Chap 4 concepts and principles of tourism

tourism

1. 4-1 ©2005 Prentice Hall
Understanding
and
Managing
Organizational
Behavior
4th Edition
Chapter 4:4:
Perception, Perception,
Attribution, and the Attribution, and the
Management of Management of
DiversityDiversity
Insert photo from
case opening?
JENNIFER GEORGE JENNIFER GEORGE
& GARETH JONES& GARETH JONES

2. 4-2 ©2005 Prentice Hall
Chapter Objectives
Describe how perception is inherently
subjective and how characteristics of the
perceiver, the target, and the situation can
influence perceptions
Understand how the use of schemas can
both aid and detract from accurate
perceptions
Be aware of biases that can influence
perception without perceivers being aware
of their influences

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Chapter Objectives
Appreciate why the effective management
of diversity is an imperative for all kinds of
organizations and the steps that
organizations can take to ensure that
different kinds of people are treated fairly
and that the organization is able to take
advantage of all they have to offer

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Chapter Objectives
Understand why attributions are so
important and how they can sometimes be
faulty
Describe the two major forms of sexual
harassment and the steps organizations
can take to combat sexual harassment

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Opening Case: Proactively
Managing Diversity
Why do organizations need to guard against
discrimination and proactively manage
diversity?
Is discrimination a thing of the past?
Who suffers from discrimination?

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Perception
The process by which individuals select,
organize, and interpret the input from their
senses to give meaning and order to the
world around them
People try to make sense of their
environment and the objects, events, and
other people in it

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Figure 4.1 Components of
Perception
Perceiver Target
Situation or context in which perception takes place

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Components of Perception
Perceiver: person trying to interpret some
observation that he or she has just made or
the input from his or her senses
Target of Perception: whatever the
perceiver is trying to make sense of
Situation: the context in which perception
takes place

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The Accuracy of Perceptions
Not always accurate
Perceptions are critical for managerial functions
–Motivating subordinates
–Treating subordinates fairly and equitably
–Making ethical decisions
Accuracy can be improved by understanding
–what perceptions are
–how they are formed
–what influences them
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66
Insert Figure 4.2 here
Figure 4.2 Characteristics of the
Perceiver That Affect Perception

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Table 4.1 Factors That Influence
Perception
Characteristics
of the Perceiver
Characteristics
of the Target
Characteristics
of the Situation
Schemas Ambiguity Additional
information
Motivational
state
Social statusSalience
Mood Use of
impression
management

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Schemas
Abstract knowledge structures that are
stored in memory
Responsible for the organization and
interpretation of information about targets
of perception
Based on past experiences and
knowledge
Resistant to change

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The Functionality of Schemas
Functional
–Schemas help us make sense of a
confusing array of sensory input, choose
what information to pay attention to and
what to ignore, and guide perceptions of
ambiguous information
Dysfunctional
–Schemas can result in inaccurate
perceptions

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Stereotypes
Set of overly simplified and often inaccurate
beliefs about the typical characteristics of a
particular group
Dysfunctional schemas
–Based on inaccurate information
–Assigned based on a single distinguishing
characteristic

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Motivational State and Mood
Motivational State: The needs, values,
and desires of a perceiver at the time of
perception.
Mood: How a perceiver feels at the time
of perception.

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A lack of clearness or definiteness
As the ambiguity of a target increases, it becomes
increasingly difficult for a perceiver to form an
accurate perception
When a target is ambiguous, the perceiver needs
to engage in a lot more interpretation and active
construction of reality to form a perception of the
target
The more ambiguous a target is, the more potential
there is for errors in perception
Ambiguity

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A person’s real or perceived position in society
or in an organization.
Targets with relatively high status are
perceived to be smarter, more credible, more
knowledgeable, and more responsible for their
actions than lower-status targets.
Social Status

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An attempt to control the perceptions or
impressions of others
Targets are especially likely to use impression
management tactics when interacting with
perceivers who have power over them and on
whom they are dependent for evaluations, raises,
and promotions
Individuals who are high in self-monitoring are
more likely than individuals who are low in self-
monitoring to engage in impression management
tactics
Impression Management

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Table 4.2 Impression Management
Tactics
Behavioral
Matching
The target of perception matches
his or her behavior to that of the
perceiver.
A subordinate tries to imitate her boss’s
behavior by being modest and soft-spoken
because her boss is modest and soft-spoken.
Self-
Promotion
The target tries to present herself
or himself in as positive a light as
possible.
A worker reminds his boss about his past
accomplishments and associates with co-
workers who are evaluated highly.
Conforming
to Situational
Norms
The target follows agreed-upon
rules for behavior in the
organization.
A worker stays late every night even if she has
completed all of her assignments because
staying late is one of the norms of her
organization.
Appreciating
or Flattering
Others
The target compliments the per-
ceiver. This tactic works best when
flattery is not extreme and when it
involves a dimension important
to the perceiver.
A coworker compliments a manager on his
excellent handling of a troublesome employee.
Being
Consistent
The target’s beliefs and behaviors
are consistent. There is agreement
between the target’s verbal and
nonverbal behaviors.
A subordinate delivering a message to his boss
looks the boss straight in the eye and has a
sincere expression on his face.

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Extent to which a target of perception stands out in
a group of people or things
Causes of salience
–Being novel: Anything that makes a target
unique in a situation (e.g., being the only young
person)
–Being figural: Standing out from the background
(e.g., by wearing bright clothes)
–Being inconsistent with other people’s
expectations: Behaving or looking in a way that
is out of the ordinary
Salience

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Table 4.3 Causes of Salience
Being novelAnything that makes a
target unique in a situation
Examples: Being the only person of a
particular age, sex, or race in a situation
Being
figural
Standing out from
the background
Example: Being in a spotlight, sitting at
the head of the table, wearing bright
clothes
Being
Inconsistent
with other
people’s
expectations
Behaving or looking in a way
that is out of the ordinary
Example: A normally shy person who is
the life of the party

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Table 4.4 Biases and Problems in
Perception
Primacy
Effects
The initial pieces of information
that a perceiver has about a target
have an inordinately large effect on
the perceiver’s perception and
evaluation of the target.
Interviewers decide in the first few minutes
of an interview whether or not a job candidate
is a good prospect.
Contrast
Effect
The perceiver’s perceptions of
others influence the perceiver’s
perception of a target.
A manager’s perception of an average
subordinate is likely to be lower if that
subordinate is in a group with very high
performers rather than in a group with very
low performers.
Halo
Effect
The perceiver’s general impression
of a target influences his or her
perception of the target on specific
dimensions.
A subordinate who has made a good overall
impression on a supervisor is rated as
performing high-quality work and always
meeting deadlines regardless of work that is
full of mistakes and late.

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Table 4.4 Biases and Problems in
Perception
Similar-to-
me Effect
People perceive others who are
similar to themselves more
positively than they perceive those
who are dissimilar.
Supervisors rate subordinates who are similar
to them more positively than they deserve.
Harshness,
Leniency,
Average
Tendency
Some perceivers tend to be overly
harsh in their perceptions, some
overly lenient. Others view most
targets as being about average.
When rating subordinates’ performances, some
supervisors give almost everyone a poor rating,
some give almost everyone a good rating, and
others rate almost everyone as being about
average.
Knowledge
of Predictor
Knowing how a target stands on a
predictor of performance influences
perceptions of the target.
A professor perceives a student more positively
than she deserves because the professor knows
the student had a high score on the SAT.

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Attribution Theory
Describes how people explain the causes
of behavior
Focuses on why people behave the way
they do
Attributions can be made about the self or
another person
Biases reduce the accuracy of attributions

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Insert Figure 4.3 here
Figure 4.3 Types of Attributions

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Attributional Biases
Fundamental attribution errorFundamental attribution error - tendency
to overattribute behavior to internal rather
than external causes
Actor-observer effectActor-observer effect - tendency to
attribute other’s behavior to internal causes
but one’s own behavior to external causes
Self-serving attributionSelf-serving attribution - tendency to take
credit for successes but avoid blame for
failures

27. 4-27 ©2005 Prentice Hall
Objectives of Diversity Programs
Making explicit and breaking down organizational
member’ stereotypes that result in inaccurate
perceptions and attributions
Making members aware of different kinds of
backgrounds, experiences, and values
Showing members how to deal effectively with
diversity-related conflicts and tensions
Generally improving members’ understanding of
each other

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Diversity Training
Role-playing
Self-awareness activities
Awareness activities
Education
Mentoring
–Formal
–Informal