In addition to control of physical
resources, strategic management deals with motivation and management of the
human resources. Persuasion is also important in ensuring that there is
effective communication between the organization and its external stakeholders.
This means that it is necessary to master the art of persuasion as a tool of
influencing them to act as desired for greater productivity and competitiveness
of the organization. In analyzing the persuasion as an innovative study of
communication and social pressure, it is important that the concepts of
persuasion, private communication, and social pressure be analyzed in detail
with a view to establishing the relationship between persuasion and the other
elements.
Persuasion is a central phenomenon
in the daily activities of most individuals. It simply means the influencing an
individual or individuals to act or think in a certain manner (Larson, 2010).
The central component of persuasion is the use of words or strategic
communication with the aim of appealing to people’s emotions or minds into
adopting the advocated set of attitudes or beliefs. The persuasion process is
therefore considered to be complete when it results in the change of mind or
actions of the persons being persuaded in conformity with the wishes of the
persuader (Larson, 2010). The uses of persuasion are observed on a daily basis
as observed when firms advertise to influence customers to consume their
products and as individuals seek consent from others to undertake certain
activities. The main objective of any persuasion exercise is to get individuals
or parties to conform to a given set of practices in order to satisfy the
persuader’s desires.
Persuasion has been fronted by
scholars as the best option when considered among other alternatives such as
coercion, use of force and apathy (Johannesen, 2010). It means that effectiveness
in communication can only be realized if the strategic manager embraces persuasion
as its main approach. Apathy refers to a laid-back approach where individuals
ignore their wants hoping that the desires will be noticed by others and acted
upon in line with their wishes (Larsen, 2010). This approach is highly
unproductive as it leaves individuals at the mercy of others where their needs
are met only at the pleasure of other people. Individuals could also opt to use
force to get others to meet their desires. This approach is potentially harmful
and is bound to run into problems with the legal and ethical expectations of
the society. It can also lead to half-hearted attempts at meeting the desires,
negative sentiments against the persuader, and can even provoke retaliation which
may result in great harm and loss to the persuader. As Perloff (2003) concurs,
the best approach for obtaining conformity and cooperation of others in meeting
individuals’ needs is through persuasion. Once persuaded, individuals take
action on their own accord and they would tend to show full commitment to these
adopted ways hence ensuring desired results. This signals the success of a
persuasion process.
Persuasion involves a sequence of
logical steps that potentially lead to the attainment of the desires of the
individual or persuader. The first step involves the identification and
refining of the objectives and desires. The process of refining these desires
involves rationalization to ensure that they are achievable and that they
require the cooperation of others in order to be satisfied. The second stage
involves the identification of the individuals that can help meet these
objectives. They must be in possession of the means necessary to achieve the
set goals and must as well be individuals or parties that can be reached
through the various means of communication that are considered effective
(McGuire, 2000). The third and perhaps the most crucial step is the formulation
of the message intended at influencing the target audience to meet the
persuader’s goals. This stage is the thrust of the persuasion process as it
caters for the substance relevant to appeal to the audience’s emotions and
interest as it seeks to get them to change their attitudes and act in a way
necessary to meet the persuader’s goals.
For effectiveness in strategic
management and communication, the formulation of the message should be based on
sufficient knowledge of the audience is sought (McGuire, 2000). This enables
the persuader to understand their attitudes, beliefs and values that may affect
the ease with which they can be persuaded to act in a certain manner. The
knowledge also enables the persuader to be aware of the interests of the
audience and can thereby be able to use it to suit the persuasion goals. The
fourth stage involves the conveyance of the message. This means the mode of
communication that the persuader would choose to relay the message formulated
to the target audience. This may be through one-on-one communications,
meetings, letters, phone calls, and mass media, among others. The knowledge of
the target audience enables the persuader to determine which communication
modes are likely to invoke the desired change of attitude effectively (Larson,
2010). The choice of the mode also determines the cost and the level of
preparation required to ensure effective relaying of the messages.
Private communication has variously
been defined as electronic communication normally intended for the recipient to
the exclusion of other parties (McGuire, 2000). However, in the context of this
discussion, private communication must be redefined to mean communication
messages formulated and channeled to a specific target audience. Effective
communication bears all the elements of strategy ranging from analysis of
intention, identification of the audience, designing of content and complexity
of the message, and determination of the acceptable modes of communication
(McGuire, 2000). These messages would normally be communicated through means
that ensure maximum exposure to the target audience to the exclusion (or
minimal exposure) of others. The choice of the audience is specific to the
communication objectives and the message communicated as well as the channels
used in the communication have the target audience in mind. Private
communication brings to focus the role of ICT in effective strategic management
as manifested in efficient communication between managers and subordinates and
vise varsa.
The main aim of any communication
process is to generate meaning, promote understanding and influence attitudes
and behavior. Communication requires the existence of understanding between the
engaging parties in order to promote quick understanding and meaningful
communication. A good communicator must be able to understand the attitudes of
their audience and prepare accordingly to utilize supporting attitudes as well
as countering negative attitudes with the aim of ensuring attitudinal barriers
to the communication process are effectively dissolved (Albarracin, Wallace and
Glasman, 2004). The understanding also requires that the communicator
understands the special interests of their audience in the subject matter in order
to ensure effective delivery of successful communication process. Good
communication skills also require that the parties involved keep in mind the
objective of the communication process and thereby select messages that can
easily generate concurrence and support from the other parties.
The mode of communication chosen in
private communication also needs to reflect the preferences of the parties
communicating. For instance, where a party to the communication prefer meetings
to written mails, the person initiating the communication is most likely to
arrange for a meeting to facilitate the discussions. These aspects of
communication are in essence the components of persuasion and the study of
persuasion delves into the essentials of good and effective communication
skills between individuals and parties. The understanding of persuasion is
therefore closely linked to close understanding of the communication process. A
good persuader is also a good and skilled communicator. Persuasion reinvents
the art of communication by emphasizing on the importance of generating
understanding, changing attitudes, and generally moving the audience in the
desired direction. Unlike the concept of private communication, persuasion
assumes a highly dynamic approach to communication laying emphasis on intrinsic
human behavior and focusing on the essential processes necessary for
reinforcing or changing these human aspects to suit the desired persuasion
goals (Albarracin, Wallace and Glasman, 2004).
Where a group of individuals make a
choice on specific activities or actions, the uncertain group members tend to
move in conformity with the majority of the group members. This conformity
stems from social pressure. According to Larsen (2010), social pressure refers
to a perceived level of expectations on an individual based on what the members
of the society consider acceptable or not (societal norms). This is an element
that can be exploited effectively in strategic management, especially where
jobs are executed in groups. The most common example of social pressure is peer
pressure. Members of various social groups tend to highly value their belonging
to such groups in order to maintain the social status and well being. The
question of conformity or compliance also comes into play when identifying the
effects of social pressure. Compliance implies that the group members change
their private beliefs and attitudes to be in line with the group norms (Orina,
Wood and Simpson, 2002). It is possible for group members to conform to the
group norms while privately holding on to their beliefs in certain issues. Individuals
conform to group norms for two main reasons. Firstly, they do so to avoid
rejection or isolation, and secondly, uncertainty on what to do in certain
circumstances makes them look up to their peers for guidance. These influences
can be referred to as normative and informational influences respectively.
To ensure the success of a
persuasion process, the persuader needs to understand the characteristics of
the target audience including their interests (Crano and Prislin, 2006). In
strategic management, understanding the link between persuasion and social
pressure is key to targeting where a group of people can be communicated to in
the expectation that members will be influenced to embrace the common action inspired.
Where the persuader opts to target a social group to drive his agenda, the
communication channels as well as the deep-seated beliefs of the group members
must be taken into account. The understanding of these group norms helps the
persuader to estimate the level of resistance to be expected against the ideas
that the persuader intends to introduce to the group. The knowledge of the
level of influence the group has on the decisions of individual members serves
as a motivation for persuasion (Orina, Wood and Simpson, 2002). This is due to
the fact that the social pressure ensures conformity and would be instrumental
in ensuring that the members embrace new norms in case the persuasion process
is successful. The knowledge of the fact that conformity does not always mean a
change of private belief among members serves as an encouragement to persuaders
who view the loophole as an indication that their ideas are likely to receive
support from such members within the groups. To ensure successful persuasion,
the persuader must also be aware of the preferred modes of communication and
the channels thereof that are expected to yield the greatest results
(Albarracin, 2002). Groups may either prefer informal discussions or formal
meetings and the persuader must be well aware of these preferences to remain
relevant.
The language of use in social
groups is another important component that the persuader must be well versed
with. Some of the most significant blunders in strategic management have been
associated with managers being unable to understand their audience; hence
unable to design effective messages and delivery approach. The use of language
and non verbal communication techniques must be noted to ensure the target
audience can identify with the persuader and hence hasten attitude change. The
level of literacy in the social groups also determines the approach that a
persuader must take when introducing their ideas (Orina, Wood and Simpson, 2002).
For instance, a highly educated group would prefer intense arguments backed
with verifiable facts in support of the new assertions before they even begin
to take such a persuader seriously. The concept of persuasion as relates to the
understanding of social groups and social pressure introduces a creative model
with which to analyze these groups hence giving an exhaustive view of any
targeted social group. The threshold for persuasion is so high that it requires
that the characteristics of the social groups and the individual members’
values and beliefs be intensively and accurately analyzed.
As has been observed, the
understanding of persuasion in relation to private communication and social
pressure requires in-depth knowledge about the two components. In order to be
persuade an individual or a group, it is crucial to understand their beliefs,
interest, modes of communication, language and other aspects. The process of
influencing entrenched beliefs in a given direction often requires excellent
communication skills and an astute demonstration of understanding of the target
audience. The pursuance of the concept of persuasion is tantamount to
re-innovation of the studies relating to communication and social pressure as
it stretches beyond the basic characteristics of the elements and delves deeper
into the psychological and behavioral aspects of the audience. It promotes
creativity in the analysis as it challenges the persuader to not only analyze
the characteristics accurately, but also consider the nature and level of
influence that the identified characteristics would have on any attempt to
effect behavioral and psychological change in the target audience.
Albarracin,
D. (2002). Cognition in Persuasion: An analysis of information processing in
response to persuasive communications. In M.P Zanna (Ed). Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 34, 61-130
Albarracin,
D., Wallace, H. M., & Glasman, L. R. (2004). Survival and Change of
attitudes and other social judgments: A model of activation and comparison. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 36,
252-315
Crano,W.,
& Prislin, R. (2006). Attitudes and Persuasion. Retrieved March 30, 2011
from: http://www.psychology.sdsu.edu/new-web/facultystaff/Prislin_pdfs/annurev.psych.57.102904.pdf
Johannesen,
R.L. (2010).Perspectives on Ethics in
Persuasion. Retrieved March 30, 2011 from: http://www.wadsworthmedia.com/marketing/sample_chapters/0534619029_ch02.pdf
Larson,
C. (2010). Persuasion: Reception and
Responsibility. Wadsworth: Cengage Learning. Retrieved from: http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=v29XIzDKGDoC&pg=PA80&lpg=PA80&dq=what+is+persuasion+and+private+communication&source=bl&ots=dJiqTGb3o3&sig=TXhuUnJjCce4QtgPsDIWEMYBLaw&hl=en&ei=8KOTTaqxJI_tObWTwcEH&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=what%20is%20persuasion%20and%20private%20communication&f=true
McGuire,
W.J. (2000). Standing on the shoulders of ancients: Consumer research,
persuasion, and rhetorical language. Journal
of Consumer Research. , 27, 109-114
Orina,
M.M., Wood, W., & Simpson, J.A. (2002). Strategies of influence in close
relationships. Journal of Experimental
Psychology, 38, 459-472
Perloff, R. M. (2003). The Dynamics of Persuasion. Communication and Attitudes in the 21st
Century. (2nd Ed.). Mahwh, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
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