Attitudinal Changes Needed in an Organisation

In the present open economy, where world is a global village, competition is fierce. An organization comprises of individuals and growth of the organization depends solely on the attitude of all the individuals working in the organization. In the context of emerging challenges in the competitive world to survive, one has to change and change for better and the change has to be positive. Attitudes provide people with a basis for expressing their values and serves as a basis for expressing one’s central values. Hence our experience– good or bad interactions with other humans at sometime or other has a great impact on our attitudes. Positivity is healthier, more energizing, and attractive. Everyone wins when people stop mindless complaining and adopt a positive, problem solving attitude at work. Organizations grow, survive, decline or become extinct, depending on the behavior of the employees. In this paper, some factors to achieve the right attitude and their applicability will be discussed and put into context.

INTRODUCTION
Organisations grow, survive, decline or become extinct, depending on the behavior of the employees.  The basic change a process attempts to make in employees is changing their behavior, which cannot happen overnight. We need a paradigm shift in our understanding of human resistance to change and the consequences thereof. We have to keep in mind the most obvious connection between Economics and Psychology.  While the former discipline is devoted to the study of the limited resources so as to make them available to match the unlimited needs of people, the later discipline studies the nature of human needs and the ways to satisfy them. Man is a bundle of needs and his entire life is devoted to satisfying them. In fact all the industrial enterprises are catering to the needs of people by offering goods and services. Yet, the paradox is the same enterprises are wearing blinkers when it comes to seeing their employee needs. Every organization can grow to great heights if everyone has the right attitude with a right perception on time. The people have to accept responsibility some time in their lives
The growth of the organization depends solely on the positive attitude of all the individuals working in it. What does the employee want from his job?  How do benefits influence his feelings about where he works? How do attitudes affect the amount and quality of production? Such questions are raised when we consider human needs and their interaction with organizational climates. To achieve the goals a strong positive attitude and a positive approach to the affairs of the organization is needed.

2. Attitudinal changes needed in organization

Overview

What is “Attitude “?  It is a preparedness to act in a certain way.  It is the prime movers of Human Behavior. In the context of emerging challenges in the competitive world to survive, one has to change and change for better and the change has to be positive.
“No one can persuade another to change.  Each of us guards a gate of change that can only be opened from the inside.  We cannot open the gate of another by argument or by emotional appeal.”  - Marilyn Ferguson
 Identify the person with negative attitude and isolate him because the damage done by a person with negative attitude is tremendous, it generates and influences others with the same type of attitude.  Once he is isolated he is to be treated separately with care.  After counseling with him find the root cause for his negative attitude.  He must be having a valid reason for his behavior.
The Team Leader or the Branch Manager has to deal with negative people with tact. First Attitudes provide people with a basis for expressing their values.  For example, a manager who believes strongly in the work ethic will tend to voice attitudes toward specific individuals or work practices as a means of reflecting this value.  A supervisor who wants a subordinate to work harder might put it this way, “you have got to work harder.  That’s been the tradition of the organization since it was founded.  It helped get us where we are today, and everyone is expected to subscribe to this ethic.”  - In this case attitudes serve as a basis for expressing one’s central values. An individual with a negative attitude is usually hostile and indifferent and this attitude which he has developed is based on his past experience.  Hence our experience– good or bad interactions with other humans at sometime or other has a great impact on our attitudes. Thus the attitudes are concerned directly with the way in which people react and behave. The negative attitude of an individual is not healthy for an organization.  It was generally found in most of the studies that workers with positive job attitudes showed higher productivity than those with negative attitudes.
The Team Leader should instill self-confidence in him, make him feel important, make him feel he is wanted by the organization, Explain the role he has played in the growth and how his contribution will help the organization. He must appreciate his work, magnify his work and make him realize how he has helped the organization.  Inculcate a ‘sense of belonging’ feeling in him that he is wanted by the organization.  Generally attitudinal change can be classified into congruent and incongruent changes.  The congruent change means movement in the same direction.  It is a known fact that attitudes exist in a “dimensions” ranging from “highly negative” to “highly positive” with “neutral” in the middle.  The congruent change that the person has already a positive attitude to change in the lesser degree attitude. The host himself is important; His attitude is formed based on past experience.  To change the attitude there is a necessity to bring
so it needs to be changed towards more positive, so that it motivates him for better performance. On the other hand the incongruent change involved changing the individual’s attitude from negative towards positive.  This is the task which has to be faced by many of these administrators and managers in the present environment.
      
Change Agent
The characteristics of the change agent is very important because he is to be accepted by the host and should posses some status, prestige, attractiveness, acceptability with organizations and a host of such factors.  By status it is felt that a person should have some type of higher position and that does not mean that he keeps the physical and social distance from the host.  If this happens the change will not take place at all.  Hence he should be more accessible and acceptable to the group.  In short, the change agent should command respect.
The next factor is the communication itself.  It is very important that how the message is received, edited and put across to the host group providing a clear picture of the situation which would enable the people to think of the pros and cons, and change towards a positive influences the head and values based education
about the process of unlearning what has been learnt earlier, so that the new learning can take place.
The manager has to create an environment of credibility and acceptability and openness, so that the message put across is able to make convincing thinking in the individual and a change is brought about.

 Factors towards a correct attitude
Change Focus, Look for the Positive: We need to become good finders. We need to focus on the positive in life. Let's start looking for what is right in a person or situation instead of looking for what is wrong. Looking for the positive does not mean overlooking faults.
Make a Habit of Doing It Now: A completed task is fulfilling and energizing; an incomplete task drains energy like a leak from a tank. If you want to build and maintain a positive attitude, get into the habit of living in the present and doing it now.
Develop an Attitude of Gratitude: Count your blessings, not your troubles. We are so focused on complaining about things we don't have that we lose sight of the things we have. There is a lot to be thankful for. Intellectual education 
influences the heart. We don't need more academic education; but values based education. Believe in Optimism: Always tell yourself you are going to succeed even before starting your task .Our Attitude determines how we look at our setback. It can be a Stepping Stone to Success for a Winner or a Stumbling Block for a Loser. Be a Learner and develop an Attitude of wanting to know more. Never Quit: If you fail it doesn't mean you didn't strive. Always appreciate your efforts. Identify your areas of specialization and competencies. Winners recognize their Limitations but focuses on their Strengths where as Losers recognize their Strengths but focuses on their Weaknesses. But Remember: The grass always looks greener on the other side. Associate yourself with Positive Thinkers: If you associate with Positive thinker, achiever you will become one and vice-versa. A Person's Character is not only judged by the company he keeps but also by company he avoids. Know what you are capable of, what you want to accomplish/achieve and also how, when you Plan to achieve it.

  CONCLUSION
Building a positive attitude is a matter of a day by day experience. Having a positive attitude doesn't happen overnight, but it grows as you put effort into maintaining a positive attitude daily. It is better to choose the area of your life in which you wish to make a difference, move on and start building a positive attitude on another area. You can choose to use words that will shape a reality that you want to experience. Find a role model on a strong person with a positive attitude. You can find inspiration in them, and when faced with difficult circumstances you can ask yourself, "What would this person do?"

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