Perception and Organizational Behavior: Some Examples
Although perception is seldom covered as a topic in management outside of advertising and consumer behavior, it plays a major role in decision making, interaction style, planning and problem solving. It is the beginning point for attending to and taking in information that will be used later for all sorts of purposes. Consider for example the following cases. For each case ask yourself. “Is the company at fault? Should the management have known about work environments affecting perception?
|
An office worker suffers constant headaches and visual fatigue after working at a computer terminal. The wall color behind the monitor and glare from surrounding fixtures are straining her eyes. After several years, her once perfect vision is impaired. She has increased errors at work and applies for compensation.
An elderly man is walking down a hallway in a hotel. The hall is carpeted with a brightly colored pattern. He correctly perceives the colors to be "advancing", his motor responses respond, and he trips and falls to the floor. The hotal receives a call from his attorney.
An assembly line worker is distracted by a brightly colored object within her field of vision. She loses concentration and injures her hand.
A company which markets red contact lenses for chickens (at 20 cents
a pair), points to medical studies showing that chickens seeing red
during the day are happier and eat less food. A spokesperson said
the lenses will improve world egg-laying productivity by $600
million a year. Could it be that the lens are forcing a blue
after-image and, |
Source: http://www.css.edu/users/dswenson/web/sitemap.html David X. Swenson, Ph. D.