Influencing employees in the work place has been a challenge for many managers and corporations. Many have tried a number of methods in order to find success. These methods range from power, control, rewards, motivation, and persuasion. Our focus here is the use of persuasion. Persuasion, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary (2016), is the act of causing people to do or believe something (pg. 1). This literature review considers the use of persuasion in the workplace by responding to the following questions.
1. How has persuasion been used throughout history?
2. Why do people fail to implement change in this changing world?
3. How have persuasion campaigns implemented change and success in the workplace?
4. How does persuasion differ from manipulation?
Research shows the art of persuasion has shown to be the most effective tool to get employees to conform and meet goals for an organization.
How has persuasion been used throughout history?
The art of persuasion has been used in a number of ways throughout the past. Dennis Tourish, David Collinson, and James R. Barker (2009) explain that coercive persuasion encourages employee or subjects to accept the ruling group’s cultural norms as their own in the article, “Manufacturing Conformity: Leadership Through Coercive Persuasion in Business Organisations”(pg. 363). Coercive persuasion and its methods have been compared to ones used in religion, prison, POW camps, educational systems, and mental hospitals (Tourish,
Daniel Pink examines how each of us, regardless of our occupation, spends much of our day selling. Although he personally does not work in sales, he claims much of his life is spent “trying to coax others to part with resources” (Pink, 2). With the exception of a few select careers, most all occupations require interaction, negotiation, and compromising with both co-workers and other firms. In my daily life I often use selling in order to complete tasks that I need. I serve as the Vice President of Finance for my sorority. I often need to convince the varying members of my executive council on the best way to utilize our yearly budget. By backing up my ideas with both short term and long term outcomes, I am more easily able to convince the others to back my decisions. Additionally, often as a business major we are in group projects with students we are unfamiliar with. Recently, for an accounting project, we had to choose a company’s financial statements. We were in disagreement of which company would best fit with our proposed changes, I needed to sell my idea that my proposed company would best fit our new changes and enable us to get the best grade possible.
‘Critically evaluate how persuasion and influence can be used in your field of vocational interest. This can relate to how they are used within your field or in order to gain a place in your field. ‘
Employees are more engaged when they feel that their efforts are directed toward a vision they can believe in. Share the company’s vision and goals with employees, and inform them about the organization’s strategy and challenges. Let each employee know how his
In the business world, being persuasive is a must have trait so that others can understand personal viewpoint, while gaining knowledge of individual perspective. This ability to persuade is needed in the workplace. Carol Deeb of Demand Media states that, “Convincing management to agree with your viewpoints can help to advance your career and your company mission. An eloquent delivery may persuade top-level supervisors to make changes that can help to improve systems or processes.”(Deeb 1). Being persuasive can stunt the growth, and improve companies. Carol Deeb shows readers that possessing this skill can benefit the company. Being able to persuade will help individuals impress the supervisors above the individual as well. She quotes, “By developing a new way to accomplish a task or manufacture a product, you have the potential to save your company money and make yourself shine in front of management.”(Deeb 1). Carol Deeb shows readers, and owners of companies that, in fact, persuasion is a trait that employees should be in possession of. When employees acquire this trait, they shine in front of their employers, and they benefit the company by saving money. Women acquire this trait of persuasion. Caliper’s study regarding the “Qualities That Distinguish Women Leaders”, provides evidence revealing women’s persuasive capabilities. Caliper’s report quotes, “The women leaders scored significantly higher
I personally had an experience in which a salesperson was trying to induce compliance but he failed to persuade me. He came to me asking me to taste some free food. When I took the food he suddenly show me the products he sell and wants me to buy them. The salesperson tried to use the compliance technique to me but unfortunately he didn’t succeed. In my opinion, the salesperson didn’t have enough experience to persuade people effectively. Outcome that he should use in order to make more customers is by using the liking or friendship influence. (Kenrick, Neuberg, & Cialdini, 2010). The idea of this method is customers more prefer to buy things from people they know and like. The salesperson should have a little talk or asking a simple question as “How was you day” so that me as a customer will like him and say yes to buy his
Persuasion is when someone leads you to believe something , which followed a dramatic experience that was moved by rage, tears, action by a speech, or being influenced by advertising or political ideology. Persuasion holds people to a common purpose which promotes collective action
My persuasion skills were also thought to be strong as was ability to motivate and empathise and bring people round to my way of thinking. One respondent commented that I have a “very nice way of nagging people”.
The use of persuasion has been studied and taught since 300 B.C. Joel Osteen is a leader with a large following in the United States, and amongst many other countries in the world. How does this one man, just like many men before him, continue to generate a world wide movement? They take those who are in need of a better life, and provide them with the answers. Joel Osteen, seldom preaches only using the bible. When Osteen preaches he is a story teller, by illuminating self-worth and confidence. This provides audiences with the idea that he is a person they should trust and believe in. Those with self-efficiency are convinced they have the abilities within them to be all that they could be just by listening to the words of Joel Osteen.
Persuading people is an ability that I think, It is find in the interior of each person, and It isn't in the kind of language that we use. Therefore, we can find successful people with excellent persuading skills in positions such as sellers, public relations, etc. Unlike successful people with excellent persuading skills, we can find other kind of successful people that don’t have this ability. Even so, people have this ability and a good domain of a second language regardless of this, they can persuade any kind of people.
In business, using reverse psychology can be effective as well. Instead of asking an employee to perform a task he doesn't want to do, try telling him that
For three months last summer I worked as front of house staff at Interlochen Center for the Arts summer camp. My job had a large range of roles. I would guard the stage when guest stars performed, run the front of house at a variety of venues, communicate with the stage managers, and overall make sure that every show I was charged with ran smoothly. When I accepted the job I had no idea all that went into it. The customer service aspect was huge and over the summer I recognized the necessity of persuasion in communicating to do my job. There are many aspects to persuasion that I needed to understand to persuade people effectively.
If you are responsible for training customer facing employees in your organization not only do you have to be able to persuade them you need to be able to teach them persuasion in how to work with your organization 's customers. You may also need to persuade coworkers and employees to get them more motivated and focused on their work.
Not only informing employees why changes are important but also deliver the message clearly to lessen vagueness and uncertainty which is one of the foremost causes of resistance. Last but not least, the way one communicates the message to employees must be effective and compelling. Great storytelling can help leaders drive organizational changes easily, as a leader one cannot eradicate anxiety or uncertainty that occur in the minds of staff but one can convince employees by working with their emotional concerns to develop more engagement which leads to collaboration.
It is good to use rational persuasion influencing tactics. As a manager meeting objectives through their employees or when dealing with higher level managers of whom you have no authority (Lussier & Achua, 2010). Rational persuasion will include logical arguments with factual information to get them to implement your requested action. When using this tactic, you will need to develop a persuasive argument based on the other person’s needs. With logical arguments work best when you and the other individual share the same interests and
There are many techniques of communication which can be used to overcome different challenges at workplaces such as the promotion of