McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

3
Perception and Learning
in Organizations
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-2
Vodafone Executive Grahame Maher
Vodafone executive
Grahame Maher keeps his
perceptions in focus by
discarding the executive
suite and working alongside
employees every day.
Bob Finlayson/Newspix
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-3
Perception Defined
The process of selecting,
organizing, and
interpreting information
in order to make sense
of the world around us.
Bob Finlayson/Newspix
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-4
Attitudes and
Behavior
Organization and
Interpretation
Selective Attention
Perceptual Process Model
Feeling Hearing Seeing Smelling Tasting
Environmental Stimuli
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-5
Selective Attention
Characteristics of the object
size, intensity, motion, repetition, novelty
Perceptual context
Characteristics of the perceiver
attitudes
perceptual defense
expectations -- condition us to expect events
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-6
Perceptual Organization/Interpretation
Categorical thinking
Mostly unconscious process of organizing people/things
Perceptual grouping principles
Closure -- filling in missing pieces
Identifying trends
Similarity or proximity
Mental models
Broad world-views or theories-in-use
Help us to quickly make sense of situations
May block recognition of new opportunities/perspectives
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-7
An Individuals
Social Identity
Oracle Corp.
Employee
Social Identity Theory
Live in the
United States
University of
Massachussetts
Graduate
Employees at
other firms
People living
in other countries
Graduates from
other schools
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-8
Social Identity Theory Features
Categorization process
compare characteristics of our groups with other
groups
Homogenization process
similar traits within a group; different traits across
groups
Differentiation process
develop less favorable images of people in groups
other than our own
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-9
Stereotyping & Social Identity in Engineering
Women are underrepresented
in engineering and computer
science partly because:
Social identity
Women dislike the geek
stereotype of engineers and
computer scientists
Sex role stereotyping
Women discouraged from
becoming engineers
Prejudice
Still some bias against
female engineering students
Mel Melcon/ Los Angeles Times
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-10
Stereotyping
Process of assigning traits
to people based on their
membership in a social
category
Categorical thinking
Strong need to understand
and anticipate others
behavior
Enhances our self-perception
and social identity
Mel Melcon/ Los Angeles Times
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-11
Minimizing Stereotyping Biases
Diversity awareness training
Educate employees about the benefits of
diversity and dispel myths
Meaningful interaction
Contact hypothesis
Decision-making accountability
Making people accountable for their decisions
motivates them to consider objective info rather
than stereotypes
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-12
Attribution Process
Internal Attribution
Perception that persons behavior is due to
motivation/ability rather than situation or fate
External Attribution
Perception that behavior is due to situation or fate
rather than the person
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-13
Rules of Attribution
External Attribution
Frequently

Consistency

Seldom
Internal Attribution
Frequently

Distinctiveness

Seldom
Seldom

Consensus

Frequently
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-14
Attribution Errors
Fundamental Attribution Error
attributing own actions to external factors and
others actions to internal factors
Self-Serving Bias
attributing our successes to internal factors and our
failures to external factors
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-15
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Cycle
Supervisor
forms
expectations
Expectations
affect supervisors
behavior
Supervisors
behavior affects
employee
Employees
behavior matches
expectations
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-16
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Contingencies
Self-fulfilling prophecy effect is strongest:
1. At the beginning of the relationship (e.g. employee
joins the team)
2. When several people have similar expectations
about the person
3. When the employee has low rather than high past
achievement
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-17
Other Perceptual Errors
Primacy
first impressions
Recency
most recent information dominates perceptions
Halo
one trait forms a general impression
Projection
believe other people do the same things or have the
same attitudes as you
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-18
Improving Perceptions
Empathy
Sensitivity to the feelings, thoughts, and situation of
others
Cognitive and emotional component
Self-awareness
Awareness of your values, beliefs and prejudices
Applying Johari Window
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-19
Known to Self Unknown to Self
Known
to Others
Unknown
to Others
Open
Area
Blind
Area
Unknown
Area
Hidden
Area
Know Yourself (Johari Window)
Open
Area
Blind
Area
Hidden
Area
Unknown
Area
Disclosure
Feedback
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-20
Definition of Learning
A relatively permanent change in behavior
(or behavior tendency) that occurs as a
result of a persons interaction with the
environment
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-21
Learning and Behavior
Learning affected behavior through three MARS
model elements:
Ability -- learning increases skills and knowledge
Role perceptions -- learning clarifies roles and
priorities
Motivation -- learning is necessary for some need
fulfillment
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-22
Behavior Modification
We operate on the environment
alter behavior to maximize positive and minimize
adverse consequences
Learning is viewed as completely dependent on
the environment
Human thoughts are viewed as unimportant
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-23
A-B-Cs of Behavior Modification
Consequences

What happens
after behavior
Co-workers
thank
operator
Example
Behavior

What person
says or does
Machine
operator turns
off power
Antecedents

What happens
before behavior
Warning
light
flashes
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-24
Contingencies of Reinforcement
Behavior
increases/
maintained
Behavior
decreases
Consequence
is introduced
Consequence
is removed
Punishment
Positive
reinforcement
Extinction Punishment
Negative
reinforcement
No
consequence
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-25
Schedules of Reinforcement
behaviors
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Continuous
Fixed ratio
Variable ratio
Fixed interval
Time (Days)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Variable interval
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-26
Behavior Modification in Practice
Behavior modification is used in:
every day life to influence behavior of others
company programs to reduce absenteeism, improve
safety, etc.
Behavior modification problems include:
Reward inflation
Ethical concern that variable ratio schedule is a lottery
Behaviorist philosophy vs. learning through mental
processes
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-27
Social Learning Theory
Behavioral modeling
Observing and modeling behavior of others
Learning behavior consequences
Observing consequences that others
experience
Self-reinforcement
Reinforcing our own behavior with
consequences within our control
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-28
Concrete
experience
Reflective
observation
Abstract
conceptualization
Active
experimentation
Kolbs Experiential Learning Model
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-29
Developing a Learning Orientation
Value the generation of new knowledge
Reward experimentation
Recognize mistakes as part of learning
Encourage employees to take reasonable risks

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Slide 3-30
Action Learning
Experiential learning in which employees,
usually in teams, investigate and apply solutions
to a situation that is both real and complex, with
immediate relevance to the company
Concrete experience
Learning meetings
Team conceptualizes and applies a solution to a
problem
McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
3
Perception and Learning in
Organizations