Unit 2 Written Assignment, University of the People
Perception is a subtle, personal view of one’s self in context with the environment. Much of our upbringing influences the way we see and observe things that affect our interpretation, meaning, and judgment. As training is developmental in nature, we can develop or shape our perception to be as objective, unbiased, and progressive as we would want.
In the organizational context, our perception affects how we communicate among ourselves. Some factors such as those shown below may get in the way of understanding the truth within a message; thus, affecting our behaviors:
- Stereotype
- Prejudice
- Discrimination
- Selective Perception
- Projection
- Halo Effect
- Tokenism
- Intersectionality
Select three factors from the list and write an essay as to how your attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors are affected positively or negatively by them in a personal and organizational context. Back up with the latest research available.
Grade: 79.95/90 (438 words)
I selected three factors; Stereotype, Selective Perception, and Halo Effect, and these three factors are categorized as perceptual distortions. I explained how my attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors are positively or negatively affected by them in a personal and organizational context with the latest research.
Stereotype
“Stereotype occurs when we identify someone with a group or category, and then use the attributes perceived to be associated with the group or category to describe the individual” (Schermerhorn, Osborn, Hunt, et al., 2003). The stereotype has both positive and negative sides. Stereotyping allows us to save our time to get a conclusion quickly. However, sometimes the decision is incorrect. (Robbins, 2005). Before I conduct a job interview, based on a curriculum vitae, I usually think that highly educated candidates are suitable for my workplace. In this case, my process is a shortcut without evidence. Sometimes, after I work with a new employee, I realized my judgment was improper.
Selective Perception
Selective perception is the tendency to define problems or events from one’s point of view” (Schermerhorn, Osborn, Hunt, et al., 2003). I think selective perception occurs when I or my colleague in a bad situation. For example, recently, multiple data show our institution is falling behind other competitive institutions. Ten years ago, our institution was one of Japan’s most famous universities, and my colleagues still tend to think our institution is the best. They never gather information regarding recent data. The situation triggered by selective perception is a severe problem for the institution. According to Walsh, earlier researchers pointed out this problem, such as Dearborn and Simon. (Walsh, 1988)
Halo Effect
“Halo effect uses one attribute to develop an overall impression of a person or situation” (Schermerhorn, Osborn, Hunt, et al., 2003). The Halo effect can have a positive impact on organizations. “The halo effect can impact organizations, locations, products, and delivery/communications channels, as well as our judgments of other people. If users like one aspect of a website, they’re more likely to judge it favorably in the future” (Nielsen & Cardello, 2013). Not only in organizational context but also people can use the Halo effect personally. I benefited from the Halo Effect at my workplace. Once accomplished a big goal at the workplace, my colleague started to think about me as an innovator. After that, when I made a mistake, my boss interpreted the error has occurred for some other reason, not me.
Our perception process is easily affected by the above factors in both personal life and the workplace. To make the right decision, we need to develop our skills to see things right without perceptual distortions.
References
Schermerhorn, J. R., Osborn, R., & Hunt, J. G. (2003). Organizational behavior.
New York: Wiley.
Robbins, S. P. (2005). Organizational behavior (11th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson Prentice Hall.
- P. Walsh. (1988). Selectivity and selective perception: An investigation of managers''belief structures and information processing
Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/256343
Nielsen, J. and Cardello, J. (2013). The Halo Effect. Nielsen Norman Group . Retrieved
from https://www.nngroup.com/articles/halo-effect/
