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Chapter Review Assignment

Chapter 5 - Perception and Individual Decision Making

5-1 What are the factors that influence our perception?

Factors that influence our perception are factors in the perceiver, factors in the situation and factors in
the target. Factors in the perceiver indicates characteristics of the perceiver which include attitudes,
motives, interests, experiences and expectations. Factors in the situation is the characteristics of
situation’s setting which include time, work setting and social setting. Factors in the target indicates
characteristics in the target is being observed which include novelty, motion, sounds, size, background,
proximity and similarity.

5-2 What is attribution theory?

Attribution theory suggest that when we observe an individual’s behavior, we attempt to determine
whether it was internally or externally caused. Base on attribution theory, internally caused behavior is
behavior under personal control of individual while externally caused behavior is behavior forced by
situation. The determination of internally or externally caused are depends on three factors which are
distinctiveness, consensus and consistency. Distinctiveness measure whether individual shows different
behavior in different situations, consensus measure whether everyone who faces similar situation
responds in the same way, and consistency measure whether individual responds in the same way over
time.

5-3 What is the link between perception and decision making?

Perception is a process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions to give
meaning to their environment, while decision making occurs as a reaction to a problem. When a problem
exists, individuals have to make decisions by choosing from two or more alternatives. The way individuals
make decisions and the quality of their choices are largely influenced by their perceptions. Every decision
made requires the interpretation and evaluation of information. In the process of interpreting and
evaluating the information received, individuals have to decide which one is relevant to the decision and
evaluate strengths and weaknesses of every alternative, these are highly influenced by the perceptions of
the individuals. Finally, throughout the entire decision process, perceptual distortions often surface that
have the potential to bias analysis and conclusions.

5-4 How is the rational model of decision making different from bounded rationality and intuition?

Rational model is a decision-making model that describes how individuals should behave in order to
maximize some outcomes, while bounded rationality is a model which individuals make decisions by
constructing simplified models that extract the essential features from problems without capturing all
their complexity. Lastly, intuition decision-making model occurs outside conscious thought, it relies on
holistic associations or links between disparate pieces of information. Intuitive decision making is fast and
affectively charged which means it usually engages the emotions. The rational decision maker will choose
the alternative that yields the highest perceived value, bounded rationality decision maker will choose
alternative that depart the least from the status quo, and intuitive decision maker tend to make decision
rapidly even though there is only very limited information.
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Tutorial slot: Wednesday 11am-12pm

5-5 How do individual differences and organization constraints influence decision making?

Individual differences such as personality, gender, mental ability and cultural differences can creates
deviations in decision making. Escalation of commitment differs based on individuals’ personality,
achievement-oriented individuals hate to fail, so they escalate their commitment, hoping to forestall
failure while dutiful people inclined to do what they see as best for the organization, so they are less likely
to escalate their commitment. Organizations can constrain decision makers, creating deviations from the
rational model. For instance, managers shape decisions to reflect the organization’s performance
evaluation and reward systems, to comply with formal regulations, and to meet organizationally imposed
time constraints. Previous organizational decisions also act as precedents to constrain current decision.

5-6 What are the three ethical decision criteria, and how do they differ?

Three ethical decision criteria are utilitarianism, focus on rights and focus on justice. Utilitarianism is a
system in which decisions are made to provide the greatest good for the greatest number, decisions are
made solely on the basis of their outcomes or consequences. A focus on utilitarianism promotes efficiency
and productivity, but it can result in ignoring the rights of the minority in the organization. Focus on rights
calls on individuals to make decisions consistent with fundamental liberties and privileges as set forth in
documents such as the Bill of Rights. This criteria emphasis respecting and protecting the basic rights of
individuals, such as the right to privacy, free speech, and due process but it can create an overly legalistic
work environment that hinders productivity and efficiency. Focus on justice requires individuals to impose
and enforce rules fairly and impartially so that there is an equitable distribution of benefits and costs. This
criterion protects the interests of the underrepresented and less powerful, but it can encourage a sense
of entitlement that reduces risk taking, innovation, and productivity.

5-7 What are the parts of three-stage model of creativity?

Three-stage model of creativity suggests that creativity involves three stages. First stage is causes of
creative behavior which include creative potential and creative environment. Second stage is creative
behavior, there are four steps in creative behavior which are problem formulation, information gathering,
idea generation and idea evaluation. Creative behavior begins with problem formulation which is a
process identifying a problem or opportunity that requires a solution as yet unknown, information
gathering is the second stage of creative behavior in which the possible solutions to a problem incubate
in an individual’s mind. Follow by idea generation, the third steps in creative behavior that involves
developing possible solutions to a problem from relevant information and knowledge, and continue with
idea evaluation, the final steps of creative behavior which involving the evaluation of potential solutions
to problems to identify the best one. After creative behavior, the final stage of three-stage model is
creative outcomes where the outcomes is then be define based on its novelty and usefulness.