Page 200 - DMGT402_MANAGEMENT_PRACTICES_AND_ORGANIZATIONAL_BEHAVIOUR

Unit 9: Learning, Attitudes and Values

3. Extinction Notes
4. Punishment

9.6 Attitudes

Attitude is defined as a more or less stable set of predisposition of opinion, interest or purpose
involving expectancy of a certain kind of experience and readiness with an appropriate response.
Attitudes are also known as "frames of reference". They provide the background against which
facts and events are viewed. It becomes necessary to know the attitudes of members of an
organisation because they have to perceive specific aspects like pay, hours of work, promotion
etc., of their job life in the wider context of their generalized attitudes.
An attitude is also a cognitive element; it always remains inside a person. Everyone's
psychological world is limited and thus everyone has a limited number of attitudes. In business
organisations, employees have attitudes relating to world environment, job security, etc. The
individual's attitudes towards these factors are indicative of his apathy or enthusiasm towards
the activities and objectives of the organisation.

9.6.1 Characteristics of Attitudes

Attitudes have following characteristics:
1. An attitude is the predisposition of the individual to evaluate some objects in a favourable
or an unfavourable manner.
2. The most pervasive phenomenon is "attitude". People at work place have attitudes about
lots of topics that are related to them. These attitudes are firmly embedded in a complex
psychological structure of beliefs.
3. Attitudes are different from values. Values are the ideals, whereas attitudes are narrow,
they are our feelings, thoughts and behavioural tendencies toward a specific object or
situation.

4. Attitude is a predisposition to respond to a certain set of facts.
5. Attitudes are evaluative statements – either favourable or unfavourable concerning the
objects, people or events.

An attitude is "a mental state of readiness, organised through experience, exerting a specific
influence upon a person's response to people, objects and situations with which it is related".
Attitudes thus state one's predispositions towards given aspects of the world. They also provide
an emotional basis for one's interpersonal relations and identification with others. Managers in
work organisations need to know and understand employees' attitudes in order to manage
effectively. Attitudes do influence behaviour of people and their performance in organisations.

9.6.2 Functions of Attitude

Attitudes are known to serve at least four important functions in an organisation setting:
1. Attitudes determine meaning: Much of what is seen in the environment and in other
people's behaviour is determined by attitudes. If one has a overall favourable attitude
towards a person, one tends to judge his activities as "good" or "superior". On the other
hand, negative attitudes or prejudices generally prompt disagreement with the individual
concerned or failure to appreciate the good work done by him.

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 195