Aptitude And How It Is Different From Attitude
Aptitude is the ability to perform a task or learn a skill that is innate. A component of a competency is the ability to do a specific type of work at a specific level. "Talent" can be defined as exceptional ability. Physical or mental aptitudes are both possible. Aptitude is the inborn ability to perform specific tasks, whether developed or undeveloped. There are three types of aptitude: intellectual aptitude, moral aptitude, and emotional aptitude.
• Aptitude differs from skills and achievement in that aptitude is innate, whereas skills and achievement represent knowledge or ability acquired through learning.
• Aptitude is defined as a person's natural ability to perform a specific task, solve a specific problem, confront a specific problem, or face a specific situation.
• Aptitude often aids in deciphering the reasons for a person's aptness or suitability in a particular field. Every profession, whether administrative, engineering, entertainment, sports, medicine, law, or management, requires specific skills.
• Work that utilises your aptitudes is the most likely for you to enjoy and succeed in (innate capacities).
• For example, if you are a lawyer but lack the skills required for the profession, your work may appear unfulfilling. Your work may be difficult or unpleasant if you lack the skills of a lawyer.
APTITUDE IS AN INNATE POTENTIAL THAT HELPS IN CREATING AND DEVELOPING
1. Imagination and conceptualization
2. Adaptability and leadership
3. Problem-solving and critical thinking
4. Technical as well as interpersonal abilities
5. Collaboration and coordination
6. Thinking outside the box and troubleshooting
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SKILL AND APTITUDE
The difference between skill and aptitude is that skill is the ability to do something well; skills, unlike abilities, are usually acquired or learned, whereas aptitude is the natural ability to acquire knowledge or skill.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INTEREST AND APTITUDE
• The terms "interest" and "aptitude" are not interchangeable. You might be interested in sports, but if your athletic ability is low, you're unlikely to succeed.
• A high aptitude for a particular hobby or profession, on the other hand, does not guarantee success. To be motivated to do something well, a person must be interested in it.
• It's important to remember when taking aptitude tests that both interest and aptitude are required for successful performance, but neither is sufficient on its own.
ATTITUDE VS APTITUDE
1. Aptitude is a competency to do a specific type of work, whereas attitude is a positive / negative / indifferent feeling toward a person, object, event, or idea. Attitude and aptitude can both be developed.
2. Attitude is linked to character or virtues, whereas aptitude is linked to competence.
3. Aptitude determines whether a person will develop desired skills to perform a task, whereas attitude underpins character, virtues, and moral values.
4. Attitude is a psychological phenomenon, whereas aptitude is a mental and physical phenomenon.
5. Attitude is a mental state that can be positive, negative, or neutral. Aptitude, on the other hand, can be mental (general mental ability) or physical (physical ability) (Physical ability).
6. Attitude remains fixed and determined throughout our lives; however, the attitude may change over time as a result of past actions and information gained from outside sources.
WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT IN LIFE ATTITUDE OR APTITUDE?
• In an ideal world, a company would hire people who have the right attitude as well as the right skills. If the organisation must choose between the two, it will always choose the person with the right attitude.
• This approach is supported by studies that show that our attitude accounts for 80% of our success. This means that aptitude accounts for only 20% of our overall success.
WHY ATTITUDE SHOULD BE GIVEN PREFERENCE OVER APTITUDE?
• It's easier to improve aptitude than it is to improve attitude. People who have the right attitude are motivated and adaptable, making them more willing to learn new skills.
• Most new skills can be mastered quickly with the right attitude and enough effort. While improving attitude often entails changing behaviours, which is always more difficult to accomplish because people resist change, and this is unlikely to occur without the right attitude.
• When you adopt a positive mind-set, you will notice an increase in productivity, creativity, and engagement on nearly every level.
• "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration," Thomas Edison once said.
• As a result, a positive attitude toward hard work and perseverance is critical for success in life. 'Aptitude is blind without attitude, and attitude is lame without aptitude.'
WHY ATTITUDE AND APTITUDE BOTH ARE NECESSARY FOR A CIVIL SERVANT?
1. Both of these qualities, aptitude and attitude, are equally important for a civil servant because they go hand in hand in developing a personality that instils a sense of service.
2. A civil servant must possess both the aptitude and the attitude to perform his duties, i.e., to serve the people.
3. The dynamic field of new public administration, with its increasing use of technology for efficient delivery of services, necessitates not only an ability to adapt to changing environments and job demands, but also a willingness to learn quickly in order to perform one's job as efficiently as possible.
4. In the field of public service, a civil servant must deal with a wide range of stakeholders, including seniors, subordinates, politicians, community leaders, and ordinary citizens, all of whom have different temperaments.
5. For efficient discharge of one's duty, attitudinal qualities such as flexibility, patience, and perseverance are just as important as aptitude-related qualities such as focus, teamwork, prudence, and negotiation ability.
6. To maintain peace and order in a diverse country like India, where social and religious tensions and conflicts are common, a civil servant would need not only a tolerance attitude, but also leadership and persuasion skills.
APTITUDE DESIRABLE IN A CIVIL SERVANT
• The civil service is the administration's permanent structure and backbone. “In Indian public administration, civil servants are entrusted with a diverse set of responsibilities, ranging from simple administrative and clerical tasks to complex decision-making, policy implementation, and serving as a link between government and citizens.
• As a result, diverse skills such as grasping abilities, good analytical skills, and the ability to establish collaborative networks and successful teamwork are essential for civil servants.
• Every day, leaders in public administration face a variety of problems and challenges, such as high unemployment, insufficient government spending, a rapidly changing socioeconomic environment, and so on. Because the elements affecting each challenge change day to day, laws and administrative rules cannot always explain everything, and leaders cannot always replicate previous successes.
• In such situations, a civil servant must have a wide range of impromptu decision-making skills as well as the ability to think critically in order to exercise discretion with conviction.
• The emerging concept of e-governance, as well as the motto of 'Less Government, More Governance,' necessitate radical changes in government machinery, as well as in the work style and orientation of government officials.
• Civil servants must be equipped with the necessary skills and capabilities to meet these new challenges, as the role and functions of administrators are rapidly changing and becoming increasingly challenging.
• They must be able to master new technologies as well as new ways of working. They should act as "Agents of Change" to help reform initiatives get off the ground.
• In a diverse country like India, civil servants are frequently confronted with complex and often opposing socioeconomic objectives and challenges, which leaves them with a deep moral/ethical quandary about their own duties and functions.
• This necessitates a natural ability to overcome contradictions, solve problems, and maintain a positive attitude in the face of adversity. Administrators must form teams that include a variety of stakeholders under the umbrella of 'inclusive governance.'
• To create a favourable business climate, for example, a director of economic development must bring together local business leaders, the Chamber of Commerce, and environmental advocates. This necessitates the ability to receive and act on feedback, as well as effective interpersonal skills to bridge gaps and encourage collaboration toward a common goal.
• With the introduction of new public administration and the growing diversity of the administrative field, an administrator must possess both physical and mental abilities.
• To perform his duty not only efficiently, but also effectively, he should have both General Mental Ability (basic thinking capacity and learning ability to perform any intellectual task) and the desired value system of public administration.
• Some of the skills that are sought after in the public sector include:
1. Excellent planning and negotiating abilities
2. Creativity and adaptability of thought
3. Capabilities as a leader
4. Able to make decisions
5. Ability to lead or work as part of a team
6. The ability to deconstruct a complex problem
7. Excellent communication skills are required to bridge communication gaps.
8. Effective time management and the ability to meet deadlines
9. The ability to prioritise and organise work.
10. A rational and logical approach to administrative issues
11. Personality with a scientific bent
12. A basic understanding of technology, economics, and geography
13. Extremely professional attitude
14. Persuasion skills and the ability to negotiate in difficult situations without jeopardising the public interest The bureaucracy becomes efficient, effective, and responsive to the needs of the people when people have good aptitude and a positive attitude.
FOUNDATIONAL VALUES FOR CIVIL SERVICE
• Values created and maintained by the government on behalf of the public are known as civil/public service values. These are the principles that should guide government and policies.
• Integrity, objectivity, non-partisanship, tolerance, compassion, dedication to public service, and other founding values serve as guiding principles for civil servants in the performance of their duties. Furthermore, they establish normative agreement on the rights and benefits that citizens are entitled to.
• Civil service values in India have developed over many years of tradition. In the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964 and the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, values such as integrity and devotion to duty are listed, which a civil servant must follow during his or her tenure of service to the nation.
• Meanwhile, the Draft Public Service Bill of 2007 enumerated a set of values that should guide public servants in carrying out their duties.
• Allegiance to the various ideals enshrined in the Preamble to the Constitution, apolitical functioning, good governance for the betterment of the people to be the primary goal of civil service, duty to act objectively and impartially in decision-making, accountability and transparency in decision-making, maintenance of the highest ethical standards, merit to be the criteria for civil servant selection, avoidance of waste in expenditure, and so on.
• The recommendations made in the 10th Report of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission, however, have been the most important guide for the development of a Code of Ethics for public services.
• The Commission recommended that civil servants be guided by values such as adherence to the highest standards of integrity and conduct; impartiality and non-partisanship; objectivity; dedication to public service; and empathy and compassion for the weaker sections, in addition to upholding the constitutional spirit.