The document discusses assertiveness and influencing others. It defines assertiveness as expressing one's opinions and needs, including disagreeing with others, requesting behavior changes from others, and refusing unreasonable requests. It also discusses being non-assertive, which involves an inability to influence others or express one's needs. Effective ways to influence others include starting with a minimal response and gradually escalating if needed, while avoiding being sidetracked onto other issues. Cultural values can impact assertion, so it is best regarded as a situation-specific skill.

1. N.I.S. BALDANULLAH – 4520210094
ASSERTING AND
INFLUENCING

2. Learning objectives
To understand the nature of assertive behaviour, identify
those situations
where asserting can help an individual achieve desired
outcomes, and to be
able to conceptualise influencing as a political process.

3. Influencing others
Sometimes the source of difficulty is perceived to be
rooted in a particular relationship and sometimes it is experienced as a more
general inability to exercise influence.
People react to these perceived problems in different ways. Some give up
trying. They accept the impossibility of introducing any significant change
and become apathetic and passive. Some respond by trying harder. They
devote more energy to influencing others and achieving results, but when
things do not go their way their frustrations surface in the form of abrasive
and coercive behaviour. They continue to push their ideas, but they become
aggressive and behave like the proverbial bull in the china shop, upsetting
others and creating unnecessary resistance to their proposals. The most
effective people, however, seem to be those who expect to experience resis-
tance to their attempts to influence others and get things done. Nevertheless
they keep on taking carefully selected initiatives in ways that eventually tend
to produce the results they desire..
Many people working in organisations experience
problems when attempt-
ing to influence others..

4. Assertive and aggressive
behaviour
They do not find it easy to
ask others to do things and they seem unable to
refuse requests, even unrea-
sonable requests, others make of them. They
feel powerless when it comes to
bringing about a state of affairs which they desire.
It is possible to identify a
number of different styles of interacting with
others which range along a
continuum from non-assertive/submissive to
aggressive (see Figure 9.1).
Some people, even many of those
who occupy senior positions in
organisa-
tions, seem to find it difficult to
influence others..
01
For example, even though they may
be allergic to cigarette
smoke they are the kind of people
who would be reluctant to tell
colleagues
working in the same office that their
smoking makes life uncomfortable for
them, and they would find it even
more difficult to ask them to stop. If
they
ever do express their honest feelings
they tend to do so in an apologetic
way.
People who are non-assertive find
it difficult to express their needs
and
influence others.
02

5. The nature of assertiveness
Theevidence clearly supports the view that assertion skills are related to inter-
personal effectiveness in conflict situations. Schroeder et al. (1983) identified
seven different classes of assertive response which they grouped under two
headings: positive and negative expressiveness. The focus of attention here
will be the conflict (or negative) assertion skills which include:
Expressing unpopular or different opinions: ‘I disagree with Jim’s pro-
posal that we should settle the pay claim at 8 per cent. I think we should
hold out for a better deal.’
• Requesting behaviour changes: ‘I feel that I am being kept in the dark
when you don’t keep me informed about customer complaints. From
now on I would like you to provide me with a daily report.’
• Refusing requests: ‘No, I will not change the date of your appraisal
interview.’
Over the past thirty years many books and hundreds of research studies have
been published on the topic of assertiveness and assertiveness training.

6. The nature of assertiveness
Theevidence clearly supports the view that assertion skills are related to inter-
personal effectiveness in conflict situations. Schroeder et al. (1983) identified
seven different classes of assertive response which they grouped under two
headings: positive and negative expressiveness. The focus of attention here
will be the conflict (or negative) assertion skills which include:
Expressing unpopular or different opinions: ‘I disagree with Jim’s pro-
posal that we should settle the pay claim at 8 per cent. I think we should
hold out for a better deal.’
• Requesting behaviour changes: ‘I feel that I am being kept in the dark
when you don’t keep me informed about customer complaints. From
now on I would like you to provide me with a daily report.’
• Refusing requests: ‘No, I will not change the date of your appraisal
interview.’
Over the past thirty years many books and hundreds of research studies have
been published on the topic of assertiveness and assertiveness training.

7. Assertion skills
1 Content skills – what the assertor says.
2 Non-verbal skills – how the assertor looks and sounds.
3 Social interaction skills – the way the assertor behaves in the process
of the interaction including escalating, persistence and the management
of defensive reactions.
The skills of asserting can be grouped under three headings:

8. Social interaction skills
Escalation
Rimms and Masters (1987) suggest that the initial assertion should be
what they refer to as ‘the minimal effective response’ (MER). Common
sense supports this view. The aim of the assertive response is to encourage
others to reassess the reasonableness of their behaviour and to consider
modifying it so as not to infringe the rights of the assertor. The more
intense our initial assertive response, the less likely recipients are to per-
ceive it as an invitation to reassess their position and the more likely they
will be to interpret it as an attack which threatens their own rights. The
most effective sequence appears to be to start with an assertion which we
perceive to be the minimal effective response. If this proves to be ineffec-
tive, the way forward is to gradually escalate the intensity of the assertion
messages issued.
Intensity can be increased by changing both the verbal and non-verbal
content of the assertion. Rakos (1997) illustrates the principle of escalation
with an example of a salesman selling a product that the assertor does not
want. The interaction could take the following steps.
Under this heading special attention is given to three aspects of asserting:
escalation, persistence and the management of defensive reactions.

9. Social interaction skills
Minimal effective response ‘No thanks, I’m not interested.’
Escalation 1 ‘No, I told you I’m not interested. Good day.’
Escalation 2 ‘I am not interested.’ (Louder volume and firmer delivery.)
Escalation 3 ‘I told you I am not interested. If you do not leave immediately
I will contact your supervisor and register a complaint against you.’
The impact of the escalation may be lost if we allow ourselves to get side-
tracked on to other issues. For example, an encyclopedia salesman may
attempt to sell his product by suggesting that encyclopedias will help chil-
dren with their school work, and he might try to divert assertors by asking
whether they are concerned about their children’s education. To maximise
the impact of an assertion, we need to avoid being side-tracked and to
persist with our core message: ‘I’m not interested in purchasing encyclo-
pedias.’

10. Assertion and cultural values
Assertive behaviour involves an element of risk. Even when we take care to
assert in a way that respects the rights of others, the recipients may not
recognise the empathic nature of the assertion and may respond negatively.
It is also possible that even if the recipients of the assertion deliver the
requested outcome, they may still harbour some resentment. Consequently,
it can be helpful to assess the long- as well as the short-term costs and ben-
efits before engaging in any assertive behaviour.
Rakos (1997) argues that the values which legitimise assertion are
grounded in American democracy which promotes the concepts of individ-
ual activism, pragmatism, rationality and ethical relativism. He goes on to
argue that the behaviours and attitudes that foster assertion are not consis-
tent with the cultural assumptions of all societies and ethnic groups. This is
an important point. Assertion needs to be regarded as a situation-specific
skill.
Under this heading special attention is given to three aspects of asserting:
escalation, persistence and the management of defensive reactions.

11. Thank you