Attitude Change

Essay by darrylhpElementary School, 2nd gradeB+, February 2005

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1.0 Introduction

In today's economy, change is all-pervasive in organisations. It happens continuously, and often at rapid speed. Because change has become an everyday part of organisational dynamics, employees who resist change can actually cripple an organisation.

As a result, if management does not understand, accept and make an effort to work with resistance, it can undermine even the most well-intentioned and well-conceived change efforts. The attitudes of employees are important for morale and the effectiveness in attaining the overall goal of the organisation.

"Any management's ability to achieve maximum benefits from change depends in part of how effectively they create and maintain a climate that minimizes resistant behaviour and encourages acceptance and support".

Coetsee (1999)

2.0 ATTITUDES

An attitude is a stable and enduring disposition to evaluate an object or entity (a person, place or thing), in a particular way. "I like working in this shift" and "I do not like changing my working buddies" are examples of attitudes because they express the Fire and Rescue Servicemen general feelings, either favourable or unfavourable towards the change in shift.

'Attitudes can be formed by many situations in life, and they are constantly evolving to accommodate new information. When someone takes a stand on an issue, it is rendered in terms of his attitude. When one has an attitude, he is no longer neutral, he will keep that attitude until he adopts a different one'.

Meuller (1986)

Typically attitudes have been considered along with two other elements - beliefs and behaviours. Beliefs represent what we have learnt or come to know through experience. As such, they are either true or represent what is thought to be true (for example, that working with a specific shift would bring recognition in the organisation or that changing one's working buddies would affect their safety...