Personal Development

Attitude

Attitude are simply expressions of how much we like or dislike various things.
Attitude express our evaluations or judgements concerning objects, people or events. The statements may be favourable or unfavourable.
Our attitudes are based on information. They reflect how one feels, thinks, perceives and acts about something.
Definition by Schermerhorm: Attitude is a predisposition to respond in a positive or negative way to someone or something in one's environment.

Characteristics of Attitude

Attitudes affect the behaviour of an individual. They are expressed by terms such as liking-disliking, pro-anti, favouring-not favouring, and positive-negative.
Attitudes are acquired through learning over a period of time. The process of learning starts right from childhood and continues throughout the life of a person.
Attitude constitute a psychological phenomenon which cannot be observed by the behaviour of an individual.

Three components of attitude

Cognitive components → The thought, opinion or belief segment of an attitude. For example, "The belief that discrimination is wrong", is a value statement. It is a cognitive component.
Affective component → the emotional or feeling segment of an attitude. It is reflected in the statement, "I don't like John."
Behavioural component → An intention to behave in a certain way towards someone or something.

By measuring and integrating these three elements, a person's attitude towards a given situation can be established.

Sources of attitudes

The formation os attitude can be classified into two main sources:
1. Direct experience
2. Social process

Direct experience
- Attitude formation takes place with the direct experience of an object or person.
- Attitudes are based on one's previous experience.
- Attitudes, formed on direct experience, are stronger and are not easy to change.
- These are present in our congnitive process.
Social process
- The attitudes are learned.
- Generally individuals learn things from the environment in which they interact.
- Attitudes, like values, are acquired from parents, teachers and friends.
- People imitate the attitudes of popular persons or those persons whom they admire and respect.
- In an organization, attitudes are important because they affect job behaviour.
- Culture also affects in forming certain attitudes.
- Religious organizations also form certain attitudes.

Types of attitude

1. Positive attitude

Positive attitude is the foundation of success.
A person who thinks positive for exchange of views and learning, finds opportunities in every difficulty.
Decent behaviour and good temperament.
Positive and wishful thinking.
Loves company and social life.
Sees what is good in others.
Respects the sentiments and religion of others.

2. Negative attitude:

An employee's negative attitude about work be reflected by substandard output of work.
Recessive absenteeism.
Excessive complaining about work environment.
Desobidience to rules of authority.

These attitudes can be changed either by simple persuasion or by training and coaching. The following of changing can be used:

Proper information
Low level of fear
Persuasion of peers and friends
By cooperation
Guidance and proper counselling
Association towards some groups

Functions of attitudes in incluencing the behaviour

Instrumental → Attitudes serve as a means to reach a desired goal.
Ego-defensive → Attitudes protect the person from facing threats in the external world. They also make the person aware of his own unacceptable impulses.
Value Orientation → Attitudes express a person's values or enhance his self-identity.
Knowledge → The knowledge function of attitudes is based on a person's need to maintain a stable, organized and meaningful structure of the world.

These functions of attitudes affect the individual's way of interpreting the information coming to him.

Value and Attitude

Attitudes are not the same as values, but the two are interrelated. Both have significant impact on people's behaviour. Values represent basic convictions that a specific mode of conduct is personally or socially preferable.
They generally identify a person's moral structure on which the concept of good or bad and right or wrong is based.
Some of the values are freedom, self-respect, honesty, obedience, equality.

Values generally influence attitude and behaviour.
Attitudes are specific and related to distinct objects, people or ideas. Values are more general and not related to any object or situation.
Values are beliefs on which attitudes depend and we decide how we should behave.
Values contain statement of good or bad associated with the attitudes which people hold.

SWOC Analysis

Introduction

SWOC analysis is a strategic method used to research external & internal factors which affect company's success and growth.
Firms use SWOC analysis to determine the strength, weakness, opportunities, and challenges of their firm, products, and competetion.
S → Strength
W → Weakness
O → Opportunities
C → Challenges
SWOC analysis is relevant to SWOT Analysis
SWOT focuses on Threats rather than challenges.
the two are somewhat similar but they do have their differences, which is why firms may choose to use SWOT over SWOC.

How to use SWOC analysis

When begining a SWOC analysis of a product or firm, you must go through each section individually

1- Strength

Strength are features which benefit the company, such as product rules, strengths can also be more abstract.
Example:

If you have decided to build a product because you know you can offer it cheaper than your compitor, this is an overall strength of the company.
If you have records of better customer service via positive reviews online, this is a strength you can use it to your advantage.
Strength can be documented through statistics, customer service reviews and surveys.

2- Weakness

The next step is noticing weakness causes a company to struggle.
For example

If you have decided to target a younger audience but your packaging is still dedicated to senior citizens, the new consumer base will struggle to connect to the product. This will be shown in reports and can cause an internal struggle within the company.
Weakness need to be documented and acknowledged to handle them promptly before it spreads and leads to overall destruction.

3- Opportunities

Opportunities are often external. They provide firms to grow successfully.
For example:

A digital marketing agency helps a client develop an effective email marketing strategy. The agency has been thinking of adding other modes of digital marketing, like social media. This is an opportunity for the agency to develop a new section of their business without having to create a marketing plan because they can reach out to existing clients.
Being open to opportunities, knowing when to look for them, and knowing how to act on them can boost a firm's success.
Documenting past opportunities can help create a plan on how to capitalise on future ones.

4- Challenges

The final step in SWOC analysis is acknowledging challenges.
this is how SWOC and SWOT analysis differ because SWOT analysis focuses on threats.
Challenges are similar to threats but have the chance of being overcome.
Threats have the potential to damage a firm, but challenges often already exist and need to be handled.
This step is crucial.
If you have already examined the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities but have skipped assessing the challenges, you may be on the path to failure.
Challenges can greatly undermine any progress you have made, so by ignoring this step you have opened yourself up to potential failure.

When to use SWOC Analysis

Use SWOC analysis whenever you have a business idea, whether its starting a brand new business, a product or a product upgrade.
One can do SWOC analysis annually, quarterly, or monthly. It depends on what product or idea you're using SWOC analysis for.
But if you chose to do SWOC analysis, you must remember that it is a great cost-effective way to reduce challenges and deter failure of a business venture or product.

Conclusion

In short, SWOC analysis is must for each and every organization as it makes the strengths, weakness, opportunitites and challenges crystall clear.
The strategies/policies can be implimented accordingly.
Strength & Opportunities have positive attributes whereas weakness and challenges have negative attributes.