perception in management dr joan harvey. sensation: precedes perception and concerns the basic...
TRANSCRIPT
Perception in management
Dr Joan Harvey
Sensation: precedes perception and concerns
the basic senses
vision hearing kinaesthesis
touch smell taste
Perceptual selectivity [a] selective exposure
Framing or perceptual set: the background beliefs and expectations that we use to make judgements
These influence what we choose to see. Set is influenced by: motives, expectations, rewards or punishment, age, personality factors e.g. achievment orientation
[b] selective attention Choosing from what is there to direct our attention
[c] interpretation, categorisation and inference Use LTM to aid interpretation of material: making
judgements; attributing cause and effect So we can predict how people might behave
How do you
perceive this
advert for a job?
Perception to attract attention
Colour, position, relative size etc. E.g. colour changes to indicate a process is
faulty Novel stimuli: logo, white space etc.
E.g. job advertisements Cues to aid recognition
E.g. symbols to guide patients in hospitals Typefaces and imagery
E.g. In memos or emailed instructions
Other issues Ergonomics
Design of equipment Environmental influences Person- machine interface, e.g. How do we perceive
emoticons? Signal detection
Perception of low frequency events Perception of risk
Safety, financial, social, Impression management Personal characteristics of the audience
Self image
Self perception and self image Cognitive, affective and behavioural These three combine to form the self
image More integrated the self image, more
consistent is behaviour Self image can suppress behaviour
that is out of line
Maintaining and stabilising self image Misperception of incoming information
Distort things, e.g. in an interview, to fit with self image Selective interaction:
choose who you sit with or talk to or what you respond to Response evocation:
behaving in a certain way to evoke certain responses from others, e.g. teenagers acting to provoke
Selective evaluation of people E.g. stereotyped judgements about managers or other employees
Selective evaluation of self: e.g. see self as less intelligent or less attractive
Affective congruency Similarities of mood may mean different types of decisions taken
Adopting and playing certain roles E.g. tactics in meetings
Emotion in the workplace Transient, ephemeral so difficult to investigate Strong determinant of behaviour at work:
can influence work productivity, absenteeism, teamworking, Can affect the effectiveness of any social interactions
work, including interviews, meetings, manager-employee communications
Probably 7 main emotions Anger, sadness, disgust, fear, surprise, happiness, contempt Although most emotions are a complex mix of several
Easier to judge other people’s intentions and feelings from facial expressions and NVCs than from what they say
Interpersonal perception emotion case: you and your boss
You are asked to carry out a difficult project This is usually given to more experienced colleagues You feel flattered but worried; emotions include excitement, elation, fear and frustration You complete the project well and feel relieved HOW DO YOU PERCEIVE YOUR BOSS NOW? You tell your boss and show them your work Boss does not thank you, but seeks errors, flaws, limitations You feel resentful and angry, never again put yourself out You also feel shamed and exploited You think about looking for another job You do not volunteer for tasks any more You start to feel sad and disappointed You update your resume and start looking for other jobs HOW DO YOU PERCEIVE YOUR BOSS NOW?
Implications for discussion
Layout of offices Open plan vs separate offices ‚hot desking‘
Interpersonal perception and interaction with people in meetings
Impression management Perceptual mapping Perception of emotion and facial expressions Appraisal
Social perception in action: appraisal
Purposes of appraisal Evaluate current job performance Evaluate future potential Determine whether pay rise is appropriate
Methods of appraisal Interviews Form filling and rating scales 360 degree appraisal
Appraisal: social perception problems & issues
Ratings Impression management issues
E.g. the 2 minute rule, judging from first impressions
Appraiser skills at judging Halo effect [and horns effect] Non-verbal signals Judging people on criteria over which they
have no control Fundamental attribution error
Social perception in action [2]: the interview
Application forms and IM Pre selection judgements and decisions Long list and short list issues
Decreasing ease as reasons to reject disappear Positive to negative to positive set
The interview itself Selection decisions
Thank you for your attention
Drs Joan Harvey and George Erdos Newcastle University