Perception is important in OB since behaviour is based on a person s perception of what s real

Transcription

1 Chapter 2 Perception, Personality, Emotions Define Perception: The process by which individuals select, organize, and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment o Often disagreeing about what is real matter of perception Perception is important in OB since behaviour is based on a person s perception of what s real Individuals may look at the same thing and have different perspectives o This is because multiple things effect perception The perceiver When an ind. (perceiver) looks at something (target) and tries to interpret what they see, the interpretation is heavily influenced by the perceiver s personality traits IE buying a new car and then noticing your car everywhere We often interpret other s behaviors based on our own characteristics. o Upbeat people will see others as upbeat as well o Dishonest people will suspect others are dishonest too Expectations will also distort our perceptions we see what we want to see The target The target s characteristics may also alter what is perceived IE loud people in a group of quiet people, or extremely attractive/unattractive people Relationships of a target to other items will alter perception, such as: o Its background o Timing o Physically close objects o Groups or teams o Two occurrences happening at the same time o People who share characteristics such as women, people who are black, etc. The situation Context o Surrounding elements, such as shorts / t-shirt in a work environment o Timing, such as your boss being in town Errors that distort perception to follow:

2 Attribution theory We judge people differently, based on what we attribute the cause to a given behaviour with o We try to determine if the person is responsible for their behaviour or not Internally caused behavior means the person chose to act that way Externally caused behaviour means that they did not have control to act that way, and we forced to act that way o Eg. If someone is late for a meeting you try to determine if the lateness was their choice or not Internal: partied too hard last night External: bad car accident on the highway Rules for determining attribution 1. Distinctiveness A behavioural rule that asks whether an individual acts similarly across a variety of situations 2. Consensus - A behavioural rule that asks if everyone faced with a similar situation responds in the same way 3. Consistency - A behavioural rule that asks whether the individual has been acting in the same way over time How Attributions Get Distorted There are errors or biases that distort attributions: 1. Fundamental attribution error - The tendency to underestimate the influence of external factors and overestimate the influence of internal factors when making judgments about the behaviour of others 2. Self-serving bias - The tendency for individuals to attribute their own successes to internal factors while putting the blame for failures on external factors. Selective theory People s selective interpretation of what they see based on their interests, background, experience, and attitudes (Explains the noticing your new car thing) We cannot absorb everything we see o The things we choose to see are selectively chosen Allows us to speed read others but does not give us an accurate picture Halo Effect Drawing a general impression of an individual on the basis of a single characteristic such as intelligence or appearances Typically occurs when the perceiver is judging traits that they have limited experience with

3 Contrast Effects Our reaction to one person is often influenced by other people we have recently encountered Projection Attributing one s own characteristics to other people Stereotyping Judging someone on the basis of one s perception of the group to which that person belongs The problem is when we unclearly stereotype Prejudice Define Prejudge: An unfounded dislike of a person or group based on their belonging to a particular stereotyped group Generally starts with stereotypes and then has a negative emotional content added o Employees will more likely hire candidates that remind them of themselves Self-Fulfilling Prophecy A concept that proposes a person will behave in ways consistent with how he or she is perceived by others What is Personality? The stable patterns of behaviour and consistent internal states that determine how an individual reacts to and interacts with others o Described in terms of measurable traits that a person exhibits Personality Determinants Combination of hereditary and environmental factors, combined with moderated by situational conditions o If our personality was simply hereditary that would mean no amount of environmental factors would change our personalities (ereditary sets our outer limits o Environmental includes the culture we were brought up in An individuals full potential will be determines by how well he or she adjusts to the demands and requirements of the environment o Situational factors will determine how an individual will act therefore you should not look at personality patterns in isolation Personality traits Enduring characteristics that describe an individual s behaviour o Eg. Shy, aggressive, lazy, loyal, etc. o A recent study shows that certain personality traits are common across cultures o Myers-Briggs Type )ndicator and the Big Five Model, are two methods used to determine personality traits Our personality traits are different when evaluated by different people o Due to perception

4 The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator A personality test that taps four characteristics and classifies people into 1 of 16 personality types o 100 question personality test o Classifies people based on: 1. How people focus themselves: inside (introversion) or outside (extraversion) 2. How people gather information: very systematically (sensing) or relying on intuition (intuiting) 3. How people prefer to make decisions: objectively and impersonally (thinking) or subjectively and interpersonally (feeling) 4. How people order their daily lives: being decisive and planned (judging) or spontaneous and flexible (perceiving) Some examples of the MBTI Personality types are: o INTJs are visionaries. They usually have original minds and great drive for their own ideas and purposes. They are characterized as skeptical, critical, independent, determined, and often stubborn. o ESTJs are organizers. They are realistic, logical, analytical, decisive, and have a natural head for business or mechanics. They like to organize and run activities. o ENTPs are conceptualizers. They are innovative, individualistic, versatile, and attracted to entrepreneurial ideas. They tend to be resourceful in solving challenging problems but may neglect routine assignments. The Big Five Model The big Five personality factors are: 1. Extraversion. This dimension captures a person s comfort level with relationships. Extraverted individuals are sociable, talkative, and assertive. 2. Agreeableness. This dimension refers to how readily a person will go along with others. Highly agreeable people are goodnatured, cooperative, warm, and trusting. 3. Conscientiousness. This dimension is a measure of a person s reliability. People who score high on conscientiousness are responsible, dependable, persistent, and achievement-oriented. 4. Emotional stability. This dimension taps a person s ability to withstand stress. People high on emotional stability are calm, selfconfident, and secure. 5. Openness to experience. The final dimension addresses a person s range of interests and fascination with novelty. People high on openness to experience are imaginative, artistically sensitive, and intellectual. Research shows that there is connection between these personality dimensions and job performance

5 All of the Big Five factors have been found to have at least some relationship to performance in some situations Evidence finds a relatively strong and consistent relationship between conscientiousness and organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB). o This seems to be the only personality dimension that predicts OCB Major Personality Attributes Influencing OB Specific personality attributes have been found to be powerful predictors of behaviour in organizations Locus of Control Locus of control - The degree to which in individual believes they are in control of their own fates The categories of locus of control are: o Internals - Individuals who believe that they control their destinies o Externals - Individuals who believe that their lives are controlled by outside forces, such as luck or chance Managers must be more aware of obstacles facing employees who have an external locus of control and do what they can to remove the obstacle Machiavellianism The degree to which an individual is pragmatic, maintains emotional distance, and believes that ends can justify means o )f it works, use it Research indicated that high or low-mach personalities can relate to certain

6 behavioural outcomes o (igh Mach s manipulate more, win more, are persuaded less, and persuade others more than do low Mach s o It has been found that (igh Mach s flourish: 1. When they interact face to face with others rather than indirectly 2. When the situation has a minimum number of rules and regulations, thus allowing latitude for improvisation 3. When low Mach s get distracted by emotional involvement with details irrelevant to winning o Whether or not a Mach flourishes depends on the type of job Self-Esteem The degree to which individuals like or dislike themselves Is directly related to expectations for success Self-Monitoring A personality trait that measures an individual s ability to adjust behaviour to external, situational factors. o High SM shows the ability to adjust and adapt one s behaviour to the situations Highly sensitive to external cues o Low SMs tend to display their true dispositions and attitudes in every situation Risk-Taking A person s willingness to take chances or risks Shown to have an impact on how long it takes for managers to make a decision and how much information they need before making it o Interestingly, the decision accuracy for both high and low risk takers are about equal Type A and Type B Personalities Define Type A - A personality with aggressive involvement in a chronic, incessant struggle to achieve more and more in less and less time and, if necessary, against the opposing efforts of other things or other people o In North American culture, Type As tend to be highly prized and positively associated with ambition and the successful acquisition of material goods

7 o Typical Characteristics of Type As Are always moving, walking, and eating rapidly Feel impatient with the rate at which most events take place Strive to think or do two or more things at once Cannot cope with leisure time Are obsessed with numbers, measuring their success in terms of how many or how much of everything they acquire o Emphasize quantity over quality o Stressed and are rarely creative o Rely on past experiences to make decisions, no time to come up with new ideas o Predictable o Typically sales people Define Type B - Rarely harried by the desire to obtain a wildly increasing number of things or participate in an endless growing series of events in an ever-decreasing amount of time o Typical Characteristics of Type Bs Never suffer from a sense of time urgency with its accompanying impatience Feel no need to display or discuss either their achievements or accomplishments unless such exposure is demanded by the situation Play for fun and relaxation, rather than to exhibit their superiority at any cost Can relax without guilt o Typically CEOs o Can handle complex situations without health concerns Proactive Personality A person who identifies opportunities, shows initiative, takes action, and perseveres until meaningful change occurs o They create positive change in their environment, regardless or even in spite of constraints or obstacles Proactive people are likely to challenge the status quo or voice their displeasure when situations are not to their liking o Good when an organization requires entrepreneurs o HOWEVER they are more likely to leave and start their own company More likely to achieve career success Personality and National Culture Locus of control o Eg in NA we mostly believe we are in control, however in the ME it is the normal to assume life is preordained o Consequently, there will be more internals in NA Emotions Only recently had emotions been considered a part of OB

8 o That is excluding being so angry that it impairs your ability to work No OB study can be comprehensive without considering emotions What are emotions? Define Emotions - Intense feelings that are directed at someone or something o Reactions to an object o Not lasting personality traits Define Moods - Feelings that tend to be less intense than emotions and that lack a contextual stimulus o Not related to an object Research has identified six universal emotions: 1. Happiness 2. Surprise 3. Fear 4. Sadness 5. Anger 6. Disgust o Researchers looked for universal distinguishable facial expressions and converted them into these categories Other emotions that cannot be readily identified by these six are consider subsets of these Choosing Emotions: Emotional Labor Define Emotional Labor - When an employee expresses organizationally desired emotions during interpersonal interactions Although can have positive implications in the workplace, it can also have negative personal consequences when a person constantly hides their emotions behind a work face Why Should We Care About Emotions in the Workplace? People who know their own emotions and are good at reading others emotions may be more effective in their jobs o Emotional Intelligence Groups whose leaders had a positive mood also found it easier to coordinate tasks, and expended less effort when doing their work Emotional Intelligence Define Emotional Intelligence - An assortment of non-cognitive skills, capabilities, and competencies that influence a person s ability to succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressures. Composed of Five Dimensions 1. Self-awareness - Being aware of what you are feeling. It is exhibited by self-confidence, realistic self-assessment, and a self-deprecating sense of humor 2. Self-management - The ability to manage your own emotions and impulses. It is exhibited by trustworthiness and integrity, comfort with ambiguity, and openness to change

9 3. Self-motivation - The ability to persist in the face of setbacks and failures. It is exhibited by a strong drive to achieve, optimism, and high organizational commitment 4. Empathy - The ability to sense how others are feeling. It is exhibited by expertise in building and retaining talent, cross-cultural sensitivity, and service to clients and customers 5. Social skills - The ability to handle the emotions of others. It is exhibited by persuasiveness, and expertise in building and leading groups and teams EI is a personality trait while emotional labor is considered a job requirement o According to studies, people will high EI were 2.6 times more likely than those who did not Negative Workplace Emotions Define employee deviance Voluntary actions that violate established norms and threaten the organization, its members, or both. Four categories: 1. Production - leaving early, intentionally working slowly 2. Property - stealing, sabotage 3. Political - gossiping, blaming co-workers 4. Personal aggression - sexual harassment, verbal abuse Typically traced to negative emotions