Leadership and Organization

Behavior
Course Code: MGT-537
Class: Mba III-IV
By: Hina Shahab
Assistant Professor
NUML, Management Sciences Dept.
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 Lecture 2 Outline
1. Perception
2. Factors influencing perception
3. Attribution Theory
4. Perception Errors
5. Improving perceptual accuracy
6. Personality
7. Personality determinants
8. Personality Traits
9. Achieving Person-Job Fit
10. Values and their Importance
11. Value Integration
12. Case Study

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Perception
What Is Perception?
A process by which individuals organize and
interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning
to their environment.
 Perception is the process of receiving information about and
making sense of the world around us. It involves deciding
which information to notice, how to categorize this
information and how to interpret it within the framework of
existing knowledge.
Why Is it Important?
– Because people’s behavior is based on their perception of
“what reality is, not on reality itself”
– The world as it is perceived is the world that is behaviorally
important.
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 Cont…
• We study this topic to better understand how
people make attributions about events.
We don’t see reality. We interpret what we see
and call it reality.
• The attribution process guides our behavior,
regardless of the truth of the attribution.
Seeing is Being or Being is seeing?

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 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
behavior. Thus, people’s 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

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Perceptual Process Model

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 Factors Influencing Perception
• The Perceiver: Perception influenced by person’s values,
attitudes, past experiences, needs, personality
• The Target: Contrast, intensity, figure-ground separation, size,
motion, repetition, novelty
• The Situation: Physical, social, organizational context

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Figure Ground Illustration

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Young /Old woman illusion

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 Law of Perceptual Grouping
• 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.
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 Figure Ground Principle
The tendency to keep certain phenomena in focus and other phenomena in background

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Attribution Theory

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Attribution Model

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Attribution Errors

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Factors affecting perception

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 Cont….
• Selective Perception – People selectively interpret what they see
based on their interests, background, experience, and attitudes.
• Halo Effect – Drawing a general impression about an individual based
on a single characteristic.
• Contrast Effects – A person’s evaluation is affected by comparisons
with other individuals recently encountered.
• Projection – Attributing one’s own characteristics to other people.
• Stereotyping – Judging someone on the basis of your perception of
the group to which that person belongs.
• Prejudice – An unfounded dislike of a person or group based on their
belonging to a particular stereotyped group.
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy – A concept that proposes a person will
behave in ways consistent with how he or she is perceived by
others.

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 Selective Perception
External Factors Internal Factors
• Size • Self-Concept
• Intensity • Beliefs
• Repetition • Expectations
• Novelty and Familiarity • Inner Needs
• Contrast • Response Disposition – A person’s tendency
• Motion to perceive familiar stimuli rather than
unfamiliar ones. Disposition ( a person’s
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.
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Improving Perceptual Accuracy
REQUIRES

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Johari Window; Know Yourself

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What is Personality

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 Personality Determinants
• Which is more influential – Heredity or Environment?
• Some Research suggests Heredity wins.
• Example: Twins raised apart have much in common. One set of
twins – separated for 39 years – raised 45 miles apart – same model
and color car – chain smoked same brand of cigarette – owned dogs
with the same name – regularly vacationed at the same beach
1,500 miles away.
• Researchers say Genetics accounts for 50% of the personality
similarities between twins and more than 30% of the similarities in
occupational and leisure interests.
• Example: The personalities of identical twins raised in different
households are more similar to each other than to the personalities
of siblings with whom the twins were raised.

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 Determinants of Personality

• Heredity Approach
• Environmental Approach
- Cultural factors:
- Social factors
- Situational factors

• Heredity: Establishes the limits of

one's personality traits

• Environment: Influences its actual

development

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 Behavior is a function of
(Personality & Environment)

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 Personality Traits
• Enduring characteristics that describe an individual’s behavior
– The more consistent the characteristic and the more
frequently it occurs in diverse situations, the more important
the trait, the more important it is in describing the individual.
• Permanent characteristics describe an individual’s behavior:
shy, lazy, ambitious, stubborn.
• Traits are powerful predictors of behavior.
• Two dominant frameworks used to describe personality:
– Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®)
– Big Five Model

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MBTI 16 Personality Types

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Occupational Trends By these types

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Application of MBTI

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Big Five Personalities

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 Cont….
• An impressive body of research supports this model. The Big 5 Factors are:
1. EXTRAVERSION – Captures our comfort level with relationships.
- Extraverts – assertive, sociable--------------------Introverts – Quiet, shy.
2. AGREEABLENESS – An individual’s propensity to DEFER to (not DIFFER with)
others. ( How does DEFER DIFFER FROM DIFFER )
-High - Cooperative, warm, trusting--------------------Low - cold, antagonistic.
3. CONSCIENTIOUSNESS : This dimension is a measure of reliability.
-High – Responsible, Organized, Dependable and Persistent-------------Low -
Easily distracted, disorganized and unreliable.
4. EMOTIONAL STABILITY – A person’s ability to withstand stress.
-High- Calm, Confident, Secure---------------------------Low –Nervous, Anxious,
Depressed, Insecure.
5. OPENNESS TO EXPERIENCE: Addresses range of interests and fascination with
novelty.
-High – Creative, Curious, Artistically sensitive-----------------Low – Conventional,
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Find comfort in the familiar.
Predict Work Behavior

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Other Important Personality traits

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 CORE SELF EVALUATION
• 1. CORE SELF EVALUATION : The degree to which an
individual likes or dislikes herself, whether the person
sees herself as capable and effective, and whether the
person feels in control of his or her environment or
powerless over the environment.
• People with high Core self evaluation perform better at
jobs because they set more ambitious goals, are more
committed to their goals, and persist longer.
• Critical in professions like Sales and Life insurance. 90%
of life insurance sales calls end in rejection, so an agent
has to believe in herself to persist.

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Core Self Evaluation: Two Components

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 MACHIAVELLIANISM
• MACHIAVELLIANISM : The degree to which an individual is pragmatic,
maintains emotional distance, and believes that ends can justify means.
• “If it works, use it” – High Mach perspective. Eg. Ali is a young bank manager
3 promotions in the past 4 years – uses aggressive tactics – not apologetic for
it – “I am prepared to do whatever I have to do to get ahead”.
• High Machs manipulate more, win more, are persuaded less, and persuade
others more than do low Machs. High Machs like their jobs less, are more
stressed by their work and engage In more deviant work behaviors.
• High Machs flourish when
1. They interact face to face with others rather than indirectly.
2. Minimum number of rules and regulations, allowing for improvisation
3. When low machs are distracted by emotional involvement with details
irrelevant to winning.

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 NARCISSISM
• NARCISSISM : The tendency to be arrogant, have a grandiose sense
of self importance, require excessive admiration, and have a sense
of entitilement.
• Eg. Sameer likes to be the center of attraction. He looks at himself
in the mirror a lot, has extravagant dreams, and considers himself a
person of many talents.
• A study found that while narcissists thought they were better
leaders than their colleagues, their supervisors actually rated them
as worse.
• Eg. An Oracle executive described CEO Larry Ellison – “The
difference between God and Larry is that God does not believe he is
Larry”
• Treat others as if they were inferior.
• Tend to be selfish, exploitative.
• Rated as less effective at their jobs than others.

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 SELF MONITORING
• SELF MONITORING : A Personality trait that
measures an individual’s ability to adjust his or her
behavior to external, situational factors.
• Eg. Shehla is competent, hard working, productive,
but gets very average appraisals. Her bosses are
irritated with her.
• She is unable to change her behavior to fit
changing situations.
• She is a LOW SELF MONITOR.
• HIGH SELF MONITORS – Pay close attention
to behavior of others, more capable of conforming.
Receive better performance ratings, more likely to
become leaders, show less commitment to
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organization.
RISK TAKING

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TYPE A & B PERSONALITY

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 Self Esteem
• Individuals’ degree of liking or disliking of themselves.
• Branden’s Six Pillars of Self-Esteem
1. Living consciously: Be aware of everything that affects your values and
goals, and act with awareness.
2. Self-acceptance: Accept who you are without criticism and judgment.
3. Personal responsibility: Take responsibility for the decisions you make and
the things you do.
4. Self-assertiveness: Honor your wants, needs, and values, and don’t be
afraid to speak up for things that are important to you.
5. Living purposefully: Develop short- and long-term goals, and make realistic
plans to achieve your goals.
6. Personal integrity: Live up to your word and your values.

Source: Adapted from N. Branden, Self-Esteem at Work: How Confident People Make Powerful
Companies (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998), pp. 33-36).
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 PROACTIVE PERSONALITY
• PROACTIVE PERSONALITY : People
who identify opportunities, show
initiative, take action, and persevere
until meaningful change occurs.
• Overcome obstacles, constraints.
• Leaders, change agents.
• More likely than others to achieve
career success.
• More likely to become
Entrepreneurs

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Achieving the Person-Job Fit

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 Values
Definition: Mode of conduct or end state is
• personally or socially preferable (i.e., what is right & good)
– Terminal Values: Desirable End States
– Instrumental Values: The ways/means for achieving one’s terminal values
Value System: A hierarchy based on a ranking of an individual’s values in
terms of their intensity.
• Note: Values Vary by Cohort
Importance of Values
• Provide understanding of the attitudes,
• motivation, and behaviors of individuals and cultures.
• Influence our perception of the world around us.
• Represent interpretations of “right” and “wrong.”
• Imply that some behaviors or outcomes are preferred over others.

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Types of Values – Rokeach Value
Survey

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 Value Integration
Organizational Values Work Values

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 Case Study
• In the new OB project team, two members obviously have different
perceptions on just about everything the team does. KALEEM sees the
project one way; AWAIS sees it differently. They have different perceptions
about team goals, methods, values, and the roles team members should
play. KALEEM gives the impression he wants to be in charge and he argues
aggressively to get his way. AWAIS , who is more reserved, offers
thoughtful ideas in rebuttal, and usually consults with the other group
members for their views and support. Privately, KALEEM bad-mouths
AWAIS to anyone who will listen. He says that he has been on successful
teams many times and knows the best ways to operate the team. He says
that AWAIS is a “control freak” and “the only one on the team holding up
progress.” AWAIS, on the other hand, only conveys his feelings about
KALEEM when team members are present, but he has repeatedly said out
loud, “There are more ways of getting this team started than just yours!
Too bad you have a closed mind!” For the most part, the other team
members perceive AWAIS and KALEEM to have a “personality conflict,”
and they are avoiding getting involved. The team is ineffective so far, and
there’s pressure to get the team on track because of the impending class
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assignment deadline.
 Assignment
• Agree on answers to the following questions, and then report
back on your group’s conclusions. Time: 30 minutes.
Q.1 – What main factors may account for the different perceptions held by
KAREEM and AWAIS?
a) In each perceiver?
b) In the targets?
c) In the current situation?
Q.2 – What are some “short cuts” each may be taking in judging the other?
Are these judgments correct?
Q.3 – To what extent might the current situation be affecting the different
perceptions?
Q.4 – To what extent might each person’s apparent personality be the cause
for the current conflict? Define their respective personalities.
Q.5 – If behavior such as this happens often, how can perceptions be changed
to that people in conflict like KAREEM and AWAIS can reach consensus?
List some ideas.

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