Every workplace comprises individuals with different personalities, temperaments and attitudes. In order to define attitudes comprehensively, it is needful to study the various components of attitudes. An attitude is described as a leaned response towards a particular person, situation, event or item. There are three main components of attitudes and the essence of the attitude structure actually constitutes the attitude. Attitudes are based on information regarding the object of predilection. Conversely, the objects of affinity or repulsion also determine how an individual reacts to them. It is ordinary to find different individuals with varied personalities and temperaments in the typical workplace. This affects their approach towards certain situations and even other people in the workplace environment. This behavior can have a great effect on the overall productivity of an individual in the workplace, consequently affecting their general job performance. Each individual in the workplace has their own unique set of behaviors linked to their personalities that makes them respond differently to situations or objects at their disposal. Attitude accurately describes this collective set of responses in behavior (Singh, 2009).

An acquired inclination to respond, think or feel a certain way about something or someone was Gordon Allport’s famous definition of an attitude (Erwin, 2014). From this definition, then its components are clear: “cognitions, affective responses, behavioral intentions, and behaviors” (Bordens & Horowitz, 2013). People respond to situations, people or objects based on the information they have regarding them. That is why when a person sees a bee or a hornet buzzing around them, they would be careful to stay out of its way because they know or believe that bees and wasps sting. Their reaction towards these objects of predisposition is also determined by their attitude. A person will probably duck or lie flat if a swarm of bees passes by as a response to their attitude towards the swarm of bees. Our response to situations, people or things pre-determines the way people intend to behave and even the way they actually behave. The affective response would be an expression of what they feel on the inside regarding bees. A person may be scared of a swarm of bees. These four components make up the supporting structure for attitude.

For attitude to be described comprehensively, it must have certain notable characteristics that would cause it to be defined as so. First, these sets of responses must be consistent over a lengthy period. This means that, due to the situations or experiences in the past, the predilection towards the specific event, experience or situation must be consistently similar over that period. Secondly, there are intertwined sets of beliefs that cause a person to have an attitude. This mainly results because of what a person knows regarding the person or object of predisposition and the belief of responding in a particular manner once triggered to act on something. Thirdly, attitudes are directed at an object, a person or an event. While an event may never be the same to another of a similar nature, a person would normally formulate an attitude that would generally cause them to respond in a particular way towards it. Fourthly, the responses that formulate the attitude are of a similar nature. This means that, regardless of how one expresses attitude, the message is the same since the responses are interconnected. Lastly, attitudes express leniency towards one direction or another. These five elements give character to an attitude.

Persuasion, in simple language, is the ability to convince or persuade. However, according to Larson (2012), Aristotle comprehensively defined persuasion as two-faceted: the ability to choose the means with which to deliver the message persuasively, while also being subject to elements beyond the control of the persuader. On the onset, it is easy to think that persuasion is an easy task. For a successful persuasion process, one has to consider several factors before the pitch. Psychologists have in the past formulated various models elaborating the process of persuasion. However, there are two main models which are popular in the persuasion process; Chaiken’s Heuristic Systematic Model (HSM) and Petty & Cacioppo’s Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM). The similarities between these two are quite close in that both systems are dual process models and that they also follow one of either routes; the central route or the periphery route.

However, there are notable differences between them. In the Elaborate Likelihood Model, an individual in the initial stages of the thought process is deliberate in his thinking process basing his decision on information provided initially by the persuader. In the later stage, the individual’s cognitive ability to make a decision dips and they end up making a decision without much careful thought. The concept of a central route representing the initial stage where information and a periphery route to represent the latter stage when a decision is made can be used to express this theory. On the other hand, The Heuristic-Systematic Model theory proposes a much slower method of making decisions due to the many systematic considerations made based on the information provided. This theory proposes propriety when processing large volumes of information only.

Companies and organizations have various methods of measuring the performance of employees at their disposal. According to Resnick (2007), apart from company profits and the usual performance management systems available, it is possible to measure employees’ attitudes compared with their ability to perform at work. Methods like employee job match, satisfaction of the employee in the workplace, access to organizational resources, team strength, commitment to the organization, willingness to put more effort and their intention to leave the company may be used to measure their attitude towards their jobs. There are three main indicators of work-related attitude are job fulfillment, participation in the workplace and obligation to the organization/company. Job fulfillment indicates the level at which the employee is satisfied with the job they are doing. The employees’ participation in the workplace indicates the extent to which employees participate in the workplace actively. Attaining job satisfaction occurs when an employee is capable of achieving their personal goals while at work. According to research conducted in recent years, this is the prime determinant of performance at work. A weak sense of involvement in the job is revealed to have a strong correlation with a high number of resignations and more cases of absence from duty. Another measure of attitude is the extent to which the employees is committed to the organization in which they work. (Aquinas, 2006).

According to Harrison (2005), successful persuasion is a deliberate process that requires one to follow a systematic procedure rather than a one off event. First, one has to ensure they have developed a record of dependability and sober judgment. No one would trust a person whose record of accomplishment is tainted.

People are predisposed to having a positive attitude towards people of this kind. Tailoring the persuasion to be relevant to the target individual would then be the next step. Third, the use of analogies and evidences that appeal the target would come in handy when making the pitch. Elements that practically and logically illustrate the point of persuasion appeal to the target individual while at the same time holding up a strong case for it. Emotional intelligence would be resourceful eventually when establishing a link with the target. In the process of making a pitch, the persuader gets the opportunity to learn the moods, attitudes and preferences of the target individual and can be able to tailor the pitch to appeal to their emotions.

In recent times, employees are actively involved in the running of the organization as much as the executives are. For this reason, most executives are acquiring skills in persuasion. The three main elements in a persuasion process include the persuader, the target and the persuasion message (Nelson & Quick, 2012). Each element must possess particular characteristics for the persuasion process to be complete. The persuader needs to be bold, sharp, persuasive and credible. Persuaders should also be able to discern the mood of the target individual. Those in a good mood are predisposed to be easy targets. The target employee’s characteristics may vary from one to the other. Targets with low levels of confidence may be easy candidates for persuasion. Messages should also be tailored in a way that would ensure the dissonance between is not deepened further. This cannot happen unless the message is formulated in a way that appeals to the attitude and feelings of the target individual.

Aquinas (2007) mentions that there are three main influencers of attitude change in employees; the persuader’s strength in the organization, the amount of change to be made and the method used to change the attitude. The strength of the attitude is determined by the magnitude of belief, and this can have an effect on the desire to change it. It is also relatively easier to make a change based on a persuasion from someone who is convincing. Attitude changes vary from one individual to another depending on the tactic used. If the persuader intends to persuade the employee by speaking to them, then they would need to choose a tone that is convincing and illustrations that strongly support the argument for changing attitudes by dispelling their reservations and fears. Change can be greatly influenced by offering the employees a platform to air their views and share their experiences while they transform.

Employee attitudes are a sure way of identifying toxic working environments and establishing whether the organizational policies in force work well for the system in place. This set of behaviors varies among employees and it is important for every manager or executive to know and measure employee attitudes to their jobs, to the organization and their level of commitment as this would certainly affect how well the company performs in line with indicators given. For an executive to change the attitude of an employee successfully, they must carefully study the three components of the persuasion process and plan a pitch that will not only appeal to the employee but also trigger a voluntary desire to change.

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