MN

Week 1: Perceptions and Communication

Perceptions and Attributions

1. What is the difference between perceptions and attributions?

  • Perceptions: How we select, organize, and interpret sensory information.

  • Attributions: The explanations we create about the causes of others’ behavior.
    Example: Seeing someone yawn (perception) vs. assuming they are bored or tired (attribution).

2. Why are they important in professional documents?
They affect how the audience interprets tone, clarity, and credibility. Misperceptions or incorrect attributions can cause misunderstanding or negative judgments.

3. Behavior can be attributed to one of three factors.

  • Internal factors (personality, ability, effort).

  • External factors (environment, situation).

  • Task characteristics (difficulty, clarity).

4. Two main fundamental attribution errors:

  • Overestimating internal causes for others’ behavior.

  • Underestimating situational/external influences.

5. First stage in the general perceptual process:
Selection – noticing or focusing on certain stimuli from the environment.

6. Errors in selection:

  • Rushing: Making judgments too quickly.

  • Stereotyping: Assigning traits based on group membership.

  • Similar-to-me bias: Favoring those who resemble ourselves.

  • Halo effect: Letting one positive trait influence all judgments.

  • Horns effect: Letting one negative trait dominate evaluations.

  • Leniency error: Rating people too positively.

  • Central tendency: Avoiding extremes; rating everyone average.

  • Recency error: Overweighting recent events.

  • Contrast error: Comparing people against one another rather than set standards.

Communication

1. Communication model components:

  • Sender: Encodes and sends the message.

  • Receiver: Decodes and interprets the message.

  • Channel: The medium (e.g., email, face-to-face).

2. What is decoding?
The receiver’s process of interpreting the sender’s message.

3. Function of feedback:
Confirms understanding and lets the sender adjust for clarity.

4. How elements contribute to ineffective communication:

  • Sender: Poor encoding or unclear message.

  • Channel: Wrong medium (e.g., email instead of urgent call).

  • Receiver: Misinterpretation or inattention.

  • Feedback: Absent or unclear.

  • Noise: Any distraction (physical, psychological, semantic).

5. Distinguish communication directions:

  • Downward: From managers to employees.

  • Upward: From employees to managers.

  • Horizontal: Peer-to-peer across the same level.

6. Three methods of good listening:

  • Active listening (paraphrasing, clarifying).

  • Nonverbal attentiveness (eye contact, nodding).

  • Avoiding premature judgment or interruptions.

📘 Week 2: Strategy, Structure, Culture

1. Components of the strategic management process:

  • Environmental scanning (internal & external).

  • Strategy formulation (mission, vision, goals).

  • Strategy implementation.

  • Evaluation & control.

2. External vs. internal environment:

  • External: Opportunities & threats (competition, economy, technology).

  • Internal: Strengths & weaknesses (resources, culture, capabilities).

3. SWOT analysis:

  • Strengths: Internal advantages.

  • Weaknesses: Internal disadvantages.

  • Opportunities: External favorable conditions.

  • Threats: External risks.
    Example: Apple’s design (S), reliance on iPhone sales (W), new markets (O), Android competition (T).

4. Mission vs. vision:

  • Vision: Long-term aspiration (“where we want to be”).

  • Mission: Purpose and current scope (“what we do now”).
    They work together by aligning present actions with future goals.

5. Emergent strategies:
Form organically through unplanned responses to real-world changes, rather than deliberate planning.

6. Cost-leadership vs. differentiation:

  • Cost-leadership: Efficiency, lower costs, basic products (e.g., Walmart).

  • Differentiation: Unique features, innovation, brand loyalty (e.g., Apple).

7. HR changes under each strategy:

  • Cost-leadership: Standardized jobs, tight cost control, efficiency-focused HR.

  • Differentiation: Flexible jobs, creativity, investment in training & development.

8. Five Forces analysis:

  • Threat of new entrants

  • Threat of substitutes

  • Bargaining power of suppliers

  • Bargaining power of buyers

  • Industry rivalry

9. Organizational structure basics:

  • Defines reporting relationships, decision-making, and flow of information.

  • Must align with strategy and support culture.

10. Divisional vs. functional structures:

  • Functional: Grouped by expertise (marketing, HR). Efficient, but siloed communication.

  • Divisional: Grouped by product/region. More responsive, but can duplicate resources.

11. How structure affects behavior:
Shapes communication, accountability, motivation, and decision-making speed.

12. Organizational culture, levels, artifacts:

  • Levels:

    • Artifacts (visible: dress code, rituals).

    • Espoused values (stated principles).

    • Basic assumptions (unconscious beliefs).

13. Gonzaga artifacts promoting culture:
Examples may include mission statements, community service programs, school traditions, Jesuit values.

14. HR and data:
HR should use data for workforce planning, performance measurement, and aligning talent strategy with business goals.

15. Common measurement tools & formulas in HRM:

  • Turnover rate = (# of separations ÷ average # of employees) × 100

  • Absenteeism rate = (# of absent days ÷ total workdays) × 100

  • Cost per hire, training ROI, employee engagement surveys, balanced scorecards.