Attitudes

Its not the ability to do the job that counts, its whether theyve got the right
attitude.
Supervisor in a car factory
Section
objectives
In this section you will
_ Examine the defnition, formation and outcomes of attitudes
_ Identify the link between attitudes and prejudice and discrimination
_ Examine the process of attitude change and measurement and
_ Identify some of the trends connecting attitudes and work
1.4.1 Introduction
It is impossible to directly observe someone!s attitudes, yet they play an increasingly
critical part in the job selection, promotion and development processes Employers
enthusiastically seek job candidates who will have the "right attitude! to the
organi#ation
and the job $ith the appropriate attitude, some will argue, they can be developed,
nurtured
and moulded into the ideal employee
24 Core Management for H !tudents and "ractitioners
$hat is an attitude% It can be said to have a number of properties&
_ It is a disposition towards other persons, inanimate objects or ideas or abstract
concepts,
that is, a mixture of feelings, knowledge and a predisposition to behave towards
them
if given the opportunity to do so
_ It is relatively permanent 's we will see, our attitudes are based on our individual
value
system( this is not something which can be changed easily but is rooted in the essential
way we see the world around us
_ 'n attitude can be positive or negative, and we may attribute attitudes to other
people
)or example, employees who scrupulously take their allotted lunch break of one hour to
the full may be perceived by their manager to have a "negative attitude! to their work
'lternatively, the attitude of someone to those of the same political persuasion may be
a positive one
_ 'ttitudes permit people to construct an orderly framework of recognition and
behaviour
based on the life*standards determined by their central values
+he frst of these properties could be translated into three se,uential statements&
"$hat I know! -or rather what I think I know. / that is, our cognitive beliefs, which are
rational and logical to us, about someone or something

"$hat I feel! / that is, my positive or negative feelings about someone or something -an
a0ectation.

"1ow I will act! / predisposition to behave towards someone or something

-2ased on the work of 3elvin, 4567.
1.4.2 Formation of attitudes
+here are two principal formative in8uences&
_ !"licit or social learning#$e have seen from Section 44 that the interaction we
enjoy
with others such as parents, siblings, adults, and teachers has enormous impact on us
+hrough their praise, acceptance or criticism and punishment -reinforcement. we learn
which sets of behaviours and beliefs are to be adopted and those which should be
rejected 's a way of adapting to this learning environment, children will copy and so
identify with their parents! values and day*to*day behaviour +hese values are general
beliefs about our world and the standards by which we behave 9apital beliefs are those
which are central to our behaviour, such as the existence of :od, evil, sin, right and
wrong, and so on ;arents who have positive or negative attitudes about certain types of
people, for example those who are racist, are likely to pass on these same attitudes to
their children 1owever, the e0ect of social learning and the process of maturation into
adulthood may cause the child to rebel against these attitudes in later years
_ Social in$uence# )rom the association with others throughout our life we comply with
or conform to prevailing attitudes +his is particularly true when we are subject to the
in8uence of groups and at times of change +he strength of in8uence conveyed by
placing someone in a group or team has been relied upon by a growing number of
employers to nurture an identifable team ethos, often associated with ,uality,
collaborative work, commitment and loyalty to the organi#ation +hese values are
compatible with employers who adopt human resource management -1<=. strategies
It is also manifest when employers are attempting structural or culture change >ne of
the
most di?cult outcomes to achieve is for employees to "let go! from previous values and
adopt new ones