MANAGEMENT PROCESS AND ORGANISATION BEHAVIOUR
Perception
What is Perception?
Perception is the process of receiving information and making sense of the world around us. Perception is basically the process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment
Features of Perception
Perception is an intellectual process-Person selects the data from the environment, organizes it and obtains meaning from it. Perception is a psychological process- The manner in which a person perceives the environment affects his behaviour. Thus, peoples actions, emotions, thoughts are triggered by the perception of their surroundings. Perception being an intellectual psychological process becomes a subjective process and different people may perceive the same environmental event differently. Sensation and Perception
Factors Influencing the Perceptual Process
Perceiver
Perception influenced by persons values, attitudes, past experiences, needs, personality Physical context, social context, organizational context Targets contrast, intensity, figure-ground separation, size, motion, repetition, novelty
Setting
Perceived
External Factors in Perceptual Selectivity
Size Intensity Repetition Novelty and Familiarity Contrast Motion
Internal Factors in Perceptual Selectivity
Self-Concept Beliefs Expectations Inner Needs Response Disposition A persons tendency to perceive familiar stimuli rather than unfamiliar ones. Disposition ( a persons inherent qualities of mind and character) Response Salience-Familiarity of Stimulus situations. Salience ( most noticeable) Perceptual Defense- Denying the existence or importance of conflicting information.
Examples of Perception
Young /Old woman illusion
Disappearing Dots
Center circles
Perceptual Process
Selection/Stimulation Organization
Interpretation
Selection/Stimulation
Factors in Perceptual Selectivity External Internal Size Self concept Intensity Beliefs Repetition Expectations Novelty and Familiarity Response disposition Contrast Response Salience Motion
Perceptual Organization
Figure Ground Principle: The tendency to keep certain phenomena in focus and other phenomena in background.
Perceptual Organization
The Law of Proximity: Stimulus elements that are closed together tend to be perceived as a group The Law of Similarity: Similar stimuli tend to be grouped. Similar features of various stimuli irrespective of nearness. The Law of Closure: Stimuli tend to be grouped into complete figures The Law of Good Continuation: Stimuli tend to be grouped as to minimize change or discontinuity The Law of Simplicity: Ambiguous stimuli tend to be resolved in favor of the simplest Figure. The Law of Figure Ground Principle: The tendency to keep certain phenomenon in focus and other phenomenon in background.
Perceptual Organization
Distortions in Perception
Distortions in perception may occur because of the following factors: Factors in perceiver- personality, mental set, attribution, first impression , halo effect, stereotyping Factors in person perceived- status, visibility of traits etc. Situational factors
Shortcuts in Judging Others:
1.) Selective Perception 2.) Halo Effect 3.) Contrast Effects 4.) Projection 5.) Stereotyping
Perception and Attribution
Attribution Attribution refers to how people in situations like the workplace construct explanations of other people's behavior. People are not exactly rocket scientists: these explanations can be highly simplified and strongly biased. What is interesting and helpful is that people's biases tend to be systematic and predictable. For example, people tend to overestimate personal/individual causes (abilities, motives, morals) and tend to underestimate situational causes, like nature of the job, compensation system, the economy, luck, the percentage of the population who are young. Another kind of bias occurs with the nature of a person's participation in a situation, and how it comes out. For example, if a student gets an A on a test, the student thinks it was because he or she is so smart. But if they get an F, the book is lousy, or some other reason. In general, people seem to think this way: Another basic principle is that people tend to attribute motives to people's behavior. So when people don't behave as you expect them to, you think they are doing it on purpose (usually, just to annoy you). In other words, people tend to assume a common understanding of a situation, but different motives and interests. They also tend to assume that other people do everything consciously: no oversight is truly an oversight, no inconsiderate action was just thoughtless.
Specific Applications in Organizations
Employment Interview
Performance Expectations Performance Evaluation Employee Effort
Managerial Implications of Perception
Interpersonal Working Relationships Selection of Employees Performance Appraisal
Developing Perceptual Skills
Perceiving oneself correctly Enhancing Self concept Having positive attitudes Being Empathic Communicating More openly Avoiding Common Perceptual Distortions
CASE STUDY
