Barriers to changing Attitudes and Method of  Overcoming Barriers

Table of Contents

A.Barriers to Changing Attitudes:-
  • 1.No Benefits Sharing
  • 2.Impossible Target
  • 3.Status Quo Nature
  • 4.Low Reliability
  • 5.Inadequate Notification
  • 6.Regularity
  • 7.Openly shown Attitude
  • 8.Prior Commitment
  • 9.Lacking Resources
  • 10.Low Fear
B.Overcoming Barriers To Changing Attitudes:-

  • 1.Providing New Information
  • 2.Use of Fear
  • 3.Resolving Discrepancies
  • 4.Influences of Friends or Peers
  • 5.Co-opting Approach
  • 6.Feasible Target
  • 7.Develop Pioneering Nature
  • 8.Maintaining Resources
  • 9. Development Program
  • 10.Direct Meeting

Barriers to Changing Attitudes:-

The long lasting feelings, beliefs and behavioral tendencies directed towards specific people, group, ideas, issues, or objects is called Attitudes. Barriers to changing attitudes can be listed as below:-


1.No Benefits Sharing:-

If organization is maintaining no benefits sharing plan to employees, it can't change attitudes of employees for organization. If organization doesn't provide more benefits or rewards for extra contribution of employees, they are not motivated to perform more. So, organization should provide extra financial and non-financial benefits to employees for their additional contribution.


2.Impossible Target:-

Impossible target is another barrier for changing attitude. If organization sets higher amount of short term target without projecting feasibility and human capacity of doing it, employees don't change their attitude to complete the target.

3.Status Quo Nature:-

Organization changes their plan accordance with condition, requirements and strategies.

Employees don't change their mind to enforce changing plan due to their status quo nature. Status quo nature arises due to the risk associated with new plan, lacking knowledge of plan, lacking skill to enforce new plan and lacking experience of following new plan.


4.Low Reliability:-

Reliability arises through faith, skillfulness and applicability. Employees never keep interest to effort kept by less known, not preferred and less assured person for change. People never follow those people to whom they hate.

 

5.Inadequate Notification:-

Sometimes people are unknown about reasons to change their attitudes. Manager may not be enjoying negative attitudes of employees, but employees may be unknown about that.  Employee don't change his attitudes until manager notify him about the negative impact arouse in organization due to his attitudes.

 

6.Regularity:-

Regularity is another barrier of attitudes.  People make attitudes towards target according to the behavior of target. Target can be people, object or events. They regularly maintain same attitude, they don't prefer to change these attitudes easily.

 

7.Openly shown Attitude:-

Openly shown attitude of people are rigid in nature. One shows certain attitudes openly at public after analyzing right and wrong of that in vast. So, he rarely changes his openly shown attitudes after deciding showing it.

 

 8.Prior Commitment:-

Unchanged commitment is obstacles for changing attitudes. It happens when people never want to change their pre committed work method, process and objective. It happens because people never change their commitment ignoring results of it.

 

9.Lacking Resources:-

Another barrier of changing attitudes is lacking resources. If organization wants to enforce new plan, it must have excessive resources. It would be difficult in enforcing new plan with low resources availability. Employees never change their attitude to enforce new plan with the condition of lacking resources.

 

10.Low Fear:-

People never frighten with low level threats given to them for changing attitudes. Even they don't believe very high level threats given to them. They never change attitudes in both situations. So, moderate level of warnings and threat must be given them for changing their attitudes.

 

Managers must face these barriers in order to understanding attitudes of employees. Mangers should use proper ways to eradicate these barriers so that he can scan attitudes of employees for mobilizing them to job which matches to his attitudes. It also helps to promote positive attitudes and eradicate negative attitudes.


Overcoming Barriers To Changing Attitudes:-

The long lasting feelings, beliefs and behavioral tendencies directed towards specific people, group, ideas, issues, or objects is called Attitudes. Ways of overcoming to changing attitudes are such as:-


1.Providing New Information:-

If people are informed properly the justifiable reasons of why change in their attitudes needed in time to time basis. They may change their attitudes. For example, managers notifies frequently employees the negative impact aroused in organization due to his certain attitudes, they may change themselves.

 

2. Use of Fear:-

People never frighten with low level threats given and they don't believe very high level threats given too. Optimal level of warnings and threat must be given to them so that they become ready for changing attitudes.

 

3.Resolving Discrepancies:-

Removing discrepancies between behavior and attitudes help to reduce barriers for changing attitudes. When people have more alternatives, they can't decide which one is best. They may be still confused even after selecting one alternative. If any person convinces them selected alternative is best with pointing positive points. They will come out from confusion. They can properly enforce decision with high morale.

 

­­­4.Influences of Friends or Peers:-

Well known, mostly preferred, more assured, experience and confident person should convince and motivate employees for changing attitudes. These persons can be family, peer groups, co-workers and coach. People enjoy following those to whom they like. Reliability arises through faith, skillfulness and applicability.

 

5. Co-opting Approach:-

If organization started sharing benefits to employees, it can change attitudes employees for earning benefits. Organization should provide extra financial and non-financial benefits or reward to employees for their additional contribution. Organization should discuss with representative of employees for designing benefits sharing models to employees.

6.Feasible Target:-

Organization should set feasible target for short run considering capacity of employees. So, employees can earn confidence of achieving target. It means their attitudes get changed.

 

7. Develop Pioneering Nature:-

Organization should try to remove status quo nature of employees. So, organization should calculate risk related to new plan and show employees preventives measures prepared for possible risk. Organization should share information related to new plan. Experience of people following same kind plan should be shared to employees. Training should be also given to them. So, people become ready for change.

 

 8.Maintaining Resources:-

Organization should maintain optimum level of resources for enforcing new plan of employees. So, employees get ready to change their attitudes for enforcing new plan.

 

9. Development Program:-

Training, practicing opportunity, skill development, orientation class, motivation and examination chance etc. may help to change attitudes of employees towards work, work environment, customers, mangers etc.

 

10.Direct Meeting:-

No any trick fits to all situations. Attitudes of people can be changed though organizing direct meeting to people. Gesture, posture, motivation, fascinating sound, positive influences, showing strong proof and giving justifiable argument help to change attitude of people.

 

Managers must face various barriers in order to understanding attitudes of employees. Mangers should use proper ways as mentioned above to eradicate these barriers so that he can scan attitudes of employees for mobilizing them to job which matches to his attitudes. It also helps to promote positive attitudes and eradicate negative attitudes.


Frequently Asked Questions:-

1.What are the barriers to attitudinal change?

2.What are the barriers to changing attitudes how attitudes can be changed?

3.What are the barriers of attitude?

4.Why is attitude difficult to change?

5.How to overcome attitude and perception barriers in communication?

6.What are the barriers in changing attitude and how the barriers can be overcome?

7.How attitude are barriers to communication?