Perception in management

Dr Joan Harvey

Sensation: precedes perception and concerns

the basic senses

vision hearing kinaesthesis

touch smell taste

Perceptual selectivity [a] selective exposure

Framing or perceptual set: the background beliefs and expectations that we use to make judgements

These influence what we choose to see. Set is influenced by: motives, expectations, rewards or punishment, age, personality factors e.g. achievment orientation

[b] selective attention Choosing from what is there to direct our attention

[c] interpretation, categorisation and inference Use LTM to aid interpretation of material: making

judgements; attributing cause and effect So we can predict how people might behave

How do you

perceive this

advert for a job?

Perception to attract attention

Colour, position, relative size etc. E.g. colour changes to indicate a process is

faulty Novel stimuli: logo, white space etc.

E.g. job advertisements Cues to aid recognition

E.g. symbols to guide patients in hospitals Typefaces and imagery

E.g. In memos or emailed instructions

Other issues Ergonomics

Design of equipment Environmental influences Person- machine interface, e.g. How do we perceive

emoticons? Signal detection

Perception of low frequency events Perception of risk

Safety, financial, social, Impression management Personal characteristics of the audience

Self image

Self perception and self image Cognitive, affective and behavioural These three combine to form the self

image More integrated the self image, more

consistent is behaviour Self image can suppress behaviour

that is out of line

Maintaining and stabilising self image Misperception of incoming information

Distort things, e.g. in an interview, to fit with self image Selective interaction:

choose who you sit with or talk to or what you respond to Response evocation:

behaving in a certain way to evoke certain responses from others, e.g. teenagers acting to provoke

Selective evaluation of people E.g. stereotyped judgements about managers or other employees

Selective evaluation of self: e.g. see self as less intelligent or less attractive

Affective congruency Similarities of mood may mean different types of decisions taken

Adopting and playing certain roles E.g. tactics in meetings

Emotion in the workplace Transient, ephemeral so difficult to investigate Strong determinant of behaviour at work:

can influence work productivity, absenteeism, teamworking, Can affect the effectiveness of any social interactions

work, including interviews, meetings, manager-employee communications

Probably 7 main emotions Anger, sadness, disgust, fear, surprise, happiness, contempt Although most emotions are a complex mix of several

Easier to judge other people’s intentions and feelings from facial expressions and NVCs than from what they say

Interpersonal perception emotion case: you and your boss

You are asked to carry out a difficult project This is usually given to more experienced colleagues You feel flattered but worried; emotions include excitement, elation, fear and frustration You complete the project well and feel relieved HOW DO YOU PERCEIVE YOUR BOSS NOW? You tell your boss and show them your work Boss does not thank you, but seeks errors, flaws, limitations You feel resentful and angry, never again put yourself out You also feel shamed and exploited You think about looking for another job You do not volunteer for tasks any more You start to feel sad and disappointed You update your resume and start looking for other jobs HOW DO YOU PERCEIVE YOUR BOSS NOW?

Implications for discussion

Layout of offices Open plan vs separate offices ‚hot desking‘

Interpersonal perception and interaction with people in meetings

Impression management Perceptual mapping Perception of emotion and facial expressions Appraisal

Social perception in action: appraisal

Purposes of appraisal Evaluate current job performance Evaluate future potential Determine whether pay rise is appropriate

Methods of appraisal Interviews Form filling and rating scales 360 degree appraisal

Appraisal: social perception problems & issues

Ratings Impression management issues

E.g. the 2 minute rule, judging from first impressions

Appraiser skills at judging Halo effect [and horns effect] Non-verbal signals Judging people on criteria over which they

have no control Fundamental attribution error

Social perception in action [2]: the interview

Application forms and IM Pre selection judgements and decisions Long list and short list issues

Decreasing ease as reasons to reject disappear Positive to negative to positive set

The interview itself Selection decisions

Thank you for your attention

Drs Joan Harvey and George Erdos Newcastle University