Chapter 5 What is Perception and Why is it Important? Perception is a process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in.
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Transcript Chapter 5 What is Perception and Why is it Important? Perception is a process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in.
Chapter 5
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What is Perception and Why is
it Important?
Perception
is a process by which
individuals organize and interpret their
sensory impressions in order to give
meaning to their environment.
It’s important because people’s behavior is
based on their perception of what reality
is, not on reality itself.
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Factors
Perceiver – attitudes, motives,
interests, experiences, expectations
The Target – novelty, motions, sounds,
size, background, proximity, similarity
The Situation – time, work setting, social
situation
The
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Attribution Theory
Fundamental Attribution Error
The
tendency to…
Underestimate the influence of external
factors (outside of a person’s control)
Overestimate the influence of internal (what
you can control) factors
When making judgments about the behavior of
others.
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Attributions
Self-Serving Bias
The
tendency for individuals to attribute
their own successes to internal factors
while putting the blame for failures on
external factors.
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Sample “Shortcuts”
Selective Perception
People selectively interpret what they see on the basis of
their interest, background, experience, and attitudes.
Halo Effect
Drawing a general impression about an individual on the
basis of a single characteristic.
Contrast Effects
Comparisons with other people recently encountered
who rank higher or lower on the same characteristics.
Projection
Attributing one’s own characteristics to other people
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Specific Applications in
Organizations
Employment Interview
Perceptual biases affect the accuracy of interviewers’
judgments of applicants.
Performance Expectations
Self-fulfilling prophecy (pygmalion effect): The lower
or higher performance of employees reflects
preconceived expectations about employee
capabilities.
Performance Evaluations
Appraisals are subjective perceptions of performance.
Employee Effort
Assessment of individual effort is a subjective
judgment subject to perceptual distortion and bias. 7
Assumptions of the Rational
Decision-Making Model
1. Problem clarity
2. Known options
3. Clear preferences
4. Constant
preferences
5. No time or cost
constraints
6. Maximum payoff
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So, how are decisions actually
made in organizations?
Bounded Rationality
Individuals make decisions by
constructing simplified models that
extract the essential features from
problems without capturing all their
complexity.
Intuitive Decision Making
Intuition = an unconscious
process created out of distilled
experience.
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“Problems? What Problems?”
How
and why are some problems
identified?
Visibility over importance of problem
• Attention-catching, high profile problems
• Desire to “solve problems”
Self-interest (if problem concerns decision
maker!)
Alternative
Development
“Good enough”: seeking the first alternative
that solves problem.
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Organizational Constraints on
Decision Makers
Performance Evaluation
Evaluation criteria influence the choice of actions.
Reward Systems
Decision makers make action choices that are
favored by the organization.
Formal Regulations
Organizational rules and policies limit the alternative
choices of decision makers.
System-imposed Time Constraints
Organizations require decisions by specific deadlines.
Historical Precedents
Past decisions influence current decisions.
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Summary and Implications for
Managers
Perception
- Individuals behave based on what they see or believe
reality to be.
- Evidence suggests that what individuals perceive from
their work situation will influence their productivity more
than will the situation itself.
- Absenteeism, turnover, and job satisfaction are also
reactions to the individual’s perceptions.
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Summary (continued)
Individual Decision Making
- Individuals think and reason before they act.
- Under some decision situations, people follow the rational decisionmaking model. However, this doesn’t happen very often…
So, what can managers do to improve their decision making?
- Analyze the situation.
- Be aware of biases.
- Combine rational analysis with intuition.
- Don’t assume that your specific decision style is
appropriate for every job.
- Use creativity-stimulation techniques when possible.
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