5 perception and decision making

Question 1

definition perception

Answer 1

process by which individuals organise and interpret their sensory impressions to give meaning to their environment. They may differ significantly from objective reality.

Question 2

Factors that affect perception (and factors that affect each factor):

Answer 2

1. PERCEIVER
   attitudes, motives, interests, past experience, expectations…
2. TARGET
   novelty, motion, sounds, size, background, proximity, similarity
3. CONTEXT
   time, work setting, social setting…

Question 3

Briefly explain attribution theory

Answer 3

It tries to explain how people draw causal inferences for behaviour.
The objective of the theory is to explain the ways we judge people differently, depending on the meaning we attribute to their behaviour;
an attempt to determine whether an individual’s behaviour is internally or externally caused.

Question 4

If internal attribution:

Answer 4

DISPOSITIONAL ATTRIBUTION

Question 5

If external attribution:

Answer 5

SITUATIONAL ATTRIBUTION

Question 6

Determination in the theory depends on three factors:

Answer 6

1., Distinctiveness:
displays different behaviours in different situations.
2. Consensus:
associated with everybody who faces a similar scenario responds in the same way.
3. Consistency:
observer looks for uniformity in a person’s action; it is not perceived the same for a worker arriving late once a year than one that regularly does so.

Question 7

Attribution EXTERNAL:

Answer 7

Distinctiveness HIGH
Consensus HIGH
Consistency LOW

Question 8

Attribution INTERNAL:

Answer 8

Distinctiveness LOW
Consensus LOW
Consistency HIGH

Question 9

We tend to underestimate the influence of … factors, and overestimate the influence of … factors, when making a judgement of other people’s actions.

This is called the…

Answer 9

external; internal.

Fundamental attribution error

Question 10

What is self-serving bias

Answer 10

Individuals attribute their own success to internal factors, while putting the blame for failure on external factors.

Question 11

Common shortcuts when judging others:

Answer 11

Selective perception
halo effect
contrast effect
stereotyping

Question 12

Selective perception

Answer 12

any characteristics that makes something stand out will increase the probs of its being perceived.

Risk of drawing the incorrect picture.

People cannot assimilate everything that they observe, and they process a limited amount of information, thus we engage in selective perception (inc. selecting according to our interests, background, experience, and attitudes).

Question 13

Halo effect

Answer 13

occurs when we draw a general impression based on a single characteristics; it can increase or diminish individual’s overall traits and potentially can be a negative impression.

Question 14

Contrast effect

Answer 14

we do not evaluate a person in isolation

Trump vs Hitler vs ghandi

Question 15

stereotyping

Answer 15

judging someone based on one’s perception option of the group to which that person belongs; simplifying a complex environment.

Issues arise when we generalise incorrectly or excessively.

Question 16

Applying shortcuts in the organisation

Answer 16

1 employment interview.
2 Performance expectations
Pygmalion effect
3 Performance evaluations
an employee’s performance appraisal is dependent upon the perceptual process.
many jobs are evaluated in subjective terms.
subjective measures are problematic because of selective perception, contrast effects, halo effects, etc.

Question 17

Pygmalion effect

Answer 17

self-fulfilling prophecy

ppls expectations determine their behaviour. Expectations then become reality.

Question 18

decision making models:

Answer 18

Rational decision making
bounded rationality
intuition

Question 19

rational decision making

Answer 19

people decide to make consistent, value-maximising choices within specified constraints.

Question 20

steps of making a decision in the rational decision making model

Answer 20

1. define the problem
2. identify the criteria
3. allocate weights to the criteria
4. develop alternatives
5. evaluate the alternatives
6. select the best alternative

Question 21

assumptions of the rdm

Answer 21

complete info
known options
highest utility;

the assumptions rarely converge, thus the model only been useful in theory

Question 22

bounded rationality

Answer 22

most people respond to a complex problem by reducing it to a level at which it can be readily understood

Question 23

intuition

Answer 23

fast, unconscious, relies on holistic associations or links, affectively charged, engaging peoples emotions .

Question 24

Typical biases and errors in decision making

Answer 24

overconfidence
anchoring
confirmation
availability
escalation of commitment
randomness error
risk aversion
hindsight bias

Question 25

overconfidence bias

Answer 25

overestimating the probability of being correct;
tends to decrease as intellectual and interpersonal feelings increase.

Question 26

anchoring bias

Answer 26

fixating on initial information and failing to adjust for subsequent information

Question 27

confirmation bias

Answer 27

represents a specific case os selective perception; seeks out information that reaffirms past choices, discount information that contradicts them.

Question 28

availability bias

Answer 28

tendency to base judgments on information that is readily available.
emotion and recent events tend to be readily available in the minds of the decision maker, and therefor carry more influence and weight in the decisions they take.

this bias causes people to overestimate the probabilities of unlikely vivid events, and underestimating the probability of more likely but less dramatic events.

Question 29

escalation of commitment

Answer 29

staying with a decision even when there is a clear evidence that it Is wrong,
occurs when people view themselves responsible for an outcome.

Question 30

randomness error

Answer 30

it is the perception that most of us like to think we have some control in the world that surrounds.

tendency to believe that people can predict the outcome of random events, and establish casual relationships between those events.

Question 31

risk aversion

Answer 31

the tendency for people to prefer a sure thing instead of a risky outcome

Question 32

hindsight bias

Answer 32

the tendency to believe that one can predict the outcome of an event AFTER that outcome is known

Question 33

How does Hambrick & colleagues define the individual differences?

Answer 33

management diversity as the difference in team members’ characteristics.

Question 34

How does Pelled & colleagues define the individual differences?

Answer 34

Demographic diversity as the extent to which a work group is heterogeneous in terms of demographic attributes.

Question 35

How does Jehn & colleagues define the individual differences?

Answer 35

value diversity;
when members of a work group disagree about what the group fundamental tasks, gaol, target should be

Question 36

individual differences:

Answer 36

1. personality
   may affect escalation of commitment
2. gender
   women analyse decisions more than men, more rumination; men make more risky decisions.
3. mental ability
   higher mental ability equates to: process information faster, solve problems more accurately, learn faster;
   appears to help people avoid only some bias and errors: smart people are AS LIKELY to fall in biases.
4. cultural differences
   time orientation, value of rationality, problem solving perspective, individual vs collective decision making

Question 37

Ethics in decision making; Three part criterion:

Answer 37

1. Utilitarianism:
   decisions made solely on the basis of their outcomes, ideally for the greater good for the greatest number;
   constant with the goals of efficiency, productivity and high profits.
2. focus on rights:
   calls on individuals to make decisions consistent with fundamental liberties and privileges:
3. enforce rules fairly:
   to ensure rustic or an equitable distribution of benefits and costs;
   union members favour this.

Question 38

How to decide among criteria?

Answer 38

profit organisations: utilitarianism
public concern about the individual rights and social justice suggests managers should develop ethics standards based on non-utilitarian criteria, focusing only on profits.

Question 39

Ways to increase ethical decision making

Answer 39

environment, lighting, pollution
ethical behaviour can be affected by own moral blindspots, cultural differences, lying

Question 40

what is a whistle blower

Answer 40

employee who reports unethical practices by their employer to outsiders

Question 41

Order of the three stage model of creativity in organisations

Answer 41

1. Causes of creative behaviour
2. Creative behaviour
3. Creative outcomes

Question 42

Causes for creativity

Answer 42

1. creative potential
   the result of several individual characteristics like intelligence and openness;
   potential enhances when individuals have abilities, knowledge, proficiencies and similar expertise in their field of endeavour;
   ppl with large social networks have greater exposure to other ideas, and have more reach to the expertise and resources of others.
2. creative environment
   where creativity takes place
   we need to be in an environment to show the creativity potential.

Question 43

Ethical people are more creative than those who behave unethically

Answer 43

TRUE

Question 44

environmental factors affecting whether creative potential translates into creative behaviour:

Answer 44

• motivation
  etc

Question 45

Creative behaviour; occurs in four sequential steps:

Answer 45

1. problem formulation
2. information gathering
3. idea generation
4. idea evaluation

Question 46

Creative outcomes

Answer 46

ideas or solutions judged to be novel and valuable by relevant stakeholders.

Question 47

Creative behaviour always produces creative outcomes

Answer 47

FALSE

Question 48

in order for a create solution to be considered as such, it needs to provide…

Answer 48

…a useful solution

Question 49

implications for managers

Answer 49

1. behaviour follows perceptions, so to influence behaviour at work, assess how people perceive their work.
2. make better decisions by recognising perceptual biases and decision-making errors we tend to commit.
3. adjust your decision making approach to the national culture you’er operating ing.
4. combine rational analysis with intuition, once they are conflicting approaches to decision making
5. try to enhance your creativity, and actively look for novel solutions to problems, attempt to see problems in new ways, use analogies, and hire creative talent.