2

Perception and Learning

in Organizations
McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Perception Defined

The process of selecting, organizing,

and interpreting information in order to
make sense of the world around us.

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-2 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Perceptual Process Model

Environmental Stimuli

Feeling Hearing Seeing Smelling Tasting

Selective Attention

Organization and
Interpretation

Attitudes and
Behavior

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-3 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 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 Slide 2-4 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 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 Slide 2-5 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Social Identity Theory
Contrasting Groups

Oracle Corp.
Employee Employees at
other firms

Live in the An Individual’s People living

United States Social Identity in other countries

Graduates from
University of other schools
Massachussetts
Graduate

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-6 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 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 Slide 2-7 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Minimizing Stereotyping Biases

• Diversity awareness training

• Meaningful interaction
• Decision-making accountability

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-8 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Cycle

Supervisor
forms
expectations

Employee’s Expectations
behavior matches affect supervisor’s
expectations behavior

Supervisor’s
behavior affects
employee

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-9 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 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 Slide 2-10 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 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 Slide 2-11 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Know Yourself (Johari Window)
Feedback

Known to Self Unknown to Self

Known
to Others Open
Area Open Blind
Disclosure Area Blind
Area Area

Hidden
Area Unknown
Hidden Unknown
Area
Unknown Area Area
to Others

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-12 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model

Concrete
experience

Active Reflective
experimentation observation

Abstract
conceptualization

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-13 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 2

Workplace Emotions, Attitudes, and

Stress
McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Emotions Defined
• Psychological, behavioral, and
physiological episodes experienced
toward an object, person, or event
that create a state of readiness.

• Most emotions occur without our

awareness

• Two features of all emotions:

– All have some degree of activation

– All have core affect –evaluate that

something is good/bad

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-15 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Traditional Model of Attitudes

• Purely cognitive approach

– Beliefs: established perceptions of attitude object
– Feelings: calculation of good or bad based on beliefs
about the attitude object
– Behavioral intentions: calculated motivation to act in
response to the attitude object
• Problem: Ignores important role of emotions in
shaping attitudes

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-16 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Cognitive Dissonance

• A state of anxiety that occurs when an

individual’s beliefs, feelings and behaviors are
inconsistent with one another
• Most common when behavior is:
– Observed by others
– Done voluntarily
– Can’t be undone

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-17 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Emotional Labor Defined

Effort, planning and control

needed to express
organizationally desired
emotions during interpersonal
transactions.

Higher in job requiring:

– Frequent/lengthy emotion display
– Variety of emotions display
– Intense emotions display

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-18 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Model of Emotional Intelligence

Highest Relationship
Managing other people’s emotions
Management

Perceiving and understanding the

Social Awareness meaning of others’ emotions

Self-management Managing our own emotions

perceiving and understanding the

Self-awareness meaning of your own emotions
Lowest

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-19 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 EVLN: Responses to
Dissatisfaction
• Leaving the situation
Exit • Quitting, transferring

• Changing the situation

Voice • Problem solving, complaining

• Patiently waiting for the situation

Loyalty to improve

• Reducing work effort/quality

Neglect • Increasing absenteeism

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-20 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Job Satisfaction and Performance

Happy workers are somewhat more productive

workers, but:
1. General attitude is a poor predictor of specific
behaviors
2. Reverse explanation: Job performance affects
satisfaction, but only when rewarded
3. Job satisfaction leads to higher performance for those
in complex jobs (more control over output)

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-21 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Job Satisfaction and Customers

Job satisfaction increases customer satisfaction

and profitability because:
- it affects mood, leading to positive behaviors
toward customers
- reduces employee turnover, resulting in more
consistent and familiar service

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-22 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Building (Affective) commitment

• Apply humanitarian values

Justice/
Justice/ Support
Support • Support employee wellbeing

Shared
Shared •• Values
Values congruence
congruence
Values
Values

•• Employees
Employees trust
trust org
org leaders
leaders
Trust
Trust •• Job
Job security
security supports
supports trust
trust

Organizational
Organizational • Know firm’s past/present/future
Comprehension
Comprehension • Open and rapid communication

Employee
Employee • Employees feel part of company
Involvement
Involvement • Involvement demonstrates trust

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-23 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 What is Stress?

• Adaptive response to situations perceived as

challenging or threatening to well-being
• Prepares us to adapt to hostile or noxious
environmental conditions
• Eustress vs. distress

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-24 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 What are Stressors?

• Stressors are the causes of stress -- any

environmental condition that places a physical
or emotional demand on the person.
• Some common workplace stressors include:
– Harassment an incivility
– Work overload
– Low task control

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-25 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Managing Work-Related Stress
 Remove the stressor
• Minimize/remove stressors
• Work/life balance initiatives
 Withdraw from the stressor
• Vacation, rest breaks
 Change stress perceptions
• Positive self-concept, humor
 Control stress consequences
• Healthy lifestyle, fitness, wellness
 Receive social support

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-26 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 2

Foundations of
employee motivation
McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Motivation Defined
• The forces within a
person that affect the
direction, intensity and
persistence of
voluntary behaviour
• Exerting particular
effort level (intensity),
for a certain amount of
time (persistence),
toward a particular goal
(direction)

McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-28 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Needs hierarchy theory
Needs hierarchy
theory
• Maslow arranged five needs
Self-
actualisation
in a hierarchy
• Satisfaction-progression
Esteem
process
Belongingness • People who experience self-
actualisation desire more
Safety
rather than less of this need
Physiological

 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim by McShane and Travaglione
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-29
2
© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 ERG theory

Needs hierarchy ERG

theory theory

Self- • Alderfer’s model

actualisation
Growth
has three sets of
Esteem needs
• Adds frustration-
Belongingness Relatedness
regression process
to Maslow’s model
Safety
Existence
Physiological

 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim by McShane and Travaglione
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-30
3
© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Content theories of motivation
Needs hierarchy ERG Motivatorhygiene McClelland’s
theory theory theory learned needs

Self- Need for

actualisation achievement
Growth Motivators
Need for
Esteem
power

Need for
Belongingness Relatedness
affiliation

Safety Hygienes
Existence
Physiological

 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim by McShane and Travaglione
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-31
3
© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Expectancy theory of motivation

E-to-P P-to-O Outcomes

expectancy expectancy and valences

Outcome 1
+ or -

Outcome 2
Effort Performance + or -

Outcome 3
+ or -

 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim by McShane and Travaglione
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-32
3
© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Expectancy theory in practice

• Increasing E-to-P expectancy

– training, selection, resources, clarify roles, provide
coaching and feedback

• Increasing P-to-O expectancy

– measure performance accurately, explain how
rewards are based on past performance

• Increasing outcome valences

– use valued rewards, individualise rewards, minimise
countervalent outcomes

 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim by McShane and Travaglione
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-33
3
© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Effective goal setting

Specific

Relevant

Challenging
Task Task
effort performance
Commitment

Participation

Feedback

 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim by McShane and Travaglione
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-34
3
© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
 Effect of goal difficulty on performance

High
Task performance

Area of
optimal
goal
difficulty

Low Moderate Challenging Impossible

Goal difficulty
 2003 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd PPTs t/a Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim by McShane and Travaglione
McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 2-35
3
© 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.