Organizational Behaviour

Assignement-1
-Submitted by:
Gaurav Kumar
28NMP14
1. Does Attitude change?
Attitude of a person can be described as set of beliefs, behaviour and responses in specific
circumstances of life. Attitudes are often the result of experience or upbringing and the social
set up of every individuals existence. These have a very significant impact on various
aspects of life of a person and are often the defining characteristics of personality.
The components of attitudes are sometimes referred to as CAB or the ABC's 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 the attitude influences your behavior.

While attitude is a characteristic feature of a person it can surely be changed over a period of
time by conditioning the behaviour and habits of the person. According to the reinforcement
theory studied in the syllabus of OB a person tends to behave in a certain way according to
the expected outcome of the event to which he has responded and over a period of time it
becomes his permanent response which is repeated in similar situations of future.
However, on the basis of same theory it can be conceived that specific
responses which do not result in favorable outcomes for a person are liable to be modified
through the feedback system of mind and result in change in behavioral response and hence
attitude in the long run.
As already quoted in one of the lectures we wear our attitude all over us implies how
indispensable it is to our personality traits and therefore difficult to modulate or change,
though not impossible. It can be changed slowly, steadily and permanently although there is a
possibility if certain non conforming events are encountered with a persons modified attitude
he may have a tendency to revert back to his original belief system. Modification at a root
level by changing the way of evaluative perception and response stimulus without any
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coercion can cause change of attitude. A very high degree of consciousness, self control and
counseling required at different situations of life can lead to a Changed Person forever.

2. What are its implication at the workplace?

Adaptation to change in Environment:
Work environments can change frequently as companies update work procedures,
introduce improved technology and add new products and customers. Employees who
display a positive attitude toward change may welcome and even embrace it, as they may
view it as a chance to enhance their skills. As a result, they may adapt to change more
quickly than an employee with a negative attitude, reducing the time it takes to
implement change in a productive manner.
Better Team Work :
An employee's attitude has an impact on how she functions as part of a team. For
instance, as many companies attempt to create a more diverse workplace, employees may
need to work with people of a different race, nationality or gender than they have in the
past. Employees who embrace these diverse workers and are willing to assimilate them
into their team can foster a spirit of cooperation, making the team more productive in the
process.
Foster Culture of Innovation :
Workplace attitude can affect the presence of innovation and creativity, which can lead to
increased productivity. Workers with a positive attitude toward their job and the company
are more likely to make helpful suggestions or ideas that help the business grow. On the
other hand, workers with a negative attitude may only be concerned with producing
enough to get by while having little interest in innovation.
Citizenship Behaviour:
Every individuals contribution in the long run can see a marked increase towards
productivity if favorable outcome of attitude changes are the essence of the organization.
People will develop a sense of belonging and would go out of the way to perform and
fulfill the expectations from them. Companies that experience high employee turnover
levels not only incur the high costs associated with hiring workers, they also experience
reduced productivity until the new workers are up to speed. Employees who feel good
about their jobs and workplace may be less likely to leave for greener pastures, helping
companies to minimize the productivity gap associated with turnover. Employees with

negative attitudes may eventually seek an improved work situation and decide to leave
the company.
Effective Job Performance:
People with positive attitudes tend to fare better at work because they can process
information with greater awareness and efficiency, and more appropriately. People with
negative moods and attitudes dedicate excess time and energy to supporting the mood,
which prohibits them from taking in the needed information that can help them perform
better in their jobs. A negative attitude puts a negative spin on new information coming
in, which prevents a clear view of the circumstances or situation. A positive attitude takes
less energy to maintain, which allows a person to be more responsive in the work
environment.
Thus, all above factors clearly indicate the balance in favour of positive attitude and
dissonance of traits related to negative attitude, one that is required to be changed and
hence can have multidimensional effects on an organization.