Understanding Social Perception and Managing Diversity Chapter Four McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. After reading the material in this chapter, you should be able to: LO4.1 Describe perception in terms of the social information processing model. LO4.2 Explain seven managerial implications of social perception. LO4.3 Explain, according to Kelley’s model, how external and internal causal attributions are formulated. 4-2 After reading the material in this chapter, you should be able to: LO4.4 Demonstrate your familiarity with the demographic trends that are creating an increasingly diverse workforce. LO4.5 Identify the barriers and challenges to managing diversity. LO4.6 Discuss organizational practices used to manage diversity 4-3 A Social Information Processing Model of Perception Perception cognitive process that enables us to interpret and understand our surroundings 4-4 Social Perception: A Social Information Processing Model 4-5 Commonly Found Perceptual Errors Table 4-1 4-6 Performance Charts 4-7 Attributional Tendencies Fundamental attribution bias Reflects one’s tendency to attribute another person’s behavior to his or her personal characteristics, as opposed to situational factors. Self-serving bias Represents one’s tendency to take more personal responsibility for success than for failure. 4-8 Defining and Managing Diversity Diversity represents the multitude of individual differences and similarities that exist among people 4-9 Four Layers of Diversity 4-10 Increasing Diversity in the Workforce: Demographic Trends 1. Women navigate a labyrinth after breaking the glass ceiling 2. Racial groups are encountering a glass ceiling and perceived discrimination 3. Mismatch between workers’ educational attainment and occupational requirements 4. Generational differences in an aging workforce 4-11 Increasing Diversity in the Workforce Glass ceiling represents an absolute barrier or solid roadblock that prevented women from advancing to higher level positions. 4-12 Generational Differences Table 4-2 4-13 Barriers and Challenges to Managing Diversity 1. 2. 3. 4. Inaccurate stereotypes and prejudice Ethnocentrism Poor career planning An unsupportive and hostile working environment for diverse employees 5. Lack of political savvy on the part of diverse employees 4-14 Barriers and Challenges to Managing Diversity 6. Difficulty in balancing career and family issues 7. Fears of reverse discrimination 8. Diversity is not seen as an organizational priority 9. The need to revamp the organization’s performance appraisal and reward system 10. Resistance to change 4-15