruction.
Family.
Prejudices.
Personal Experience.
Media.
Educational and Religious Institutions.
Physical Factors.
Economic Status and Occupations.
Learn more about factors influencing attitudes.
Types of Attitudes
Attitude is something that lies between emotions and thinks processing. It may be
positive or negative.
In organizational behavior; 3 types of attitudes are;
Job Satisfaction,
Job Involvement and
Organizational Commitment.
Functions of Attitudes
The most important function of an attitude can only be ascertained by considering it
concerning the person who holds it and the environment in which they operate.
Daniel Katz outlines 4 functions of attitude areas
Adjustment Function.
Ego-Defensive Function.
Value-Expressive Function.
Knowledge Function.
Barriers to Change Attitudes
Employees’ attitudes can be changed, and sometimes it is in the best interests of
management to try to do so.
For example, if employees believe that their employer does not look after their welfare,
the management should try to change employees’ attitudes and develop a more
positive attitude towards them.
However, the process of changing the attitude is not always easy.
Actually, the barriers are the limits that prevent the organization from achieving its
predetermined goals.
So every organization should be aware of these and should take corrective actions.
Barriers to Change Attitudes are;
Prior Commitment.
Insufficient Information.
Balance and Consistency.
Lack of Resources.
Improper Reward System.
Resistance to Change.
Prior Commitment
When people feel a commitment towards a particular course of action that has already
been agreed upon, it becomes difficult for them to change or accept the new ways of
functioning.
Insufficient Information
It also acts as a major barrier to change attitudes. Sometimes people do not see why
they should change their attitude due to the unavailability of adequate information.
Sometimes people do not see why they should change their attitude due to the
unavailability of adequate information.
Balance and Consistency
Another obstacle to a change of attitude is the attitude theory of balance and
consistency.
Human beings prefer their attitudes about people and things to be in line with their
behaviors towards each other and objects.
Lack of Resources
If plans become excessively ambitious, they can sometimes be obstructed by the lack of
resources on a company or organization.
So, in this case, if the organization wants to change the employees’ attitude towards the
new plan, sometimes it becomes impossible for the lack of resources to achieve this.
Improper Reward System
Sometimes, an improper reward system acts as a barrier to change attitude.
If an organization places too much emphasis on short-term performance and results,
managers may ignore longer-term issues as they set goals and formulate plans to
achieve higher profits in the short term.
If this reward system is introduced in the organization, employees are not motivated to
change their attitude.
Resistance to Change
Another barrier is resistance to change.
Basically, change is a continuous process within and outside the organization to achieve
the set goal.
When the authority changes a plan of the organization, the employees have to change
themselves.
But some of them do not like this. If their attitude regarding the change of plan cannot
be changed, the organization will not be successful.
Ways of Changing Attitudes
Attitude can be changed if we differentiate a negative attitude from a positive attitude.
A positive attitude can bring positive change in life; it is difficult to change attitude,s, but
with some effort, it can be done.
The individual from a culturally deprived environment who holds an array of hostile
attitudes may change often; he is given education opportunities.
A person from a privileged subculture, who has always held to a democratic attitude,
may become negative towards some group because of one unfortunate experience.
Well established attitudes tend to be resistant to change, but others may be more
amenable to change.
Attitudes can be changed b a variety of ways.
Ways of Changing Attitude
New information will help to change attitudes.
Negative attitudes are mainly formed owing to insufficient information.
Attitudes may change through direct experience.
Another way in which attitudes can be changed is by resolving discrepancies between
attitudes and behavior.
Change of attitude can come through the persuasion of friends or peers.
Attitudes may change through legislation.
Since a person’s attitudes are anchored in his membership group and reference groups,
one way to change the attitude is to modify one or the other.
Fear can change their attitude. If low levels of fear are used, people often ignore them.
Changing the attitude differs regarding the situation also.
Workplace and Attitudes
Taking this a step further, we can assemble some ideas of how these three components
can impact the workplace.
The workplace’s challenge is that now these components are tied to work functions,
policy, procedures, organizational structure, and the people and individuals present in
the organization.
For example, we could have thoughts or beliefs (cognitive) about managers in general,
and those thoughts or beliefs could manifest themselves as not trusting a manager
(effective). Thus we would never want to develop a close relationship with a manager
(behavioral).
It is important to make the point here that these are attitudes – and yes, they can be
wrong. Just because we have an attitude that does not mean it is correct. It is just how
we feel about a person or situation.
Obviously, not every manager is trustworthy, but if we let our negative attitudes dictate
how we view and react to managers, we will never see if some are excellent people and
can be trusted.
Certainly, having a good relationship based on trust with the manager is a great thing to
have in the workplace.
Attitude Surveys
The concept of an “attitude” comes from Social psychology.
The term “attitude” is defined as “a psychological tendency expressed by evaluating a
particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor.”
It provides an understanding of how the employee perceives the organization and
workgroups.
The preceding review indicates that knowledge of employee attitudes can help
managers attempt to predict employee behavior.
The most popular method is through the use of attitude surveys.
Often an essential component of organizational training and development, Employee
Attitude surveys provide a picture of its needs.
These surveys often contain a series of multiple-choice items grouped along one or
more dimensions of the organization.
The surveys of this type provide an understanding of how the employee perceives the
organization.
Employee attitude surveys measure the employee’s opinions on most of the aspects of a
workplace, including:
Overall satisfaction.
Management/employee relations.
Corporate culture.
Career development.
Compensation.
Benefits.
Recognition and rewards.
Working conditions.
Training.
Staffing levels.
Safety concerns.
Policies and procedures.
Organizations are increasingly interested in retaining the right talents while targeting
new talents; measuring employees’ attitudes indicates how successful the organization
is in fostering a conducive environment that nurtures a great attitude among employees
towards their job and company.
The usual measures of employee attitude involve an employee attitude survey with a set
of statements or scale.
The employee is asked to evaluate each statement in terms of their perception of the
organization’s performance.
Uses of Employee Attitude Survey
Employee opinion surveys are about improvement and providing the authority with the
information they need to be successful.
Regular attitude surveys can alert management to potential problems and employees’
intentions early so that action can be taken to prevent repercussions.
Uses for Employee Attitude Surveys include;
Focusing on employee development programs.
Enhancing management/employee relations.
Training needs assessment.
Evaluation of training.
Organizational climate survey.
Facilitating the development and organizational change.
Getting employee feedback on the internal health of the organization.
Measuring the impact of current programs, policies, and procedures.
Motivating employees and improve job satisfaction.
Customer satisfaction survey.
Increase employee retention.
Attitudes and Beliefs
An attitude is a relatively enduring organization of beliefs, feelings, and behavioral
tendencies towards socially significant objects, groups, events, or symbols.
It is a learned predisposition to respond in a consistently favorable or unfavorable
manner for a given object.
It is an expression of evaluation toward a person, place, thing, or event. It will always
have a positive and negative element and tend to behave in a certain way.
Attitudes are formed primarily based on underlying values and beliefs.
While attitude is the predisposition to act in a particular way towards an object or
situation, opinion is the expression of an individual’s judgment about a particular set of
facts.
It is an evaluation of the circumstances presented to an individual.
Beliefs are acquired through real experiences, but the original experience related to a
particular belief is mostly forgotten.
It affects the quality of our work and relationships because we experience what we
believe, and it is not based on reality. They are an important part of our identity.
They may be religious, cultural, or moral.
Beliefs reflect who we are and how we live our lives. It is composed of multiple factors
tending to family, society, and the structure of life. It is the trust that something is true
and good without any doubt.
It is an internal feeling that something is true, even though that belief may be unproven
or irrational.
I believe that walking under a ladder brings bad luck.
Attitudes vs. Behavior
Attitude refers to feelings, beliefs, and behavior predispositions directed towards
people, groups, ideas, or objects.
It influences the behavior of the individuals. It decides how to act or behave in a
particular situation.
Attitude is a kind of habit. It is the usual way of doing things.
Everything in an organization will get better if the attitude of everyone gets better.
Successes and failures in life depend upon the attitude of the individuals.
If attitudes are positive, then human relations will be positive. It is internal and
challenging to change.
Behavior is the way a person responds to his attitude. This response is either positive or
negative, depending on how that views his position.
For example, an employee who disagrees?
His supervisor may ignore office protocol.
Besides, an employee who dislikes another coworker or has little respect for a coworker
may display this attitude by speaking harshly to this individual.
Behavior can be influenced by factors beyond attitude, including preconceptions about
self and others, monetary factors, social influences, and convenience.
It is the actions or reactions of a person or animal in response to external or internal
stimuli. It indicates how something functions or operates.
Conclusion
Finally, we can say that attitudes are evaluative statements favorable or unfavorable
related to the person, object, or events.
Although there are some differences regarding attitudes, based on the above’ opinions,
it can be concluded that the attitude is a state in which man moves to act or do anything
in response to a situation or condition of the objects in the surrounding environment.
It is actually a statement toward something, or someone exhibited in one’s beliefs,
feelings, or intended behavior. It is a social orientation, an underlying inclination to
respond to something either favorably or unfavorably.
In psychology, an attitude refers to a set of emotions, beliefs, and behaviors
toward a particular object, person, thing, or event. Attitudes are often the result
of experience or upbringing, and they can have a powerful influence over
behavior. While attitudes are enduring, they can also change.
Overview
What's your opinion on the death penalty? Which political party does a better job
of running the country? Should prayer be allowed in schools? Should violence on
television be regulated?
Chances are that you probably have fairly strong opinions on these and similar
questions. You've developed attitudes about such issues, and these attitudes
influence your beliefs as well as your behavior. Attitudes are an important topic of
study within the field of  social psychology . But what exactly is an attitude? How
does it develop? 
How Psychologists Define Attitudes
Psychologists define attitudes as a learned tendency to
evaluate things in a certain way. This can include
evaluations of people, issues, objects, or events. Such
evaluations are often positive or negative, but they can also
be uncertain at times.
For example, you might have mixed feelings about a
particular person or issue. Researchers also suggest that
there are several different components that make up
attitudes. 1 The components of attitudes are sometimes referred to as CAB or the ABC's of attitude.

Components of Attitude
Cognitive Component: Your thoughts and beliefs about the subject
Affective Component: How the object, person, issue, or event makes you feel
Behavioral Component: How attitude influences your behavior
Attitudes can also be explicit and implicit. Explicit attitudes are those that we are
consciously aware of and that clearly influence our behaviors and beliefs. Implicit
attitudes are unconscious but still have an effect on our beliefs and behaviors.
Attitude Formation
There are aand
number of factors that can
influence how why attitudes form. Here is a
closer look at how attitudes form.
Experience
Attitudes form directly as a result of experience. They may
emerge due to direct personal experience, or they may
result from observation.
Social Factors
Social roles and social norms can have a strong influence on
attitudes. Social roles relate to how people are expected to
behave in a particular role or context. Social norms involve
society's rules for what behaviors are considered
appropriate.
Learning
Attitudes can be learned in a variety of ways. Consider how
advertisers use   classical conditioning   to influence your
attitude toward a particular product. In a television
commercial, you see young, beautiful people having fun on
a tropical beach while enjoying a sports drink. This attractive
and appealing imagery causes you to develop a positive
association with this particular beverage.
Conditioning
 Operant conditioning   can also be used to influence how
attitudes develop. Imagine a young man who has just
started smoking. Whenever he lights up a cigarette, people
complain, chastise him, and ask him to leave their vicinity.
This negative feedback from those around him eventually
causes him to develop an unfavorable opinion of smoking
and he decides to give up the habit.
Observation
Finally, people also learn attitudes by   observing people  
around them. When someone you admire greatly espouses
a particular attitude, you are more likely to develop the
same beliefs. For example, children spend a great deal of
time observing the attitudes of their parents and usually
begin to demonstrate similar outlooks.
Attitudes and Behavior
We tendtototheir
assume that However,
people behave
according attitudes. social
psychologists have found that attitudes and
actual behavior are not always perfectly
aligned. 2

After all, plenty of people support a particular candidate or political party and yet fail to go out and vote. People also are more likely to behave according to their
attitudes under certain conditions.

Factors Influencing Attitude Strength

Are  an expert on the subject

Expect   a favorable outcome

Experience   something personally

Stand to win   or lose something due to the issue

Are   repeatedly expressed attitudes

Changing to Match Behavior

In some cases, people may actually alter their attitudes in
order to better align them with their behavior. Cognitive
dissonance is a phenomenon in which a person experiences
psychological distress due to conflicting thoughts or beliefs.
In order to reduce this tension, people may change their attitudes to reflect their other beliefs or actual behaviors.
3

Using Cognitive Dissonance

Imagine the following situation: You've always placed a high
value on financial security, but you start dating someone
who is very financially unstable. In order to reduce the
tension caused by the conflicting beliefs and behavior, you
have two options.
You can end the relationship and seek out a partner who is
more financially secure, or you can de-emphasize fiscal
stability importance.
In order to minimize the dissonance between your
conflicting attitude and behavior, you either have to change
the attitude or change your actions.
Why Attitudes Change
While attitudes can have a powerful effect on behavior, they are not set in stone. The same
influences that lead to attitude formation can also create attitude change. 4
Learning Theory
Classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and
observational learning can be used to bring about attitude
change. Classical conditioning can be used to create positive
emotional reactions to an object, person, or event by
associating positive feelings with the target object.
Operant conditioning can be used to strengthen desirable attitudes and weaken
undesirable ones. People can also change their attitudes after observing the behavior of
others.
Elaboration Likelihood Theory
This theory of   persuasion   suggests that people can alter
their attitudes in two ways. First, they can be motivated to
listen and think about the message, thus leading to an
attitude shift.
Or, they might be influenced by the characteristics of the
speaker, leading to a temporary or surface shift in attitude.
Messages that are thought-provoking and that appeal to
logic are more likely to lead to permanent changes in
attitudes.
Dissonance Theory
As mentioned earlier, people can also change their
attitudes when they have conflicting beliefs about a topic. In
order to reduce the tension created by these incompatible
beliefs, people often shift their attitudes.