Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–1 Chapter 5 PerceptionPerception Understanding PeopleUnderstanding People

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–2 Management Practices and Organizational Affect Employees FIGURE II–1 Management Practices Organizational Design Employee Perceptions, Attitudes, Motivation & Behavior

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–3 The Importance of Perception PerceptionPerception  The process by which we become aware of, and give meaning to, events around us.  Perception helps define “reality.”  Objective reality—what truly exists in the physical world to the best abilities of science to measure it.  Perceived reality—what individuals experience through one or more of the human senses, and the meaning they ascribe to those experiences.  Behavioral problems arise when an individual’s perceived reality does not match objective reality.

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–4 The Perceptual Process 1.Sensation  An individual’s ability to detect stimuli in the immediate environment. 2.Selection  The process a person uses to eliminate some of the stimuli that have been sensed and to retain others for further processing. 3.Organization  The process of placing selected perceptual stimuli into a framework for “storage.” 4.Translation  The stage of the perceptual process at which stimuli are interpreted and given meaning.

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–5 Characteristics of the Perceiver MotiveMotive  Increased notice of a stimuli due to an individual’s current active motives such as a deficiency (e.g., hunger) that is associated with the subject (e.g., food) of the stimulus. PersonalityPersonality  An individual characteristic that creates an increased likelihood that a particular stimulus related to the characteristic will be noticed.

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–6 The Perceptual Process (cont’d) OrganizationOrganization  The process of placing selected perceptual stimuli into a framework for “storage.”  Stimuli become associated when they:  Are similar in physical resemblance.  Occur in close physical (space) proximity.  Occur in close time proximity.  Are used for figure-ground differentiation.  Are used together to achieve closure—a perception of the whole or to piece together a message.

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–7 Figure-Ground Illustration Field-ground differentiationField-ground differentiation  The tendency to distinguish and focus on a stimulus that is classified as figure as opposed to background. FIGURE 5–3

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–8 Closure ClosureClosure  The tendency to organize perceptual stimuli so that, together, they form a complete message. FIGURE 5–4 Source: Reprinted with permission from Introduction to psychology: Explorations and applications by Dennis Coon. Copyright © 1977 by West Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–9 The Perceptual Process (cont’d) TransitionTransition  The stage in the perceptual process at which stimuli are interpreted and given meaning.  Transition errors that distort perceptions (i.e., subjective reality) of objective reality :  Primacy effect  Recency effect  Stereotyping  Halo effect  Projection  Selective perception  Expectancy effects

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–10 Transition Errors Primacy effectPrimacy effect  The disproportionately high weight given to the first information obtained about a stimulus. Recency effectRecency effect  The disproportionately high weight given to the last information obtained about a stimulus. StereotypingStereotyping  The generalization (application) of a person’s prior beliefs about a class of stimulus objects during encounters with members of that class of objects.

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–11 Transition Errors (cont’d) Halo effectHalo effect  The process of generalizing from an overall evaluation of an individual to specific characteristics of the person. ProjectionProjection  The process by which people attribute their own feelings and characteristics to other people.

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–12 Transition Errors (cont’d) Selective perceptionSelective perception  The selection of things consistent with one’s own personal viewpoint and the rejection of things that are inconsistent with that viewpoint;  A perceptual defense is the retention of existing beliefs that conflict with new information. Expectancy effectExpectancy effect  The perception of stimuli by persons in ways that confirm expectations.  Self-fulfilling prophecy (Pygmalion) effect-occurs when people unconsciously adjust their behaviors to reflect their expectations in a situation.

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–13 Self Perceptions: The Johari Window FIGURE 5–5 Openly shared data A’s unshared data B’s blind spots Unknowns in the relationship Future potential B’s unshared data A’s blind spots Known to A Relationship from A’s position Unknown to A Unknown to B Known to B Relationship from B’s position One way to conceptualize the possible combinations of what you know about yourself and what others know about you. Source: This model is a modification of the “Johari Window, “ a concept presented in J. Luft Group Processes. Palo Alto, CA: National Press Books.

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–14 Characteristics Affecting the Perception of Others Person Perceived OrganizationOrganization PerceiverPerceiver Group membership Status Organizational culture Competitive conditions Attribution errors

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–15 Perceiving Others Characteristics of the person perceivedCharacteristics of the person perceived  Implicit personality theory—the tendency to ascribe personality traits to people because they share certain characteristics (e.g., group membership, status) with others. Characteristics of the organizationCharacteristics of the organization  An individual’s association with an organization affects the perception of that individual.  Organization culture (e.g., focus on quality) affects how other individuals are perceived within the organization.

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–16 Perceiving Others (cont’d) Characteristics of the perceiverCharacteristics of the perceiver  Attribution theory—explains how people assign responsibility and the cognitive processes by which they interpret the causes of their own behavior and the behavior of others.  Locus of causality—the attribution of the observed behavior of others to internal or external causes.  Fundamental error—the tendency to overestimate the effects of internal causes and underestimate the effects of external causes when we judge other people’s actions.

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–17 Reducing Perceptual Errors Self-understandingSelf-understanding  The acknowledgement that you and people who interact with you are susceptible to perceptual errors. Conscious information processingConscious information processing  Carefully considering the “facts” during the perceptual process and consciously questioning the accuracy of what you perceive. Reality testingReality testing  The comparison of developed perceptions about a stimulus object to another (objective) measure of the object.

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–18 Personality Personality (individual differences)Personality (individual differences)  The characteristics or traits that describe how people are likely to behave in a given situation.  Determines how a person will react to a managerial practice. Pitfalls in assessing personalityPitfalls in assessing personality  Making hasty judgments about personalities.  Having the tendency to see only behaviors that affirm judgments.

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–19 Determinants of Personality Nature (heredity)Nature (heredity)  The assumption that part of personality is biologically- based and predetermined. Nurture (environment)Nurture (environment)  The assumption that personality is shaped primarily by life experiences, especially those of early childhood.

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–20 Dimensions of Personality Self-esteem (self-concept)Self-esteem (self-concept)  How individuals perceive themselves in terms of their abilities, competencies, and effectiveness. LowSelf EsteemHigh Incapable Incompetent Insignificant Unworthy Capable Competent Significant Worthy

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–21 Self-Esteem Dimensions Global self-esteemGlobal self-esteem Role-specific self-esteemRole-specific self-esteem Job-based self-esteemJob-based self-esteem Organization-based self-esteem (OBSE)Organization-based self-esteem (OBSE)

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–22 Other Dimensions of Personality Locus of controlLocus of control  The degree to which people believe their actions determine what happens to them in life.  Internal locus of control—occurs when people believe that internal factors (their skills and abilities) are the determinants of their destiny.  External locus of control— occurs when people believe that external factors such as luck, other people, or organizations are the determinants of their destiny.

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–23 Measuring Locus of Control TABLE 5–1 Source: Derived from Rotter’s I-E test. J. B. Rotter External control and internal control. Psychology Today 5(1):37–42, 58–59.

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–24 Other Dimensions of Personality (cont’d) MachiavellianismMachiavellianism  Based on the writings of Niccolo Machiavelli who advocated a psychologically detached and unemotional behavioral approach by individuals to organizational participation in meeting their personal objectives.  The belief that it is appropriate to behave in any manner that will meet one’s own needs.  The primary focus is on obtaining and using power as a means to further one’s own ends, regardless of its impact on others.

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–25 Other Dimensions of Personality (cont’d) The “Big Five” personality theoryThe “Big Five” personality theory  The view that all personality traits can be distilled into five big ones:  Extroversion—outgoing/withdrawn  Adjustment—flexible/rigid  Agreeableness—cooperative/uncooperative  Conscientiousness—thorough/sloppy  Inquisitiveness—curious/disinterested

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–26 Cultural Differences Among Organizational Members Culture definedCulture defined  How a society perceives the world and how it should operate based on the beliefs, values, attitudes, and expectations for behavior that the society believes to be good, effective, desirable, and beneficial. Culture Knowledge Beliefs Laws Morals Art Assumptions Customs Habits Institutions Parenting Education Religious activities Law enforcement Entertainment Future Generations

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–27 Cultural Awareness and Managers Culture affects:Culture affects:  The success of expatriate employees in overseas assignments.  The effectiveness of management practices and leadership styles in different cultures.

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–28 Cultural Dimensions (Hofstede) Individualism-collectivismIndividualism-collectivism  The degree to which individuals in a society prefer to act as individuals, as opposed to a group. Power distancePower distance  The acceptance of large differences in power between the most and least powerful in society. Uncertainty avoidanceUncertainty avoidance  The degree to which cultures differ in the extent to which they tolerate uncertainty.

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–29 Cultural Dimensions (Hofstede) cont’d Masculinity-femininityMasculinity-femininity  The degree to which a society displays mostly traditionally male or traditionally female traits. Time orientationTime orientation  The degree to which cultures possess a short or long perspective on time.

Copyright © 2002 by South-Western 5–30 Cultural Differences for Ten Countries Source: G. Hofstede Cultural constraints in management theories. Academy of Management Executive 7(1):81–94. TABLE 5–3