Your "Attitude" Defines Your "Altitude" by Rohit Manoharan

Attitude is Everything !

A very old saying but it always drives the point home. There's none other than your attitude which defines how far you go in life. Interviews and the selection procedure hence are no different when it come to this magic word known as "Attitude". People feel that attitude is a negative word because of the commonly used phrase "This guy throws a lot of attitude man", etc. However, on the contrary, attitude is the way you look at life and how you deal with the situations around you.

In simple terms, your attitude in the interview process can be clearly understood via the following methods and trust me interviewers are constantly on the lookout for such hints which help them understand whether you carry a positive attitude or not. Let's take a look at some of the most important factors which help you define the right attitude in an interview :

Greeting : the way you open up to a person and your first impact or impression can speak volumes about what your attitude towards life is

Dressing : a person who is rightly dressed for the occasion can make quite the impact which none other can, focus on this very important aspect when you step in for the interview

Eye Contact : people who are clear of heart and conscience will always encourage and believe in eye to eye contact, go for this style even though you might not be confident of an answer, it can make things work in your favor in most of the cases

Language : a very commonly made mistake is the usage of slangs which can really put off interviewers. You would rather say stuff like "I would want to believe in . . ." rather than saying "I would wanna believe in . . ."

Energy : While a lot of people believe this is not very important if the other qualities exist, I would tend to dis-agree. It's because your energy and that too pure positive energy can make people get up and take notice of what's happening around you, I would say that this is the key to make a huge difference to the overall scenario

Responses : whenever a query is thrown at you, if your responses are vague and lack the required energy, it makes people feel and believe that there isn't much that you have to offer. Be crisp and to the point, you can make a lot of difference that way

Tone : the intonation that you use is very important in order to convey the required message with the right attitude. You can sound over assertive, aggressive, humble or adjusting depending upon the pitch that you modulate during the conversation

Remember, that each of the above need to be used in a fair combination with each other rather than being used in a sequential manner. You would need to exhibit these aspects during all stages of the interview in order for the interviewer to understand your attitude and fall in tune with it.

The interviewer needs to understand also that this is not a made up attitude and actually is a natural one which you display at all stages in time. If you don't convince the interviewer of this, you stand the chance of risking the interview itself as you might sound made up.

So, get out there and do your best to put up the right attitude because that's all you really have which is in your control in order to ensure that you leave that long lasting impression on your audience !!

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Things your work can teach you - BY SHRUTI NAIR.

“The Secret of Change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new”

-Socrates

This happens to be my last contribution to the blog of Search 4 Excellence. My stay here has been a stepping stone in my life. The worth of an emotional reaction to something is defined by the people who induce it. Hence, I want to take this opportunity to write a letter to my 15 year old self, specifically telling her of what all she is going to experience in this particular phase of her life.

To,

Dearest Shruti,

You must’ve just completed your 10^th board exams recently. Don’t worry about not knowing yet what to do with your life, things take course in a way such that they always take you where your heart lies; even when you don’t know where your heart lies. You will move on to study some great works of mankind and eventually find your passion in it.

This passion of yours will make you meet some amazing people. You will meet these people in your ‘professional life’ and they will teach you way more than skills to work better or how an organization functions.

They will teach you things you will remember all your life. You will learn that sometimes people put in a lot of hard work in getting to know you, and that they will never show you. So, think twice before leaving someone.

You will learn that when things are not looking good for you, when life hits you with a crisis, you will find the most random people who will get you through it. They might do it knowingly or unknowingly but you will find them. So, hold tight during the roller coaster ride.

They will prove to you that people, who are genuine and honest, during an interview, actually go on to add more value than people who are smart with witty answers. So, always look for truth, more than money, more than love.

You will begin to realize a beautiful truth: The most overwhelming personalities are, sometimes, the softest at heart. So, give everyone the benefit of doubt.

Everyone has one thing that the world needs. You will learn that if you didn’t find something special about someone, change your perspective, and give them a chance to show you.

 Most of all you will learn that it’s okay to be weak. It’s even better to know your weaknesses because then you can focus on your strengths.

Remember to let them know that they are amazing and that the company they run is developing more than great employees.

Yours truly,

Shruti.

Let’s Nurture ART throughout Life ! - By Shamika Khatawkar

Every Child is an Artist. The problem is staying one when you group up!

We all are blessed to stay on this beautiful planet. Every second, on this magnificent planet, a life is conceived; and at every other, a new life is born. As these seconds pass by, these new born lives; grow, develop and they start witnessing what we call ‘Life’. 

These newly born, are then given the prettiest names by their creators ‘their parents’ and they begin their journey of: exploration, creation, invention and experimentation. As they grow, each parent invests enormous efforts in their upbringing and ensures that the little one gets the best of everything. These tiny tots then learn to speak a language. They learn to converse and express their random thoughts, feelings and emotions to the best of their ability. They begin their schooling; where they learn the fundamentals of every subject: vocabulary, numbers, science or even Art for that matter. 

Initial years of schooling for most children are super fun, as there is a greater emphasis on imparting education in a holistic and fun way. Learning is colorful in all terms, it is more visual, auditory and kin aesthetic in nature. Children get several opportunities to express their creative and Artistic edge. They acquire, observe and grasp things with ease; and are open to commit mistakes.

It is in these years, that kids develop a very strong bond with Art.Further, the school environment and family members also facilitate the bond by providing encouragement to these young minds; so that they experience the different shades of Art while learning at school or elsewhere. Hence, we can see children explore the domain of Art through drawing, painting, sculpting, clay work, play or even dance and music for that matter.

While at home, the walls of the rooms become nothing but large canvases to draw and scribble. Newspapers become more useful for making airplanes, paper boats and origami, than for reading. Used bottles, card boards, buttons and tins become raw material for most school projects. Life for them becomes truly experiential in all terms. It revolves around actually creating things and learning from them.

As kids grow, keeping Art alive is no longer the focus as it was before. The reason being, other subjects are given more importance by the school and parents. Kids often hear every one saying, “Now other subjects such as math, science and computers should be your priority; as these subjects are going define your future; so you better focus only on them”.

This situation is further worsened when the teaching methodology becomes more academic and children have to learn everything the ‘Rote Way’. An element of experiential learning is now, nowhere even close to existence.  As kids climb the  grade ladder, from 7^th to 8^th, 8^th to 9^th and so on,rote learning becomes  even more dominant at every grade;and there comes a time,

when these kids are no longer in touch with the Art which lived in them before. These kids have simply forgotten the strong bond they shared with Art! They have forgotten that Art was something which made their life so colorful and learning so much fun. Unfortunately, this is a personal loss for these kids and that too unknowingly!

So, who is to be held responsible for this loss? Who is to be blamed for this separation of kids from Art?

Is it the educational system? The parents? Or the kids themselves? 

Bridge the Gap between Skills Acquired and Skills Needed : By Latika Kaul

Psychology in India is finally on the verge of receiving the recognition it deserves. It has been studied since time immemorial. It may not have been a specific, singular subject, but studying human behaviour has been a fascination of many, including mine.  And so I did. For seven long years. Finally, I completed my Post Graduation in psychology and started my very first job. After six months of

working I have come to the realization that there is a huge difference between the psychology that I have studied and the psychology that I am currently using, which amounts to almost nothing.

This has led me to wonder how many more people face this issue of being unable to apply their education to their work. Since, I have no experience in other fields; I will stick to Psychology and try to put forth reasons as to why this is happening. To understand this better, dear reader, you first need to understand my subject. So, I will try to sum it up briefly as sadly there are still many who are unaware of the relevance of this subject.

For those who have little or no idea about psychology, psychologists cannot read your minds, (that territory belongs to the psychics). We definitely cannot make your children more intelligent or your personality more attractive. And unfortunately, in most cases we are not those stylish men and women who use this behavioural science to catch criminals like they might show in popular television series like Criminal Minds or CSI (“In most cases”, there is still hope!!!).

Psychology actually comes from the Greek words, ‘psyche’, meaning life, and ‘logos’, meaning explanation or reason. Psychology can be defined as the science of human and animal behaviour; it includes the application of this science to human problems. (Morgan et al). Studying human behaviour, as you may have guessed encompasses a lot. So naturally, psychology is divided into branches or specialities and not limited to treating mental patients as many perceive it to be. These specialities or areas extend from child psychology to geriatrics (elderly) psychology, from cognitive to neurosciences, educational, clinical, industrial etc. The last branch, Industrial and Organizational Psychology is my area of work.

The APA (The American Psychological Association) defines Industrial and Organizational Psychology as:

The specialty of industrial-organizational psychology (IO Psychology) is characterized by the scientific study of human behaviour in organizations and the work place. The specialty focuses on deriving principles of individuals, groups and organizational behaviour and applying this knowledge to the solution of problems at work.
I hope by now my readers have the very basic idea of what psychology is and isn’t.  At last, I come to the crux of my article.

In my experience the issue that I and many face in regard to not being able to apply psychology to their work is because of the following reasons. 

Awareness: Lack of awareness is a root cause of many problems faced by society and unfortunately psychology is a victim of it too. Even in our so called modern times, taking help from counsellors is considered a taboo by many. So many of my own friends and relatives are unable to comprehend- “Exactly what am I studying?” or “What jobs will I get?” Let me tell you, this is very frustrating and infuriating.

Having said this, the future may not be so bleak. Many psychologists in India are doing extremely well, great researches are being conducted and various beautiful therapies are being practiced. This trend has started in a few cities and now it’s upon us to carry it forward through more advanced courses, social media, workshops, sensitization programs etc.

Educational Institutes: Let be begin by saying that we are not all together bad in this front. India has many renowned institutes that are doing great work in this field. Delhi  University, Banaras Hindu University, IIPR (Indian Institute of Psychology and Research), Nimhans (National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences) to name a few.

These are like the IIM’S of Psychology and hence it is not possible for everyone to attend them. Largely, however, there is a dearth of good institutes that have psychology courses. This problem not only creates lack of qualified graduates but also teachers.

The novelty of this field means not many are studying it or are inclined towards it, many go abroad to study it and then settle there. The few experienced and passionate professors available opt for the big institutes leaving the rest with the less qualified faculty.

Another issue that I have personally faced is the syllabus. From the time I began studying Psychology in my 11th to my Masters which is almost 7 years, there has been almost no advancement in the syllabus. I am not saying that I have studied the exact same thing but a large number of topics have been repeated throughout these years. Some of course have been more detailed as my classes advanced but some of the subject matter has been identical in all these years.
Largely, colleges do not have the resources or the faculty to offer students the various areas of psychology as subjects. Therefore, the most common psychology course one will find will be clinical psychology, industrial and counselling taking the second place. Some may provide diploma courses in child psychology and few therapies and that’s about it.

This according to me is the biggest problem that we are currently facing. Due to this we are unable to be the cool, stylish people who solve crimes by studying the criminal’s behaviour or provide the much needed psychological assistance to our soldiers, or children with cognitive disabilities, or a married couple who wants to give their marriage a second chance. All of this and more only because a select few colleges actually provide these courses.

The gap between learned skills and required skills: Is teaching and providing courses enough? Certainly not. Application is what is important.  Now, this is the problem most of my classmates and me faced this year. I must have learnt over 3 dozen theories if not more during my post graduation. I have been working for 6 months now. How many theories have I used? Probably ten or less. This is

not because I am not well versed with them. But, mainly because the application of theories was something we never practiced. This becomes a critical problem in psychology as the subject is cramped with theories without actually understanding how to practice them. I am not saying that studying has been a waste.

Many concepts like TNA, performance management, recruitment etc have been very useful in my job but I was still not prepared for the intricacies of it all. For example, we studied training but never really learned how to make a lesson plan or design the content. We were not aware of the specifications that are needed in today’s market. Yet, we were still in a better position to handle things as our professors went out of their way and the syllabus to inform us about a lot many things. Other college students were not so lucky.

has been almost no advancement in the syllabus. I am not saying that I have studied the exact same thing but a large number of topics have been repeated throughout these years. Some of course have been more detailed as my classes advanced but some of the subject matter has been identical in all these years.Largely, colleges do not have the resources or the faculty to offer students the various areas of psychology as subjects.

Therefore, the most common psychology course one will find will be clinical psychology, industrial and counselling taking the second place. Some may provide diploma courses in child psychology and few therapies and that’s about it. This according to me is the biggest problem that we are currently facing. Due to this we are unable to be the cool, stylish people who solve crimes by studying the criminal’s behaviour or provide the much needed psychological assistance to our soldiers, or children with cognitive disabilities, or a married couple who wants to give their marriage a second chance. All of this and more only because a select few colleges actually provide these courses.

Health and Neurosciences) to name a few. These are like the IIM’S of Psychology and hence it is not possible for everyone to attend them. Largely, however, there is a dearth of good institutes that have psychology courses. This problem not only creates lack of qualified graduates but also teachers. The novelty of this field means not many are studying it or are inclined towards it, many go abroad to study it and then settle there.

The few experienced and passionate professors available opt for the big institutes leaving the rest with the less qualified faculty. started in a few cities and now it’s upon us to carry it forward through more advanced courses, social media, workshops, sensitization programs etc.

Another problem arises in job opportunities. Since psychology can still be considered a new field, my classmates and I did not expect millions of job opportunities. However, most of us found jobs in the first three to four months of finishing our Masters. What we have realized, rather I have realized is that the real world is much more different from our cosy classes.

I suppose this is true for every student that makes the transition from campus to corporate. And so I don’t want to talk for everyone, even students of psychology but only from my own experience in I/O psychology. What I have identified is that there is virtually no recognition or understanding of I/O to most people. Most big companies or MNC’s may have a vague idea or some even complete knowledge of I/O but still the level of acceptance is very low. This results in fewer job opportunities for IO psychologists especially over MBA students. 

 The industries are not solely to be blamed. The root cause could be the little or complete absence of a bridge between companies and colleges. I cannot stress enough the significance of this partnership. My batch mates and I learned this the hard way. Our final year dissertations and practicum’s were a nightmare, especially for IO kids. No company was ready to give us internships or opportunities for research and data collection, even if it meant a free analysis of their company or employees. Not that it stopped us; we were quite determined to convince people about the value of our field.

We all managed to finish our dissertations and practicum case load, presented our research papers in international and national conferences and won college to state level competitions. Our clinical batch mates did not disappoint either and came up with some unique researches that were also recognized in many national and international conferences.

Besides our amazing professors, the credit for this goes to the handful of individuals and companies who were willing to accept and work with our field. One of my classmates even got an internship opportunity, wherein she got to learn a great deal and also put forth her own thoughts from various psychological perspectives.

This is exactly what is needed. If the gap between the skills acquired by students and the skills needed for the jobs are not filled, then the companies will face the problem of finding the right candidates and the students will not find jobs. Therefore, for the perfect job fit the companies and colleges need to work hand in hand. This will help in aligning the college curriculum with the current job market place, thus solving the problems faced by the students and the companies. Once, these problems are tackled there is no stopping psychology.

Psychology is slowly but steadily making progress. Many colleges are now giving psychology its due credit. And, like I said the fact that almost my entire class got jobs indicates a bright future for this subject. There is a lot of hope and scope for budding psychologists. However, now the responsibility of taking psychology further is on our shoulders.

The proverbial baton/torch has been handed to us and now it’s our duty to run our course and hand it safely and proudly to the next generation. So let’s promise ourselves that from this coming New Year we will do our best to further the future of psychology in every little way we can. As Frost said (of course my rendition of it), 

Psychology is lovely, dark and deep,

We have promises to keep,

And miles to go before we sleep,

And miles to go before we sleep.

Self expression: By Shruti Nair

“When words become unclear, I shall focus with my camera. When images become inadequate, I shall tune in to my guitar and when the strings break, I shall resort to the language of silence”

As kids we were never worried about what we say. If you really observe children you’ll find that they don’t let social etiquettes or the feeling of not hurting the other person get in between their self expression. As we grow, learn more about the world, bag new experiences, we begin to limit ourselves when communicating with people.

Although some of us still have our younger self inside us and don’t fear or embarrass speaking our mind out. These people are often regarded as rude, insensitive but then what they really are, are a breath of fresh air in a world of constant guessing, contemplation and miscommunication.

There is another kind of expression that is wrongly presented as self-expression, the kind we use in media. Our thoughts, words, when speaking in a public medium, are often dependent on ‘what’s in trend’. Let’s not even get to the internet scammers or bullies; but even the general public who hardly post their opinion on trending topics, when they speak of their personal lives, are often analyzing, over analyzing if their ‘self-expression fits the right cut. Any restricted form of expression will not bear the feeling of being connected with one’s inner self, same as a self-expression will have.

To get down to really understanding what stops us from communicating our true thoughts, one must introspect on the famous quote of self-expression i.e. “self-expression must pass into communication for its fulfillment”.

Now, there are many ways one uses other forms of art for expression of one’s thoughts. Where some use painting, writing, music, others use riding, social service, cooking etc. using a productive medium to communicate one’s thoughts is the best way to deal with life’s unpredictable nature.

Speak the Truth when needed

Very often we leave a conversation feeling we didn’t say what we wanted to say or we fantasize about what we could’ve said. Learn to understand what stops you from speaking your mind in a conversation and work towards overcoming it. Speaking your mind politely and with sensitivity takes a lot of patience and practice.

Don’t find, but, define yourself

People often say, “I need to find my true self”. Well, you are living your “true self” every day. It’s not another person or an event but something you define within you. Hence, think deep and hard about how you would truly define yourself? A person’s experience of life is what defines them and their inner most self, it is expressed through the activities one mostly invests ones time in. So, first define your qualities and then the actions that truly define you.

Learn your choice of art

We all have our ways of expressing; it’s the one thing which makes us really satisfied. Observe what you do after you have had an unsatisfied conversation with someone. Do you listen to music? Do you watch movies? Do you start cooking? Do you pick up a pen and start writing? It may not be immediately but you will know when it happens. This will be your way of expressing which needs to be inculcated in your routine.

Take time to know yourself

How many of us really take some personal time out and think about ourselves? Do you really know what makes you angry? What is that one value that you will not compromise upon? What makes you truly happy?

Take time out and introspect on who you really are and define yourself. It makes things easier for you and people around you to live in harmony.

Pursue your Passion

We often mull over not being happy with what we do or not finding our passion. But passion is something you would have to already be doing; else it’s not your passion. There are some activities that we effortlessly do better than others. That’s where we should look for passion. I had a friend who mulled over not finding a job in engineering for 2 years but jumped with excitement when he got any animation assignment. Most of us would find it a tedious job but he did it quite effortlessly and skillfully. There are many such activities we do, and not realize that our passion has been staring at us all along.

Think about what a peaceful place this world would be if we all found our way of expressing!

Leadership- Nature or Nurture - By Shohrat Shankar

I have spent many years researching “Leadership qualities” by attending programs, reading various authors, articles, studying models, having intense discussions with some people (especially my father) and finally consolidating them into a 12 point list. Though everyone might not agree with this list, I feel there would not be many who would completely disagree.

The qualities are listed below:

Passion
Honesty & Integrity

Visionary

Empowering

Optimism

Role model

Engaging

Influencing

Empathy

Learning Mindset

Flexibility

Self- awareness

The question however is; are people born leaders? Or can Leadership be developed?

Many people say that we have certain qualities or personalities and no matter what we do, these qualities cannot be changed. This is the eternal debate between Nature vs Nurture.

The point though is that can we nurture a child to have a head start with some Leadership traits?

Can we Nurture a child to have:

• Passion for things that he does?

• Honesty & Integrity ingrained as a part of life?

• More optimism and courage to take things into their own hands and be the “Masters of their own fate”? 

• A dogged and persevering approach to convincing and influencing people?

I believe that some of these traits might be natural; however, need to be developed and nurtured. If not done, then a child with potential might never fulfil his or her destiny.

Passion

Do we as parents let our children explore their passions, do we help them choose and chase what they desire? Or is it what “we” desire? 

Do we demonstrate and inspire them by showing how passionate we are about things? Can they see the Passion for achievement, success and most importantly “Life”, in all that we do?

Or do they see someone working hard and toiling listlessly, not knowing what they are aiming for?

Do they see fun, excitement and enthusiasm in our eyes when we talk about our work or the drudgery, fatigue and stress? 

Can they sense and understand what drives me as a person? Is it me “the parent”, “the spouse”, “the bread winner” or just “ME and My Passion for Life”?

I wonder ….. I really wonder….

Honesty & Integrity

Many of us would want our children to be honest and have integrity, yet do not want to take the effort to instil those qualities.

How many times have we seen parents make small false promises to their kids? I’ve heard parents say, “Let’s go home and I will give you a chocolate”, even though they have no intention of doing so.

Or something simpler where they will promise to take the child for a movie the next day, just so that they keep quiet now.

In fact I could go on and on…. I’m sure many of us could.

Now what happens when promises made to a child are left unfulfilled, what happens to his sense of trust and belief? How much is he driven to keep to his promises and commitments?

From experience I have seen my son tends to listen and accept when I say “When Daddy makes a promise, does he always fulfill it?” he doesn’t really have much to say, nor does he throw a tantrum when he is sure that what is promised WILL happen. 

This teaches him the importance and necessity of sticking to his word and commitments.

The other day while riding on the bike with my son, he suddenly started   saying “Come to your side, come to your side” at first I didn’t get what he was saying. On asking him I realised we had crossed slightly onto the other side of the road and I was on the dividing line. It seems he had learned in school about rules of the road and some do’s and don’ts. I immediately apologised to him and came back onto my side of the road. 

Now in this case some parents might have justified what they were doing or even mocked what the teacher said or just ignored the child and continued to drive the way they wanted. 

Any behaviour the child sees that clashes with what he knows to be right can cause him to question what truly is, ‘the right thing to do’? It then leads to a dilution of right and wrong in his mind and that further magnifies as he grows up.

What we need to ask ourselves is….. What value system are we nurturing and developing in our children? What values are we demonstrating? Are we strengthening their sense of what is right or diluting it?

Optimism and “Masters of their own fate”

When my son had just learnt to stand and walk…I saw him standing in front of a pretty high stool one day. I could see that he wanted to get on top, but wasn’t too sure. I remember saying to him, “you can climb and you will surely reach the top”. He looked at me and tried to tell me that he wanted me to put him on top. Now that was the easy option!

Instead I told him to climb and showed him where to put his first leg, next leg and pull himself up. With a little effort and a few slips and falls he managed to get up (I was there to save a big fall, the little ones I let happen).

On the top he looked very pleased with himself, but soon he wanted to get down. Getting down looked really scary to him and just then my wife walked in and told me to “Put him down this instant, he can fall and hurt himself.” 

I believed that as he had learned to climb by himself, he would do it more and more often and maybe sometimes when there is no one there. Keeping that in mind it was necessary for him to learn how to get down on his own. That way he is less likely to hurt himself when we are not there. So I taught him how to get down and like any good kid, he immediately practised going up and down a few times. Much to the dislike of my wife.

Now what would some other parents have done? 

•  Stopped the child from climbing for fear of him hurting himself. Told him not climb as it is risky and he can get hurt.

•  Picked the child up and placed him on the stool

•  Then lifted the child down

In doing any of these behaviours repeatedly in different situations, how does it affect the mind-set of the child?

•  Does he start doubting his capabilities?

•  Is there a chance that he will grow up unwilling to take risks?

•  Will he always be scared of falling and hurting himself?

•  Could he always expect people to do things for him?

•  What would happen to his Locus of Control?

Influencing people

How much do we as parents encourage our children to discuss, question and negotiate with us? I agree it is exhausting and tiring, yet if we do not what could the long term outcome be?

Have we seen people at work bend their heads and quietly accept whatever a person in authority says? No matter whether they agree or understand.

Where does this behaviour come from?

I believe it comes from the nurturing received at home and in school. It comes from how much the child is allowed to express himself and most importantly how we interact with him when there is a disagreement or a clash in views and wants.

A child always looks for a WIN in any discussion that he gets into, what happens if we do not give him that WIN and enforce our view instead.

A child used to a LOSE-WIN or WIN-LOSE during his childhood grows up expecting or behaving in the same manner when he grows up. This is better explained in “Transactiona

l Analysis”.

Do we:

•  work towards WIN-WIN negotiations with our kids

•  treat our kids as equals 

•  value and respect their views, needs and desires

•  discuss, debate and be willing to negotiate with them today so that they have the skills and the mind-set to be able to do it tomorrow

Do we introspect enough about our behaviours and actions with our kids and how they will influence or impact the kid in his or her journey as an adult?

HABITUAL TENDENCIES IN DECISION MAKING - By Shamika Khatawkar

Recent times have altogether given a different dimension to organizations. Surviving and growing in this contemporary world of work is thus becoming an extremely challenging task. Every organization has to indulge in intensive forecasting, organizing, planning, strategizing and decision making to ensure, successful accomplishment of its organizational goals.

The growth of an organization largely depends on several interdependent factors. Business strategies drive growth, and they in turn are driven by all the important decisions taken within the organizational context.

Effective decisions facilitate an organization by contributing to enhanced profits, while unsuccessful ones contribute to losses further affecting the organization negatively.

When it comes to decision making, we can clearly see that individuals are required to take decisions every now and then. All employees, no matter what level have to indulge in some sort of decision making. Like the top management has to be involved in taking decisions organization wide, the managers; in taking decisions department wide, and the team leaders, in taking decisions within teams. 

As decisions do not happen in isolation, all employees also have to be abreast with the factors affecting decision making. These factors may be organizational or individual. If we see within an organization, we can understand that an organization largely focuses on the ‘organizational factors’ affecting decision making and generally tends to ignore the ‘individual’ ones. 

So what are these individual factors which can affect decision making? 

These individual factors are nothing but the ‘Habitual Tendencies’ of individuals. That is, an individual’s perceptions, habits and cognitions.  Many research scholars have debated that these Habitual Tendencies influence individuals to approach various problems in consistently similar ways (Scott & Bruce, 1995).

Meaning, individual habits and perceptions make people apply a set formula or pattern while approaching problems or while making decisions of any sort. Scholars have also stated that once a pattern is cognitively formed it becomes a Habitual Tendency and people tend to apply it in all walks of life. As individuals grow, their Habitual

Tendencies get strengthened and they stay fairly stable over a period of time.

Researchers Scott and Bruce have done a considerable amount of study on decision making styles. According to them, individuals can fall under any of the five habitual tendencies, namely Rational, Intuitive, Avoidant, Spontaneous and Dependent. 

• The Rational decision making tendency focuses on using logic by considering alternatives to arrive at the best possible decision.

• The Intuitive one relies on feelings or hunches to make decisions. 

• The Dependent one relies heavily on other people for advice and guidance.

• The Avoidant one attempts to evade making decisions altogether.

• The Spontaneous decision making tendency inclines towards making decisions quickly.

Now that we know of, what these ‘Individual Factors’ or ‘Habitual Tendencies’ are, we can definitely be a little more aware in future while making decisions. We can certainly identify which ‘Habitual Tendency’ is the most prominent in us and which is the least characteristics of us.

This self-awareness will truly aid us in making decisions of any sort at personal as well as organizational level. To reap the benefits of our decisions we can certainly identify the pros and cons of our decision making tendency!