Understanding Social Perception and Managing

Diversity

Chapter Four

Copyright © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

McGraw-Hill/IrwinOrganizational Behavior: Key Concepts, Skills & Best Practices, 3/e

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After reading the material in this chapter, you should be able to:

• Describe perception in terms of the social information processing model.

• Identify and briefly explain six managerial implications for social perception.

• Explain, according to Kelley’s model, how external and internal causal attributions are formulated.

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After reading the material in this chapter, you should be able to:

• Demonstrate your familiarity with the demographic trends that are creating an increasingly diverse workforce.

• Identify the barriers and challenges to managing diversity.

• Discuss the organizational practices used to manage diversity identified by Ann Morrison

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Social Perception: A Social Information Processing Model

Figure 4-1

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A Social Information Processing Model of Perception

• Perception is the process of interpreting one’s environment.

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A Social Information Processing Model of Perception

Social perception involves a four-stage information processing sequence

1. Selective attention/comprehension2. Encoding and simplification3. Storage and retention4. Retrieval and response

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Stage 1: Selective Attention/Comprehension

• Attention – being consciously aware of something or someone

• People pay attention to salient stimuli• Salient – something that stands out from context

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Stage 2: Encoding and Simplification

• Cognitive categories – mental depositories for storing information

• Schema – mental picture of an event or object

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Question?

What is a belief about the characteristics of a group?

A. ConsensusB. StereotypeC. Personality D. Trait

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Stage 2: Encoding and Simplification

• Stereotype - belief about the characteristics of a group

• Not always negative• May or may not be accurate

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Stage 2: Encoding and Simplification

Stereotypes - Can lead to poor decisions- Can create barriers for older individuals,

people of color, and people with disabilities- Can undermine loyalty and job satisfaction

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Stereotyping Process

1. Categorize people into groups according to various criteria

2. Infer that all people within a category possess the same traits

3. Form expectations of others and interpret their behavior according to our stereotypes

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Stereotyping Process

4. Stereotypes are maintained by:• Overestimating the frequency of stereotypic

behavior exhibited by others• Incorrectly explaining expected and

unexpected behaviors• Differentiating minority individuals from

oneself

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Commonly Found Perceptual Errors

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Stage 3: Storage and Retention

• Event memory – information about both specific and general events

• Semantic memory – general knowledge about the world, mental dictionary of concepts

• Person memory – information about a single individual or groups of people

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Stage 4: Retrieval and Response

• Decisions are based:- On the process of drawing on, interpreting,

and integrating categorical information stored in long-term memory

- Retrieving a summary judgment that was already made

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Managerial Implications: Hiring

• Interviewers make hiring decisions based on their impression of how an applicant fits the perceived requirements of a job

• Inaccurate impressions in either direction produce poor hiring decisions

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Managerial Implications: Performance Appraisal

• Important for managers to accurately identify the behavioral characteristics and results indicative of good performance

• Characteristics serve as the benchmarks for evaluating employee performance

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Managerial Implications: Leadership

Good leaders exhibit the following behaviors:

- Assigning specific tasks to group members- Telling others they had done well- Setting specific goals for the group- Letting other group members make decisions- Trying to get the group to work as a team- Maintaining definite standards of performance

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Managerial Implications: Leadership

• Poor leaders exhibit the following behaviors:

- Telling others they had performed poorly- Insisting on having their own way- Doing things without explaining themselves- Expressing worry over the group members

suggestions- Frequently changing plans- Letting the details of the task become

overwhelming

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Causal Attributions

• Causal Attributions – suspected or inferred causes of behavior

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Kelley’s Model of Attribution

• Internal factors – personal characteristics that cause behavior

• External behavior – environmental characteristics that cause behavior

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Question?

What involves comparing a person’s behavior on one task with the behavior from other tasks?

A. ConsensusB. DistinctivenessC. ConsistencyD. Personality

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Kelley’s Model of Attribution

• Consensus involves a comparison of an individual’s behavior with that of his peers.

• Distinctiveness involves comparing a person’s behavior on one task with the behavior from other tasks.

• Consistency is determined by judging if the individual’s performance on a given task is consistent over time.

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Performance Charts

Figure 4-2

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Kelley’s Model of Attribution

• Consensus relates to other people• Distinctiveness relates to other people• Consistency relates to time

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Attributional Tendencies

• Fundamental attribution bias - ignoring environment factors that affect behavior

• Self-serving bias- taking more personal responsibility for success than failure

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Managerial Implications

• Managers tend to disproportionately attribute behavior to internal causes

• Attributional biases mat lead to inappropriate managerial actions

• An employee’s attributions for his own performance have dramatic effects on subsequent motivation, performance, and self-esteem

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Defining and Managing Diversity

• Diversity – the host of individual differences that make people different from and similar to each other

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Four Layers of Diversity

Figure 4-3

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Defining and Managing Diversity

• Affirmative action – voluntary and involuntary efforts to achieve equality of opportunity for everyone

• Managing diversity – creating organizational changes that enable all people to perform up to their maximum potential

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Increasing Diversity in the Workforce: Demographic Trends

1. Women and minorities are experiencing a glass ceiling

2. Racial groups are encountering perceived discrimination

3. There is a mismatch between workers’ educational attainment and occupational requirements

4. The workforce is aging

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Increasing Diversity in the Workforce: Demographic Trends

• Glass ceiling – invisible barrier blocking women and minorities from top management positions

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Glass Ceiling

See an article on “Breaking the Glass Ceiling” by Wirth

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Increasing Diversity in the Workforce: Demographic Trends

• Underemployment – the result of taking a job that requires less education, training, or skills than possessed by a worker

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Increasing Diversity in the Workforce: Demographic Trends

Two recommendations to help organizations adapt to an aging workforce:

1. Firms should help employees deal with personal issues associated with eldercare

2. Employers need to make a concerted effort to keep older workers engaged and committed and their skills current

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Barriers and Challenges to Managing Diversity

1. Inaccurate stereotypes and prejudice2. Ethnocentrism3. Poor career planning4. An unsupportive and hostile working

environment for diverse employees5. Lack of political savvy on the part of diverse

employees

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Barriers and Challenges to Managing Diversity

6. Difficulty in balancing career and family issues7. Fears of reverse discrimination8. Diversity is not seen as an organizational

priority9. The need to revamp the organization’s

performance appraisal and reward system10. Resistance to change

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Specific Diversity Initiatives

• Accountability practices – focus on treating diverse employees fairly

• Development practices – focus on preparing diverse employees for greater responsibility and advancement

• Recruitment practices – attempts to attract qualified, diverse employees at all levels

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Common Diversity Practices

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Video: 40+ for Hire

See BWTV discuss the trend of companies hiring older workers. (6:15)

See also NBC’s More Companies Offering Benefit of Working From Home (5:02)