social perception and managing diversity 6

Social Perception and Managing Diversity

Course Details:
- Course: MHR 3200
- Instructor: Dr. Larry Inks
- Department: Management and Human Resources
- Institution: Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University

Social perception is a cognitive process critical for interpreting and understanding social interactions.
Relevant statistics:
- "Studies have shown that 90% of error in thinking is due to error in perception.” – Edward de Bono
- Changing perception can lead to emotional changes and innovative ideas.

Stages of Social Information Processing:
- Encoding and Simplification: Initial processing of information.
- Selective Attention/Awareness: Focus on certain stimuli over others.
- Storage and Retention: Retaining information for future use.
- Retrieval and Response: Accessing information as needed.
- Interpretation/Categorization: Assigning meaning and categorizing information based on retrieved data.
Environmental Stimuli/Information: Influences how we perceive others and ourselves.
Memory Types:
- Salient/Meaningful Information
- Schemas
- Scripts
- Categories
- Stereotypes
- Semantic Memory
- Episodic Memory
Judgments and Decisions: Consist of various biases and errors.

Fundamental Attribution Bias (FA Error): Tendency to attribute others' actions to internal factors while attributing our own actions to external factors.
Self-Serving Bias: Taking credit for successes while blaming external factors for failures.
Halo Error: Generalizing a positive impression in one area to all areas of judgment.
Pitchfork Error (Horns Error): Generalizing a negative impression to all areas.
Leniency Error: Easing grading or performance reviews too much.
Severity Error: Being too harsh on evaluations.
Central Tendency Error: Avoiding extreme judgments and rating others in the middle of the scale.
Recency Effect: Focusing on the latest information rather than earlier data.
Primacy Effect: Weighing early information more heavily than later information.
Stereotyping: Expectations based on perceptions of groups rather than individuals.
Projection: Assuming others share similar beliefs and values.
Contrast Effect: Misjudging due to the influence of comparing subjects.
“Similar to Me” Effect: Favoring those perceived as similar to ourselves.

Founders: Fritz Heider & Harold Kelley.
Core Premise: Attributions explain whether a behavior stems from internal (e.g., ability) or external factors (e.g., task difficulty).
Three Dimensions in Kelley’s Attribution Theory:
- Consensus: How do others behave in similar situations?
- High Consensus: Behavior is similar to peers.
- Low Consensus: Behavior differs from peers.
- Distinctiveness: How does the individual behave across different tasks?
- High Distinctiveness: Behavior is different in this task compared to others.
- Low Distinctiveness: Behavior is consistent across tasks.
- Consistency: How consistent is the individual’s behavior over time?
- High Consistency: Behavior remains stable across time.
- Low Consistency: Behavior varies over time.

Scenario #1:
- Roommate scores 94 while class average is 92 (High Consensus).
- Averaging low 70s on other exams (High Distinctiveness).
- Averages in earlier years have been 70s (Low Consistency).
- Attribution: Test was easy (external factor).
Scenario #2:
- Roommate scores 94 while class average is 72 (Low Consensus).
- Averaging low 90s in other exams (Low Distinctiveness).
- Averages in earlier years have been 90s (High Consistency).
- Attribution: Roommate is a good student (internal factor).

Social perception operates subconsciously and quickly, leading to potential biases.
Recognizing these biases helps in making more accurate attributions and decisions.
These decisions impact personal effectiveness, organizational success, and interpersonal relationships.

Diversity: Encompasses individual differences and similarities among people.
- Often focuses on differences.
- Segregation within organizations may occur based on these distinctions.
Inclusion: Refers to engaging the diverse workforce meaningfully.
- Enhances success on individual, group, and organizational levels.

Originating from Gardenswartz and Rowe:
- Core: Personality is central to identity.
- Internal Dimensions: Surface-level characteristics are more obvious and less changeable.
- External Dimensions: Take time to reveal, involving attitudes and values.
- Organizational Dimensions: Peripheral aspects which are more amendable.

Advantages include:
- Increased creativity and synergy.
- Reductions in groupthink and poor decision-making.
- Enhanced awareness and success with diverse customer bases.
- Development of engaging work environments.
- Minimization of legal issues.
- Preparedness for global business environments.
- Being recognized as an “Employer of Choice” is vital for recruitment and retention.

Companies in the top quartile of racial and ethnic diversity have:
- 35% higher likelihood of financial returns above industry medians.
Companies in the top quartile for gender diversity yield:
- 15% higher likelihood of financial outcomes above national industry medians.
A linear relationship exists between racial/ethnic diversity and financial performance measured by earnings before interest and taxes.
Racial and ethnic diversity more significantly impacts financial performance than gender diversity.

Diverse Aspects: Elements where differences exist.
Core Aspects: Areas requiring consistency.
Goal: Maintain a strategic balance between diverse and core aspects for effectiveness.

Consider the following for effective management of diversity:
- KEEP Doing: Identify ongoing practices that support diversity and inclusion.
- STOP Doing: Recognize behaviors that hinder diversity efforts.
- START Doing: Introduce new strategies to enhance an inclusive culture.

Acknowledgment of the pervasive nature of social perception in all aspects of workplace interaction.
Implementation of sound practices in diversity and inclusion is imperative for personal and organizational success.