Beliefs refers to descriptive thoughts that an individual holds about something which influences the individual behavior. It is normally based on knowledge opinion and faith and are acquired from parents, teacher, friends etc. Beliefs tends to be stable as they served as foundation upon which individual order and structure are built. It provides continuity and meaning to perception. The values can be developed from cultural environment and functional factors. The divergence of belief from real situation can limit their effectiveness. The divergence occurs from superstitions, delusions, prejudices etc.
Belief is a psychological process which is an increasingly important issue in today’s organizations. It is a positive expectation that another will not act opportunistically. In other words, beliefs refer to perception and attitudes towards objects develop through cognitive process or feeling that has developed from the past experience and learning. Belief is a history dependent process based on relevant but limited samples of experience. It takes time to form, building incrementally and accumulating. Most of us find it hard to belief someone immediately if we don’t know anything about them. At the extreme, in the case of total ignorance, we can gamble but we can’t belief. But as we get to know someone, and the relationship matures, we gain confidence in our ability to make a positive expectation.
Belief is another important factor causing individual behavior different. Belief can be based on knowledge, opinion and faith. They are acquired from parents, teachers, peer and reference group member etc. It provides continuity to the personality of an individual. They assign meaning to his/her day-to-day perceptions and activities and serve in his/her attempted solution of varied goals. An individual's beliefs also exert a vital impact on his motivation in two ways.
Belief is another important factor causing individual behavior different. Belief can be based on knowledge, opinion and faith. They are acquired from parents, teachers, peer and reference group member etc. It provides continuity to the personality of an individual. They assign meaning to his/her day-to-day perceptions and activities and serve in his/her attempted solution of varied goals. An individual's beliefs also exert a vital impact on his motivation in two ways.
- He/she must believe that he is capable of performing the acts, which the organization expects of him/her.
- He/she must believe that performance of acts desired by the organization will have positive outcomes for him/her personally.
There are five key dimensions that underline the concept of belief: integrity, competence, consistency, loyalty and openness.
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| Key Dimensions of Belief |
- Integrity: Integrity refers to honesty and truthfulness. Of all five dimensions, this one seems to be most critical when someone assesses another’s trustworthiness.
- Competence: Competence encompasses an individual technical and interpersonal knowledge and skills. You need to belief that the person has the skills and abilities to carry out what he or she says they will do.
- Consistency: Consistency relates to an individual’s reliability, predictability and good judgment in handling situations. Inconsistencies between words and action decrease trust or belief. This dimension is particularly relevant for managers.
- Loyalty: Loyalty is the willingness to protect and save face for another person. Belief requires that you can depend on someone not to act opportunistically.
- Openness: The final dimension of belief is openness. Can you rely on the person to give you the full truth?
The importance of beliefs in OB are:
- It provides continuity to the personality of an individual.
- It assigns meaning to perception of an individual.
- Beliefs are incorporated with attitudes.
- It helps to motivate an individual.
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