Chapter 5 Attitudes Can Shape Your Life. Learning Objectives After studying Chapter 5, you will be...

Chapter 5

Attitudes Can Shape Your Life

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Learning ObjectivesAfter studying Chapter 5, you will be able to:

5–2

Understand the impact of employee attitudes on the success of individuals as well as organizations.

List and explain the ways people acquire attitudes.

Describe attitudes that employers value.

Learn how to change your attitudes and help others change their attitudes.

Understand what adjustments organizations are making to develop positive employee attitudes.

The Importance of Attitudes

• Attitude Defined:– A thought, accepted as true, that leads one to

think, feel or act positively or negatively toward a person, idea or event

– An emotional readiness to behave in a particular way

– You learn them and can change them

© 2012 Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 5–3


FIGURE 5.1 The Relationship Among Core Values, Attitudes, and Behaviors


Core Values Revisited

• Core Values– Are unique values that an individual consistently

ranks higher than other values– Are the building blocks of personality– Provide answers to questions:

• What are the highest priorities in my life?• Of these priorities, which do I value most

The Powerful Influence of Attitudes

• People with positive attitudes are more likely to achieve personal and professional goals

• People with negative attitudes find it difficult to achieve contentment or satisfaction in life

How do attitudes have an impact in the workplace?



The Information Age Mandates Attitude Change

• Quick, accurate information and advanced technology is not enough to retain customers– Empathizers provide the balance between “high

tech” and “high touch” as we move from the information age to the conceptual age

– Competitive advantage is now based on superior customer service

What attitudes are important for strong customer service personnel to have?

How Attitudes Are Formed

• Socialization– Process through which people are integrated

into a society by exposure to actions and opinions of others

• Media Influences

How does the presentation of messages in the news by the media affect our attitudes?



• Peer Groups– Have a powerful influence on attitude during

adolescence, possibly stronger than adults

• Reference Groups– Share a common interest that can influence

behavior, provide a point of comparison and serve as a source of information

In what reference groups do/could you belong?



• Rewards and Punishment– Attitudes are developed to minimize

punishment and maximize rewards

• Role Model Identification– Someone that you admire or are likely to

emulate such as managers in organizations




Cultural Influences• The sum total of knowledge, beliefs, values, and

customs that we use to adapt to our environment

What attitudes have you adopted from your:

-national culture? -ethnic culture?

-regional culture? -state culture?

-school culture? -work culture?


Attitudes Valued by Employers

Valued Attitudes

Self-Motivation

Openness to Change

Basic Interpersonal Skills

Appreciation of Coworker Diversity

Personalhonesty

Team Spirit

Health Consciousness

How to Change Your Attitude

• Attitudes are hard but not impossible to change; they foster achieving positive results by helping a person:

– Choose happiness– Embrace optimism– Think independently– Keep an open mind



• Choose Happiness– Happiness is the state of mind that

permits us to live life enthusiastically– Perceptions of the situation are critical

Happy people Unhappy people– more sociable – self-focused– flexible – socially

withdrawn– creative – antagonistic



• Embrace Optimism– Optimistic thoughts give rise to good moods,

which help develop positive attitudes– Avoid pessimism which leads to cynicism

Is “reality” all relative?



• Think for Yourself– Avoid “group think” by not intermixing personal

and professional relationships– Evaluate situations based on your values

• Keep an Open Mind– Know that attitudes can persist in the face of

overwhelming evidence to the contrary– Grow more flexible by exposing yourself to new

experiences and information



FIGURE 5.2 Serenity Prayer

Helping Others Change Attitudes

• Change attitudes by:

– Changing conditions that precede the behavior

– Changing the positive or negative consequences that follow when the person exhibits the behavior


Do you believe it’s possible to change others’ attitudes? If so, under what conditions?


Organizations’ Efforts Toward Improving Employees’ Attitudes

• Employees’ attitudes and performance cannot be separated

• Workers’ attitudes are positively affected by:– Respect and recognition– Interesting work– Skill development

Does pay affect attitude?

Chapter 5 Attitudes Can Shape Your Life. Learning Objectives After studying Chapter 5, you will be...

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