Transcript Perception and Personality in Organizations

C H A P T E R: T H R E E
Perception and
Learning in
Organizations
3
McGraw-Hill Ryerson
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
VIA Rail CEO, Paul Coté
VIA Rail CEO Paul Coté
keeps his perceptions in
focus by wandering around
the maintenance centre and
hopping on the trains to
meet staff and customers.
R. Remiorz/CP
McShane/ Canadian OB 6e
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© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Perceptual Process Model
Environmental Stimuli
Feeling
Hearing
Seeing
Smelling
Tasting
Selective Attention
Organization and
Interpretation
Attitudes and
Behaviour
McShane/ Canadian OB 6e
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Selective Attention
Characteristics of the object
 size, intensity, motion, repetition, novelty
Perceptual context
Characteristics of the perceiver
 attitudes
 perceptual defense
 expectations -- condition us to expect events
McShane/ Canadian OB 6e
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Perceptual Organization/Interpretation
Categorical thinking


Mostly unconscious process of organizing people and
things
Perceptual grouping principles
• Closure -- filling in missing pieces
• Identifying trends
• Similarity or proximity
Mental models



Broad world-views or ‘theories-in-use’
Help us to quickly make sense of situations
May block recognition of new opportunities/perspectives
McShane/ Canadian OB 6e
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© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Social Identity Theory
CIBC
Employee
Live in
Canada
An Individual’s
Social Identity
University of
New Brunswick
Graduate
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Employees at
other firms
People living
in other countries
Graduates from
other schools
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Social Identity Theory Features
Categorization process
 compare characteristics of our groups with other
groups
Homogenization process
 similar traits within a group; different traits across
groups
Differentiation process
 develop less favourable images of people in
groups other than our own
McShane/ Canadian OB 6e
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Social Identity & Gender in Engineering
Women are underrepresented in
engineering partly because:

Social identity --”geek” stereotype of
engineers and computer scientists
doesn’t fit the self-images that most
women want for themselves.

Sex role stereotyping -- women are
not encouraged to become
engineers because the profession
has a male stereotype

Ottawa Citizen
Prejudice -- Still some bias against
female engineering students
McShane/ Canadian OB 6e
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Stereotyping
Process of assigning traits to
people based on their
membership in a social
category



Categorical thinking
Strong need to understand
and anticipate others’
behaviour
Enhances our self-perception
and social identity
McShane/ Canadian OB 6e
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Ottawa Citizen
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Minimizing Stereotyping Biases
Diversity awareness training

Educate employees about the benefits of diversity and
dispel myths
Meaningful interaction

Contact hypothesis
Decision-making accountability

Making people accountable for their decisions motivates
them to consider objective info rather than stereotypes
McShane/ Canadian OB 6e
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Attribution Process
Internal Attribution
 Perception that person’s behaviour is due to
motivation/ability rather than situation or fate
External Attribution
 Perception that behaviour is due to situation or
fate rather than the person
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Rules of Attribution
Internal Attribution
Frequently
Frequently
Seldom
Consistency
Distinctiveness
Consensus
Seldom
Seldom
Frequently
External Attribution
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Attribution Errors
Fundamental Attribution Error
 attributing own actions to external factors and
other’s actions to internal factors
Self-Serving Bias
 attributing our successes to internal factors and
our failures to external factors
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Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Cycle
Supervisor
forms
expectations
Employee’s
behaviour matches
expectations
Expectations
affect supervisor’s
behaviour
Supervisor’s
behaviour affects
employee
McShane/ Canadian OB 6e
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Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Contingencies
Self-fulfilling prophecy effect is strongest
1. At the beginning of the relationship (e.g.,
employee joins the team)
2. When several people have similar expectations
about the person
3. When the employee has low rather than high
past achievement
McShane/ Canadian OB 6e
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Other Perceptual Errors
Primacy
 first impressions
Recency
 most recent information dominates perceptions
Halo
 one trait forms a general impression
Projection
 believe other people do the same things or have
the same attitudes as you
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Improving Perceptions
Empathy
 Sensitivity to the feelings, thoughts, and situation

of others
Cognitive and emotional component
Self-awareness
 Awareness of your values, beliefs and prejudices
 Applying Johari Window
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Know Yourself (Johari Window)
Feedback
Known to Self
Known
to Others
Disclosure
Open
Area Open
Area
Hidden
Area
Hidden
Unknown
to Others
McShane/ Canadian OB 6e
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18
Unknown to Self
Blind
Area Blind
Area
Unknown
Unknown
Area
Area
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Definition of Learning
A relatively permanent change in
behaviour (or behaviour tendency) that
occurs as a result of a person’s
interaction with the environment
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Learning and Behaviour
Learning affected behaviour through three
MARS model elements:
 Ability -- learning increases skills and knowledge
 Role perceptions -- learning clarifies roles and
priorities
 Motivation -- learning is necessary for some need
fulfillment
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Behaviour Modification
We “operate” on the environment
 alter behaviour to maximize positive and
minimize adverse consequences
Learning is viewed as completely dependent
on the environment
Human thoughts are viewed as unimportant
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A-B-Cs of Behaviour Modification
Antecedents
Behaviour
Consequences
What happens
before behaviour
What person
says or does
What happens
after behaviour
Machine
operator turns
off power
Co-workers
thank
operator
Example
Warning
light
flashes
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Contingencies of Reinforcement
Consequence
is introduced
Behaviour
increases/
maintained
Positive
reinforcement
Behaviour
decreases
Punishment
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No
consequence
Consequence
is removed
Negative
reinforcement
Extinction
Punishment
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Schedules of Reinforcement
behaviours
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Continuous
Fixed ratio
Variable ratio
Time (Days)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Fixed interval
Variable interval
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Behaviour Modification in Practice
Behaviour modification is used in:
 every day life to influence behaviour of others
 company programs to reduce absenteeism,
improve safety, etc.
Behaviour modification problems include:
 Reward inflation
 Ethical concern that variable ratio schedule is a

lottery
Behaviourist philosophy vs. learning through
mental processes
McShane/ Canadian OB 6e
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Social Learning Theory
Behavioural modelling
 Observing and modelling behaviour of others
Learning behaviour consequences
 Observing consequences that others
experience
Self-reinforcement
 Reinforcing our own behaviour with
consequences within our control
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Experiential Learning in Toronto
Physicians Jonathan Sherbino and
Ivy Chong (bottom right) prepare to
amputate the leg of Wesley
Bagshaw who is pinned by a fallen
beam in this collapsed building.
Fortunately, this incident is a mock
disaster to help train Toronto’s
Heavy Urban Search And Rescue
(HUSAR) team.
Michael Stuparyk/Toronto Star
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Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model
Concrete
experience
Active
experimentation
Reflective
observation
Abstract
conceptualization
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Developing a Learning Orientation
• Value the generation of new knowledge
• Reward experimentation
• Recognize mistakes as part of learning
• Encourage employees to take reasonable
risks
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Action Learning
Experiential learning in which employees,
usually in teams, investigate and apply
solutions to a situation that is both real and
complex, with immediate relevance to the
company
 Concrete experience
 Learning meetings
 Team conceptualizes and applies a solution to a
problem
McShane/ Canadian OB 6e
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C H A P T E R: T H R E E
Perception and
Learning in
Organizations
3
McGraw-Hill Ryerson
© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.