Perception And Learning In Organizations

Perception and Learning in Organizations

Regina Peruggi, Back to the Floor

• Regina Peruggi, president of New York’s Central Park Conservancy, got her perceptions back in focus by spending a week working on the front line.

© BBC Photolibrary

Perceptual Process Model Environmental Stimuli Feeling

Hearing

Seeing

Smelling

Selective Attention

Organization and Interpretation Emotions and Behaviors

Tasting

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

Splatter Vision Perception • Fighter pilots, police detectives, and truck drivers use splatter vision -- scanning everything and focusing on nothing. This reduces the chance of screening out potentially important information.

© Corel Corp. Used with permission

Social Identity Theory IBM Employee

Live in U.S.A.

An Individual’s Social Identity

Univ. of Vermont Graduate

Employees at other firms People living in other countries Graduates from other schools

Social Identity Theory Features • Comparative process – define ourselves by differences with others

• Homogenization process – similar traits within a group; different traits across groups

• Contrasting process – develop less favorable images of people in groups other than our own

Sex Role Stereotyping in Engineering • Women are underrepresented in engineering partly because: – Social identity -- few women identify with the “geek” image portrayed of engineers – Sex role stereotyping -women are not encouraged to become engineers because the

Ottawa Citizen

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 selfperception and social identity

Ottawa Citizen

Minimizing Stereotyping Biases • Diversity awareness training – Educate employees about the benefits of diversity and dispel myths

• Meaningful interaction – Contact hypothesis

• Decision-making accountability – Use objective criteria in decisionmaking

Attribution Process • Internal Attribution – Perception that outcomes are due to motivation/ability rather than situation or fate

• External Attribution – Perception that outcomes are due to situation or fate rather than the person

Rules of Attribution Internal Attribution

Frequently

Consistency Distinctiveness Seldom

Seldom

Frequently

Seldom

Consensus Frequently

External Attribution

Attribution Errors • Fundamental Attribution Error – attributing own actions to external factors and other’s actions to internal factors

• Self-Serving Bias – attributing our successes to internal factors and our failures to external factors

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Cycle Supervisor forms expectations

Employee’s behavior matches expectations

Expectations affect supervisor’s behavior

Supervisor’s behavior affects employee

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

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

Know Yourself (Johari Window) Feedback Known to Self Known to Others

Open Area

Disclosure

Unknown to Others

Hidden Area Hidden Area

Open Area

Unknown to Self

Blind Area Blind Area

Unknown Unknown Area Area

Definition of Learning • A relatively permanent change in behavior (or behavior tendency) that occurs as a result of a person’s interaction with the environment

Behavior Modification • We “operate” on the environment – alter behavior to maximize positive and minimize adverse consequences

• Learning is viewed as completely dependent on the environment • Human thoughts are viewed as unimportant

A-B-Cs of Behavior Modification Antecedents

Behavior

Consequences

What happens before behavior

What person says or does

What happens after behavior

Machine operator turns off power

Co-workers thank operator

Example Warning light flashes

Contingencies of Reinforcement Consequence is introduced

No consequence

Behavior Positive increases/ maintained reinforcement

Behavior decreases

Punishment

Consequence is removed Negative reinforcement

Extinction

Punishment

Schedules of Reinforcement Behaviors 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Continuous Fixed ratio Variable ratio Time (Days) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Fixed interval Variable interval

Behavior Modification Limitations • More difficult to apply to conceptual activities • Reward inflation • Ethical concern that variable ratio schedule is a lottery • Behaviorist philosophy vs. learning through mental processes

Social Learning Theory • Behavioral modeling – Observing and modeling behavior of others

• Learning behavior consequences – Observing consequences that others experience

• Self-reinforcement – Reinforcing our own behavior with consequences within our control

Experiential Learning in Warwick, RI

© Bill Murphy/The Providence Journal

• These Warwick, Rhode Island, fire department recruits are recapping an experiential learning exercise in which their task was to control the fire and save victims (dummies lying on the ground in this photo).

Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model Concrete experience

Active experimentation

Reflective observation

Abstract conceptualization

Developing a Learning Orientation • Value the generation of new knowledge • Reward experimentation • Recognize mistakes as part of learning • Encourage employees to take reasonable risks

Action Learning • Experiential learning in which employees are involved in a ‘real, complex and stressful problem’, usually in teams, with immediate relevance to the company – Concrete experience – Learning meetings – Team conceptualizes and applies a solution to a problem