Notes on Perception Essay Example

successful task execution.

10) Aid in developing skills and mastering tasks.

Managing the perception process involves:

• Possessing a strong sense of self-awareness.

  Gathering information from various sources to confirm or discuss personal impressions or decision-making situations.

  Demonstrating empathy by understanding how others perceive a situation

  In work settings, we can influence others' perceptions when they have incorrect or incomplete impressions.

  To prevent biased views of people, it is important to implement strategies like avoiding inappropriate attributions and applying attribution theory in different situations.

  Diversity management programs can also help minimize biases in our perception of others.

  When observing and interpreting behavior, it is crucial to know oneself and one's own biases.Frizz Hider and H. H. Kelly introduced Attribution Theory, which offers insights into how we assign reasons for behavior based on our perceptions of reality. According to this theory, analyzing others' behavior involves considering distinctiveness, consistency, and consensus.

  Distinctiveness refers to the similarity of a person's behavior in different situations. Consistency reflects the stability of their behavior over time. Consensus indicates the degree to which others engage in the same behavior.

  By evaluating these factors, managers can determine whether behavior is attributed to internal or external causes. High levels of consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus lead to attributing behavior to external causes. Conversely, low levels of these factors result in attributing behavior to internal causes.

  Understanding Attribution Theory is crucial for managers as it has implications for their practices. If a manager attributes poor performance to internal factors, they can implement strategies to improve those factors. On the other hand, if a manager attributes poor performance to external factors, they can take necessary measures to enhance performance.

  Social perception also plays a

significant role in management as it involves interpreting information about others.
A perceiver's perception of another person is influenced by various characteristics such as familiarity with the person being perceived, attitudes and moods, self-concept, and cognitive structure. The individual being perceived also influences social perception through physical appearance, verbal and nonverbal communication, and apparent intentions. The social context greatly impacts an individual's perception, with situational cues overshadowing personality and shaping behavior (known as the discounting principle). In social situations, there are five barriers that hinder accurate perception: selective perception, stereotyping, first-impression error, projection, and self-fulfilling prophecies. Selective perception involves choosing information that aligns with existing viewpoints while disregarding conflicting information. Stereotyping occurs when generalized assumptions are made about someone neglecting their unique strengths. First impression error occurs when lasting opinions are formed based on initial encounters or perceptions influencing decision-making in hiring processes.Projection is the act of assuming that others share our values and beliefs without considering different perspectives. This tendency can be universally applicable. Expectations shape how we interact with others and can become a self-fulfilling prophecy in many cases. Impression management involves intentionally manipulating others' perceptions to control their opinions. The text suggests that people are more likely to use impression management tactics when dealing with individuals who have power over them and whose evaluations, raises, and promotions they depend on. Individuals who are highly self-monitoring tend to employ these tactics more than those with low self-monitoring levels.
Managers should exercise caution when forming initial impressions of others because these impressions heavily influence their perceptions. It is essential not to categorize workers until enough information is available for an accurate understanding. When evaluating or interviewing

multiple individuals, previous evaluations should not influence ratings of subsequent individuals. Fairness must be maintained in perceiving both similar and dissimilar people to oneself. If one tends to rate most subordinates very positively or average, it is crucial to consider if each individual truly deserves their rating.
Performance predictors should only be shared with those who need the information for decision-making purposes while being mindful not to let this information bias one's own perceptions.Motivation in work environments involves stimulating and maintaining goal-directed behavior. Theories on motivation, which can be categorized as internal, process, or external, aim to explain and predict observable behavior. This field of study in organizational behavior is complex due to the various factors that influence motivation. Within broader theories, researchers have begun to focus more closely on specific aspects of internal needs. Scholars have examined internal explanations centered around values that emphasize the societal importance of work.

Regarding external incentives, early scholars initially believed that individuals were primarily motivated by self-interest and economic gain. Self-interest refers to pursuing one's own best interests and advantages. Early motivation theories can be divided into two perspectives: the first suggests that individuals are driven by self-interest for material gain, while the second proposes that people's behavior is motivated by fulfilling their emotional needs.

Adam Smith supported the idea of individuals being motivated by self-interest for economic gain and concluded that employees would be most productive when driven by self-interest. Frederick Taylor attributed conflicts between management and employees to disagreements about profit distribution. The Hawthorne studies emphasized the significance of social and interpersonal motivation.
Differences exist between earlier ideas and more recent motivation theories. Modern management practices, such as employee recognition

programs, flexible benefit packages, and stock ownership plans, contribute to both employee recognition and ownership in organizations. Scholars and managers recognize the significance of psychological ownership in improving organizational citizenship behavior. Maslow's hierarchy of needs suggests that individuals progress from one level of needs to the next as a motivator for their behavior. Behavior is solely influenced by unfulfilled needs, with priority given to addressing the lowest unfulfilled need in the hierarchy. This theory offers several advantages, including recognizing non-economic worker needs and explaining changes in motivations over time. It helps supervisors motivate employees by addressing their perceived needs while accounting for interpersonal and intrapersonal variations in human behavior. The theory presents motivation as a dynamic force striving to fulfill higher-level needs while aligning with Existential Philosophy. The simplicity, universality, humanity, and intuitiveness of this theory warrant appreciation.However, there are also disadvantages worth considering: firstly,the theory is not explicitly mentioned as a theory of work motivation; secondly, all needs can coexist simultaneously rendering the hierarchy potentially irrelevant; thirdly,cultural and individual differences affect the hierarchy of needsMany people question Maslow's assumption about psychological health. McGregor developed Theory X and Theory Y, as well as the ERG Theory, in response to the drawbacks of Maslow's theory. He categorized workers based on their motivation from lower or higher order needs and suggested that management should vary based on individuals' level of motivation. Theory X is for those motivated by lower order needs, while Theory Y is for those motivated by higher order needs.

In addition, Alder introduced the ERG theory which reclassifies Maslow's need hierarchy into three levels: basic physiological and safety needs, social and affiliation needs, and self-actualization

needs for personal growth. This theory recognizes individual differences but lacks clear guidelines and suggests that individuals will be motivated to satisfy one of these three sets of needs. It also proposes the paradoxical idea that a need's strength increases when it is either highly satisfied or highly dissatisfied.

On the other hand, McClelland's Need Theory focuses on personality and learned needs such as achievement, affiliation, and power. The need for achievement involves striving for excellence, competition, challenging goals, persistence, and overcoming obstacles. Research indicates that individuals with a high need for achievement outperform those with moderate or low needs in this area.On the other hand, power can be understood as the desire to exert influence over others, create change in people or events, and make a significant impact on life. According to McClelland, there are two types of power: socialized power, which benefits many people; and personalized power, which serves personal gain. Additionally, the need for affiliation involves forming and nurturing close relationships with others. Conversely, individuals with a strong need for autonomy prioritize independence and freedom from constraints. To better understand these distinctions, students can analyze the example of telecommuting and discuss which type of person would be more comfortable with this shift in organizational interaction.

Herring's Two-Factor Theory examines how satisfied or dissatisfied individuals feel about their work. This theory presents two sets of needs: motivating factors that fulfill psychological growth needs and encourage motivation; and hygiene factors that cause discomfort or dissatisfaction when lacking or inadequate. While having motivating factors present promotes positive mental health and growth, their absence does not necessarily lead to dissatisfaction. In contrast, job dissatisfaction arises when hygiene factors

are insufficient or absent.
Critics argue that the Two-Factor Theory fails to differentiate between hygiene and motivation factors, overlooks individual differences, and neglects intrinsic motivators. They believe historical examples prove that people can be driven by various factors such as causes, personal missions, discovery, service, beliefs, creativity, and others not considered by Herbert. However, the theory has advantages in understanding role motivation in organizations and offering specific guidance for managers to enhance employee commitment. Herbert's Job Design technique of Job Enrichment is noteworthy for boosting employee motivation. Additionally, Herbert proposes a two-dimensional need instead of Moscow's five-dimensional needs theory. Another significant theory is Adams' Social Exchange and Equity Theory which focuses on maintaining a balance between efforts and rewards within organizations. This theory examines the relationship between individuals and organizations through exchanges where both parties contribute and have demands placed upon them. Individual demands are based on job expectations, mission statements, and performance feedback while organizational contributions involve status, benefits, income,and affiliation.Adams also developed Dame's Theory of Inequity which examines inequity in the workplace.Inequity is when someone feels they are receiving less than what they give or giving less than what they receive. People compare their input-to-outcome ratio with others, and if the ratios differ, there is a perception of inequity. To address this, individuals use seven strategies: 1) adjusting their own outcomes, 2) adjusting their own inputs, 3) adjusting the other person's outcomes for comparison, 4) adjusting the other person's inputs for comparison, 5) changing who is used as a comparison, 6) rationalizing the inequity to accept the situation in the organization. Recent perspectives on equity theory also consider how individuals respond differently to inequity.

According to Dame's original theory within <>, an equity-sensitive individual prefers a ratio that matches their comparison other. On the other hand, a benevolent individual is fine with a lower equity ratio while an entitled individual is comfortable with a higher equity ratio compared to their comparison other. Victor Broom's Expectancy theory, which falls under cognitive process theories of motivation in <>, focuses on personal perceptions of performance and suggests that individuals have specific desired outcomes from their behavior and believe in connections between effort, performance, and outcomes.The Expectancy theory, encompassed within <>, consists of three main constructs: valence, expectancy, and instrumentality. Valence represents an individual's belief about the advantages or disadvantages of completing a task. Within the tag, it is stated that valence refers to an individual's belief regarding whether completing a task will be advantageous or disadvantageous for them.

Expectancy pertains to one's belief in their ability to accomplish a task. This belief is influenced by various factors such as required skills, support from colleagues and managers, availability of resources, access to relevant information, and previous experience. The tag states that previous successful completion of a task creates high expectancy while previous failure or difficulty diminishes it.

Effort and performance have a positive correlation within the framework of expectancy theory. Favorable performance leads to desirable rewards which address important needs individuals strive to fulfill. The relationship between effort and performance is emphasized within the tag.

Motivational challenges arise from three primary causes in accordance with expectancy theory: disbelief in the connection between effort and performance, failure to perceive a clear relationship linking performance with offered rewards, and lack of desire

for the available rewards. These challenges are highlighted within the tag.The text discusses various aspects of motivational challenges, cultural reactions, and different types of reward systems used by organizations.

It is important to note that expectancy theory focuses on self-interest rather than explaining motivations driven by altruism. Understanding motivations behind altruistic endeavors requires considering moral maturity, which measures an individual's cognitive moral development.

Different cultures have varying reactions to motivational techniques. Mascots', Miscellany's, Herrings', and Broom's theories provide explanations for these cultural differences.

Organizations apply various motivation practices such as reward membership and seniority-based rewards. The specific benefits received by an employee depend on the organization they join. For example, an MBA graduate joining Wiper/Informs would receive greater benefits compared to a regular graduate in state goof services. Senior members within an organization generally receive more benefits than junior employees.

One common type of reward is based on job status. Each organization has its own way of rewarding employees based on their job status and uses different job evaluation techniques to determine appropriate rewards. However, this approach may not provide opportunities or motivation for high achievers to perform better.

Another type of reward system is competency-based. This system rewards employees based on the level of competencies they demonstrate in their work.The purpose of this text is to encourage employees to gain additional skills in order to become more valuable assets for the organization. However, discrepancies in pay can cause dissatisfaction among skilled workers and other employees. Organizations commonly use performance-based rewards, such as stock options, profit sharing programs, team rewards like gain sharing and special bonuses, as well as individual rewards like piece-rate pay structures, commission incentives, merit pay

systems, and additional bonuses. Job design is crucial for achieving organizational objectives and meeting employee needs. The way tasks and responsibilities are grouped can impact an organization's productivity and costs. Jobs that are unsatisfying or too demanding often have high turnover rates. Employee motivation and job satisfaction are affected by the alignment between job factors (content, qualifications, rewards) and personal needs. Implementing a well-thought-out job design can benefit both the organization and its employees in achieving their goals. Factors influencing job design include organizational elements such as individual and team tasks, work flow influenced by the product's creator, ergonomics matching individuals' physical abilities, and work practices.Environmental factors such as employee abilities, availability social expectations ,and cultural expectations also play a role in job design .The complexity dimension of job design approaches can be evaluated by involving individuals with diverse competencies at various organizational levels and requiring a high level of decision-making competency for successful implementation. An effective strategy to add variety and reduce boredom while maintaining the same skill requirements is job rotation, which involves moving employees across different jobs. The goal of job rotation is to prevent monotony by allowing employees to experience different tasks. On the other hand, job engineering encompasses determining various factors such as tasks, work flow, workplace layout, performance standards, interdependencies between people and machines, and more. Specialization of labor plays a crucial role in this process. To ensure efficient workflows and maximize productivity in job engineering, it is important to follow the Golden Rules of Job Engineering. These rules include ensuring clear end products, defining tasks and sequences, establishing employee responsibilities, providing necessary tools and information, encouraging employee suggestions

for improvements, and involving employees in the work design process.

Another approach to enhance job satisfaction is through job enlargement. This method increases variety and interest in a job by adding similar tasks to an existing role. It motivates employees by providing task variety, meaningful work experiences that utilize their abilities/skills while giving them control over their duties at their own pace. Additionally, it provides feedback on their performance.In addition, job enrichment aims to increase job satisfaction by introducing motivators. This is achieved by granting the jobholder more decision-making authority in relation to their role's planning and control aspects. However, there are several considerations: 1) Job enrichment strategies alone cannot fully replace effective management. 2) The concept of "enriched" is subjective and varies based on individual preferences. 3) Job enrichment may have a cumulative effect similar to a snowball effect. 4) It assumes that employees desire additional responsibilities. 5) Initially, implementing job enrichment might result in short-term negative consequences before positive effects become evident.6) Without periodic updates or the introduction of new challenges or growth opportunities, job enrichment can become stagnant.7) Both managers and employees' participation plays a crucial role in determining the effectiveness of the job enrichment process.Implementing changes for job enrichment can also present challenges.