Organizational Implications ~~
Perception has many implications in organizational situations in the sense
that biased assessments of ourselves and others can occur in many ways. For
example, perceptual distortions can occur during the hiring process and factors
like stereotyping, halo effect or selective perception can affect the appraisal.
‘There are several areas of performance appraisal where perceptual distortions
can occur. First, a work group is likely to blame other groups or departments
for their own failure. For example, the marketing department may blame
production department for poor sales or it may blame administration for low
hiring and training budgets. Secondly, a superior may evaluate many
subordinates at the same time and it is likely that first two or three
subordinates in the beginning will be rated higher than the following
subordinates due to possible fatigue and boredom. Also, if the first two
evaluations happen to be excellent then the following subordinates will be
judged by comparison thus creating a bias in the mind of the evaluator.
Thirdly, research has indicated that in evaluating performance, both effort
and ability are taken into consideration, but more weight is given to effort.”
Thus a poor performer would be seen as “not trying hard enough’, rather
than his lacking in ability. Finally, if the superior has a particularly favourable
impression of a subordinate, then minor instances of poor performance may
be ignored. Halo effect and stereotyping may also influence the evaluation.