Understanding Perception in Management

Once a manager allows perception to enter his.her mind, the actual truth becomes distorted. Some managers will meet an applicant or new employee and develop a stereotype based solely on what they perceive. Unfortunately, several employees have experienced situation, where a manager has made a decision based on their perception of the truth. But, perception should not be relied on when making a decision.

Understanding Perception

What is Perception?

"Perception is a process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment" (Robbins, 2005). "The brain seeks information, mainly by directing an individual to look, listen and sniff."(Freeman, 1991) But, perception can cause disagreements among people, because each person sees things differently. So, it isn't unusual, for two people to see something and perceive it differently. There are many situations that arise that a manager must decide between truth and perception. Basically, a person "knows the object is familiar and whether it is desirable or dangerous" (Freeman, 1991).

Functions in Perceptions

Many factors will aid in influencing the way a manager can view someone or something. Some factors influencing a mangers perception are the person's attitude and motive/ motive, interest, experience, and expectation. The manager will have to delete their own perceptions of what they are seeing and decide on the facts only. Basically, "perception are created by habit" (Howard, Unknown) and they can become a major pitfall. Some "situations" may factor in a person's perception: like "time", "work settings", and "social settings" (Robbins, 2005).

Also, the employee or "target", may have factors, which dominant in the "perceivers" (Robbins, 2005) perception. These factors include "background", "size", "motion", "similarity", and "sounds". So, it is important to look at the "context" (Robbins, 2005) of a situation, before a person makes any type of decision. Therefore, managers tend to evaluate a employee, based on a using themselves, as a "frame of reference" (Howard, Unknown)

Management's Perception

As a manager perception must take a backseat, while you review the facts that are available. Suppose an employee has shown up late for work several days this week, but this is not a habit according t their attendance. The manager must find out why this is happening, instead of assuming that the employee is being irresponsible. Maybe they will find that the employee is having car trouble or other transportation issues.

Another pitfall of perception is judging someone, based on their poor work history or appearance. However, there are many reasons a person may choose to quit a job or die their hair a weird color. Some women choose to stay home with their children, while others may be quitting for a better paying job. Some young adults may die their hair blue or purple, but it doesn't mean they are bad employees. The manager's perception plays a large part, in how they recognize the world around them.

Decision-Making Process

Identifying the Problem

Before a manager can solve a problem, they must identify and locate it. However, they must be sure that the problem is clear and defined, in order to correct the issue. First, they must weigh the raw facts and know their options, before they react. Many mangers should take extra time, so they can correctly access the issue and determine a solution. However, they must be sure they don't allow their perception to taint their decisions. Some perceptions have "become routinely imbedded" in a manager's mind, so they must find a way to delete these "stereotypes" (Robbins, 2005) from their mind. Therefore, they can identify and correct the problem, before the company loses valuable time and money.

Getting the Facts

Next, a manager must look at employee applications and personal information, in order to obtain the raw facts. Then, they must clarify how the problem is caused and find a way to stop it. Sometimes a manager must weed out their personal perception and see things from the employee's point of view. Finally they must "generate alternatives" and "evaluate the alternatives" (Robbins, 2005), so they can find the best solution. Therefore, the manager can make the best decision for their company, while solving the current problem.

Solving the problem

Depending on the alternative that is chosen, a manager must make sure that it is "the best alternative" (Robbins, 2005). The chosen alternative must fix the problem and allow business to run smoothly. Some solutions will require employees and managers to work together, in order to fix the entire problem. However, the solution must meet the needs of the employee and should not be based on a manager's perception. Furthermore, it should help them fix the problem, not cost the company time or money in the process. For example, some corporate managers will hesitate to hire a man, with long hair and visible tattoos. However, some of these managers will look past the hair style and unique body art, which doesn't make the person. Therefore, they will look for the qualities and experience that will help their company.

Perception in Decision-Making

Roles in Decision-Making

A manager is required decisions daily, but first they must determine what the problem is. Their decision must be correct or every employee can be affected, by their mistake and its consequences. Sometimes they will need to identify the problem, before they can find a solution that will solve it. Although, perception involves "sensory messages with past experience" (Freeman, 1991), it can affect the way a manager makes simple or complex choices.

Positive Affects

A manager can use perception to instantly recognize certain qualities and skills in their employees. Also perception may be able to help them figure out a person's motive or intentions toward their jobs. They can instantly recognize, when an employee becomes angry or a disgruntled. Sometimes the managers can use perception to see certain qualities in a future employee. However, a manager should never base her decision on a perceived quality or intention. Since, they may be totally wrong and cost the company money or turn down hiring a loyal employee.

Negative Affects

Managers should remove their perception of someone and look harder, in order to see the truth about them. All employees have a work history, but sometimes their work history isn't completely accurate. Some managers will judge an employee based on intuition and perception, instead of seeing the real person. It is important to make a decision, based solely on the facts and create a solution that will solve the problem. Therefore "filtering out information that is non-necessary for the task at hand" (Howard, 2007)

Conclusion

A manager will continue to rely on external and internal factors, while remaining informal with each situation. When making a decision, some managers may be distinctive and predictable in the behavior. However, consistency will help an employee stay on track, while the company benefits from their performance. All managers have a habitual routine, which they depend on every day when working. Honestly, perception has its place in business, but not in decision making or management.

According to M. Howard (Unknown), humans seem to make habitual choices in their daily lives: like driving or making decisions at work. Basically, mangers have the risk of getting caught in the perception trap, which will lead to them the unemployment line. But, as the managers becomes more familiar, with the decision making process. They can make better decisions, which will allow the company to become more efficient. Therefore, the employee will relate better to the manager, as they work together to benefit the company's future.

References

Freeman, W. (1991) The Physiology of Perception: The brain transforms sensory messages into conscious perceptions almost instantly Chaotic, collective activity involving millions of neurons seems essential for such rapid recognition.
Retrieved on the World Wide Web on August 19, 2007
http://sulcus.berkeley.edu/FLM/MS/Physio.Percept.html

Howard, M. (Unknown) How Selection Perception Works?
Retrieved on the World Wide Web n August 19, 2007
http://www.ciadvertising.org/student_account/fall_01/adv382j/howardmo/howworkssp.html

Robbins, S. (2005) Organizational Behavior, Eleventh Edition
Published by Prentice-Hall.
Pearson Education, Inc.
ISBN: 0-536-98810-2