Perception and Learning in Organisations McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 1

Improving Perceptions and Global Mindset at IBM IBM New Zealand information technology architect Mike Goddard (shown) and other IBM employees worldwide are developing their empathy, cultural sensitivity, and a global mindset by working on community development projects in Tanzania and other developing nations. McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 2

Perception Defined  The process of receiving information about and making sense of the world around us Deciding which information to notice How to categorise this information How to interpret information within our existing knowledge framework McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e 3 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Selective Attention  Objects characteristics size, intensity, motion, repetition, novelty  Perceiver characteristics Emotional marker process Expectations Self-concept and beliefs  Confirmation bias Screen out information contrary to our beliefs/values McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e 4 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Perceptual Organisation/Interpretation  Categorical thinking Mostly nonconscious process of organising people/things  Perceptual grouping principles Similarity or proximity Closure – filling in missing pieces Perceiving trends  Interpreting incoming information Emotional markers automatically evaluate information McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 5

Mental Models in Perceptions  Broad world-views or ‘theories-in-use’  Help us to quickly make sense of situations Fill in missing pieces Help to predict events  Problem with mental models: May block recognition of new opportunities/perspectives McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e 6 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

“Your Name Says It All in France” Hamid Senni (see photo) wears a shirt and tie whenever he strolls along the Champs Elysées in Paris. The reason for this formality? “If I'm in jeans, people think I'm a shoplifter,” says Senni, who was born and raised in France. McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 7 Hamid Senni

Social Perception and Social Identity Categorisation process Compare characteristics of our groups with other groups Homogenisation process Similar traits within a group; different traits across groups Differentiation process Develop less favourable images of people in groups other than our own McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 8 Hamid Senni

Stereotyping  Assigning traits to people based on their membership in a social category  Occurs due to: Categorical thinking Innate drive to understand and anticipate others’ behaviour Enhances our self-concept McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e 9 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Stereotyping Issues  Stereotyping Problems Overgeneralises – doesn’t represent everyone in the category Basis of systemic and intentional discrimination  Overcoming stereotype biases Difficult to prevent stereotype activation Possible to minimise stereotype application McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e 10 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Attribution Process McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 11 Perception that behaviour is caused by the individual’s own motivation or ability Internal attribution External attribution Perception that behaviour is caused by situation or fate – beyond the individual’s control

Rules of Attribution External attribution FrequentlyConsistencySeldom Internal attribution FrequentlyDistinctivenessSeldomSeldomConsensusFrequently McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e 12 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Attribution Errors  Fundamental Attribution Error Attributing own actions to external factors and others’ actions to internal factors  Self-Serving Bias Attributing our successes to internal factors and our failures to external factors McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e 13 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Cycle Supervisorformsexpectations Expectations affect supervisor’s behaviour Supervisor’s behaviour affects employee Employee’s behaviour matches expectations McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e 14 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Effect is Strongest... ...at the beginning of the relationship (eg. when employee joins the team) ...when several people have similar expectations about the person ...when the employee has low rather than high past achievement McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 15

Other Perceptual Errors  Halo effect One trait forms a general impression  Primacy effect First impressions  Recency effect Most recent information dominates perceptions  False-consensus effect Overestimates the extent to which others have beliefs and characteristics similar to our own McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 16

Meaningful Interaction at Air New Zealand Every month, Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe and his top executive team fill the roster as flight attendants, check-in counter staff, or baggage handlers. These meaningful interactions improve perceptions between employees and executives who work alongside these employees. McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 17 Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe

Strategies to Improve Perceptions 1. Awareness of perceptual biases 2. Improving self-awareness Apply Johari Window 3. Meaningful interaction Close, frequent interaction toward a shared goal Equal status Engaged in a meaningful task McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 18 Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe

Known to self Unknown to self Known to others Unknown to others OpenAreaBlindArea UnknownArea HiddenArea Know Yourself (Johari Window) OpenareaBlindarea HiddenareaUnknownarea Disclosure Feedback McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e 19 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Definition of Learning A relatively permanent change in behaviour (or behaviour tendency) that occurs as a result of a person’s interaction with the environment. McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e 20 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Explicit vs. Tacit Knowledge  Explicit knowledge Knowledge that is articulated through language, such as documents  Tacit knowledge Knowledge acquired through observation and direct experience McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e 21 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Behaviour Modification  We ‘operate’ on the environment Alter behaviour to maximise positive and minimise adverse consequences  Learning is viewed as completely dependent on the environment  Human thoughts are viewed as unimportant McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e 22 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

A-B-Cs of Behaviour Modification Consequences What happens after the behaviour Co-workersthankoperator Example Behaviour What the person says or does Machine operator turns off power Antecedents What happens before the behaviour Warninglightflashes

Contingencies of Reinforcement Behaviour increases/ maintained Behaviour decreases Consequence is introduced Consequence is removed Punishment Positivereinforcement ExtinctionPunishment Negativereinforcement No consequence McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e 24 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Reinforcing the Healthy Walk The British municipality of Stoke- on-Kent, Staffordshire, issued pedometers to its staff (see photo) and encouraged them to develop a regimen of daily walking. The pedometers provide instant feedback, thereby reinforcing longer walks. The city also introduced support groups to further encourage people to walk regularly. McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 25 Stoke-on-Trent employees

Behaviour Modification in Practice  Behaviour modification is used in: every day life to influence behaviour of others company programs to reduce absenteeism, improve safety, etc.  Behaviour modification problems include: Reward inflation Behaviourist philosophy vs. learning through mental processes McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 26 Stoke-on-Trent employees

Social Learning Theory  Behavioural modelling Observing and modelling behaviour of others  Learning behaviour consequences Observing consequences that others experience  Self-reinforcement Reinforcing our own behaviour with consequences within our control McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e 27 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Learning Through Experience  Most tacit knowledge and skills are acquired through experience and observation  Experiential learning steps Engagement with environment Reflecting on experience Experimenting McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e 28 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Developing a Learning Orientation  Value continuous learning  Reward experimentation  Recognise mistakes as part of learning  Encourage employees to question mental models and assumptions McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e 29 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Organisational Learning  Knowledge acquisition Extracting information and ideas from the external environment as well as through insight  Knowledge sharing Distributing knowledge to others across the organisation  Knowledge use Applying knowledge in ways that adds value to the organisation and its stakeholders McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e 30 © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

Perception and Learning in Organisations McShane-Olekalns-Travaglione OB Pacific Rim 3e © 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved 31