Perceptual process is of utmost significance in understanding human behavior. It is a unique interpretation instead of a precise recording of the situation. The individual while perceiving the world sees a picture which expresses his own individual view of reality. This picture is quite unique and may largely differ from the reality.
The study of divergence, between the perceptual world and the real world is of great significance for human relations and organizational behavior. As it is frequently observed, managers assume that subordinates are always keen for promotions even though factually subordinates may really feel psychologically compelled to accept their promotions. The perceptual worlds of the managers and of the subordinates may differ remarkably from each other as well as both of them diverge substantially from reality. To get the desired results from promotion, the management should have the proper assessment of the perceptual world of its subordinates.
In an interview for the selection of the candidate, the interviewer’s judgment about the suitability of the candidate depends on candidate’s behavior perceived by the interviewers. A rejected applicant might feel that he was wronged by the interviewer though he deserved selection. But the fact is that interviewers generally form an early impression that becomes quickly entrenched. If the inadequacies of the candidate are exposed early, they weigh against him in the final selection.
Performance appraisal is another area where perception is significant. Assessment of an employee’s performance depends on the perception of the person who evaluates. Evaluation is objective in salesman’s job whereas many jobs are evaluated in subjective terms. Subjective measures are easier to implement, they provide managers with greater discretion, and many jobs do not readily lend themselves to objective measures. Subjective measures are, by definition, judgmental. To the extent the evaluator depends on subjective measures for assessing an employee’s performance.
Another important judgment that the managers make about the employee is whether or not he is loyal to the organization. The issue is not whether organizations are right in demanding an employee’s loyalty is irrelevant here, but the fact is that many employers do, and the assessment of loyalty or commitment is highly personal. What is perceived as loyalty by one decision-maker may be seen as excessive conformity by another. An employee who questions a top management decision may be seen as disloyal by some, yet caring and concerned by others. When evaluating a person’s attitude, as in loyalty assessment, we must recognize that we are again involved with person perception.
This necessitates that the management understands the basic perceptual process involved in organizational settings and recognize its significance. As a great deal of the industrial conflict stem from the divergence between the perceptual worlds of the parties involved, attempts can be made to minimize the magnitude of such conflicts by properly assessing perceptions of various aspects in the work settings. This implies that a better understanding of the perceptual process should be developed. Direct applications and techniques aimed at the solution of the problem would automatically follow the proper understanding.
Perception is much more complex and much broader than sensation. The perpetual process can be defined as a complicated interaction of selection, organization, and interpretation of stimuli. Although perception depends largely upon the senses for raw data, the cognitive process may filter, modify or completely change the data. A simple illustration may be seen by looking at one side of a stationary object. By slowly turning the eyes to the other side of the object, the person probably senses that the object is moving. Yet the person perceives the object as stationary. The perceptual process overcomes the sensual process and the person “sees” the object as stationary. In other words, the perceptual process adds to, and subtracts from, the “real” sensory world.
A few definitions of perception are given below:
[1] “It is the process of receiving, selecting, organizing, interpreting, checking, and reacting to sensory stimuli or data”.
[2] “It is a process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environments”.
[3] “It includes all those processes by which an individual receives information about his environment – seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting and smelling”.
Kolasa defines Perception as the “selection and organization of material which stems from the outside environment at one time or the other to provide the meaningful entity we experience”.
There are two basic elements in this definition:-
(1) perception is a process of selecting or screening which prevents us from processing irrelevant or disruptive information; and
(2) There is an organization of stimuli implying that the information that is processed has to be ordered and classified in some logical manner which permits us to assign meaning to the stimuli situations. The individual tends to recognize the information, assemble it as well as compare it with earlier experience. This involves the entire history of events, which have taken place with him over his life span. It is the organization of inputs through a dynamic inner process, which shapes what comes in from the outside environment.
Despite the fact that it relies upon the senses for obtaining raw data, the process of perception tends to amalgamate, improve and entirely change this data because of its complexity of interaction. It adds as well as deducts from the sensory world.
Perception involves five sub processes. They are stimulus, registration, interpretation, feedback and consequence.
Perception initiates with the presence of a stimulus situation. Registration involves the physiological mechanism including both sensory and neural. Interpretation is a highly crucial sub process. Other physiological processes assist in perceptual interpretation. Feedback is important for interpreting the perceptual event data. Perception ends in reaction or response, which may be in the overt or covert form.
The study of divergence, between the perceptual world and the real world is of great significance for human relations and organizational behavior. As it is frequently observed, managers assume that subordinates are always keen for promotions even though factually subordinates may really feel psychologically compelled to accept their promotions. The perceptual worlds of the managers and of the subordinates may differ remarkably from each other as well as both of them diverge substantially from reality. To get the desired results from promotion, the management should have the proper assessment of the perceptual world of its subordinates.
In an interview for the selection of the candidate, the interviewer’s judgment about the suitability of the candidate depends on candidate’s behavior perceived by the interviewers. A rejected applicant might feel that he was wronged by the interviewer though he deserved selection. But the fact is that interviewers generally form an early impression that becomes quickly entrenched. If the inadequacies of the candidate are exposed early, they weigh against him in the final selection.
Performance appraisal is another area where perception is significant. Assessment of an employee’s performance depends on the perception of the person who evaluates. Evaluation is objective in salesman’s job whereas many jobs are evaluated in subjective terms. Subjective measures are easier to implement, they provide managers with greater discretion, and many jobs do not readily lend themselves to objective measures. Subjective measures are, by definition, judgmental. To the extent the evaluator depends on subjective measures for assessing an employee’s performance.
Another important judgment that the managers make about the employee is whether or not he is loyal to the organization. The issue is not whether organizations are right in demanding an employee’s loyalty is irrelevant here, but the fact is that many employers do, and the assessment of loyalty or commitment is highly personal. What is perceived as loyalty by one decision-maker may be seen as excessive conformity by another. An employee who questions a top management decision may be seen as disloyal by some, yet caring and concerned by others. When evaluating a person’s attitude, as in loyalty assessment, we must recognize that we are again involved with person perception.
This necessitates that the management understands the basic perceptual process involved in organizational settings and recognize its significance. As a great deal of the industrial conflict stem from the divergence between the perceptual worlds of the parties involved, attempts can be made to minimize the magnitude of such conflicts by properly assessing perceptions of various aspects in the work settings. This implies that a better understanding of the perceptual process should be developed. Direct applications and techniques aimed at the solution of the problem would automatically follow the proper understanding.
Perception is much more complex and much broader than sensation. The perpetual process can be defined as a complicated interaction of selection, organization, and interpretation of stimuli. Although perception depends largely upon the senses for raw data, the cognitive process may filter, modify or completely change the data. A simple illustration may be seen by looking at one side of a stationary object. By slowly turning the eyes to the other side of the object, the person probably senses that the object is moving. Yet the person perceives the object as stationary. The perceptual process overcomes the sensual process and the person “sees” the object as stationary. In other words, the perceptual process adds to, and subtracts from, the “real” sensory world.
A few definitions of perception are given below:
[1] “It is the process of receiving, selecting, organizing, interpreting, checking, and reacting to sensory stimuli or data”.
[2] “It is a process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environments”.
[3] “It includes all those processes by which an individual receives information about his environment – seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting and smelling”.
Kolasa defines Perception as the “selection and organization of material which stems from the outside environment at one time or the other to provide the meaningful entity we experience”.
There are two basic elements in this definition:-
(1) perception is a process of selecting or screening which prevents us from processing irrelevant or disruptive information; and
(2) There is an organization of stimuli implying that the information that is processed has to be ordered and classified in some logical manner which permits us to assign meaning to the stimuli situations. The individual tends to recognize the information, assemble it as well as compare it with earlier experience. This involves the entire history of events, which have taken place with him over his life span. It is the organization of inputs through a dynamic inner process, which shapes what comes in from the outside environment.
Despite the fact that it relies upon the senses for obtaining raw data, the process of perception tends to amalgamate, improve and entirely change this data because of its complexity of interaction. It adds as well as deducts from the sensory world.
Perception involves five sub processes. They are stimulus, registration, interpretation, feedback and consequence.
Perception initiates with the presence of a stimulus situation. Registration involves the physiological mechanism including both sensory and neural. Interpretation is a highly crucial sub process. Other physiological processes assist in perceptual interpretation. Feedback is important for interpreting the perceptual event data. Perception ends in reaction or response, which may be in the overt or covert form.
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