MODULE 2

Perception

 Perception is an intellectual process of transforming sensory stimuli to meaningful information.

 It is the process of interpreting something that we see or hear in our mind and use it later to judge and give a verdict
on a situation, person, group etc.
 It is of 6 types:
 Of sound The ability to receive sound by iden fying vibra ons.
 Of speech The competence of interpre ng and understanding the sounds of language heard.
 Touch Iden fying objects through pa erns of its surface by touching it.
 Taste The ability to receive avor of substances by tas ng it through sensory organs known as taste buds.
 Other senses They approve percep on through body, like balance, accelera on, pain, me, sensa on felt in
throat and lungs etc.
 Of the social world It permits people to understand other individuals and groups of their social world.

Stages of perception

1. Receiving – Person collects and receives information through sense organ

2. Selecting – Person selects some information out of in accordance with his/her interest. Selction dominated by
internal/external factors.
a. Internal – factors like psychological requirements, experience, interest, background
b. External – factors like intensity, familiarity, repetition, contrast, size.
( this point is also called perceptual selectivity )
3. Organizing – Inorder to make sense of the data received , it is important to organize them
4. Interpreting – Forming an idea about a particular object depending upon the need or interest. It includes stereotyping,
halo effect etc.

Nature of Perception ( same answer for factors influencing perception )

The nature of perception is shaped by several key factors:

 Selective Attention: Perception starts by focusing on specific parts of our environment and ignoring irrelevant
information. We pay attention to things that are new, important, or related to our interests.
 Organization and Interpretation: The brain organizes and makes sense of the sensory information it selects, creating
a clear and meaningful perception by grouping similar elements and recognizing patterns.
 Cognitive Biases: Perception is affected by mental shortcuts and tendencies, like favoring information that supports
our beliefs (confirmation bias) or relying too much on the first piece of information we get (anchoring bias).
 Perceptual Constancies: These help us see objects as stable despite changes in our sensory input. For example, we
perceive an object as the same size even if it looks smaller or larger because of distance.
 Cultural and Social Influences: Cultural norms, values, and experiences shape how we perceive things, leading
people from different cultures to see the same situation differently.
 Individual Differences: Everyone's perception is unique due to their personality traits, past experiences, and ways of
thinking.

Imporatnce of Perception

 Influences decision-making by shaping understanding of situations.

 Aids in conflict management by understanding different viewpoints.
 Shapes perceptions of roles and rewards, influencing motivation.
 Impacts management style through leaders’ perceptions of employees.
 Influences assessment of employee performance and recognition.
 Contributes to the development of organizational culture and values.

Perception and Decision Making

 Perception and decision-making are intricately connected cognitive processes that significantly influence human
behavior.
 Perception involves interpreting sensory information, while decision-making involves selecting a course of action
based on this interpretation.
 Research shows that understanding how we perceive time is key to understanding how we make decisions.
  Our perception of risks and benefits shapes the decisions we make, especially in uncertain situations.
 Emotions influence perception, which in turn affects the decisions we make.
 How we perceive others’ behaviors and intentions can influence our decisions in social contexts.

Motivation

 Motivation describes the desire, inspiration, and willingness to execute duties and achieve objectives.
 In management, employee motivation is critical to organizational success.
 Highly motivated employees perform better, are more productive, and effectuate increased sales.

Motivation consists of three interacting and dependent elements

 Needs The requirements or de ciency which is created whenever there is physiological imbalance.
 Drives The various camps or events organized to mo vate the employees and give them new opportuni es.
 Incentives Employees need to be rewarded for their nice work in order to keep them encouraged.

Importance of motivation
 Motivated employee are more quality oriented.
 Highly motivated employees are more productive as compared to other employees.
 It helps in achieving three behavior dimension of human resource namely
 Candidates must be attracted not only to join but also remain in the firm.
 Employees must perform task in a dependable manner.
 Employees should be creative, spontaneous and innovative at work.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory

 This theory was produced in order to answer the question “What motivates an individual”.
 It is a psychological theory proposed by Abraham Maslow in 1943.
 It suggests that human needs are arranged in a hierarchical order, starting from basic physiological needs to higher-
level needs for self-actualization.
 The hierarchy is typically depicted as a pyramid with five levels: Basic Psychological Needs, Safety Needs, Social
Needs, Esteem Needs, and Self-actualization.

Basic Physiological Needs

 These needs are basic for the survival of humans, and include hunger, thirst, shelter, sleep, etc.
 These needs form the base of the hierarchy and have the highest strength in terms of motivation.
 Salary and other monetary incentives are the basic physiological needs in the context of organisational needs.

Safety or Security Needs

 After satisfying the basic physiological needs, an individual thinks about safety from future uncertainties and other
threats.
 Safety and security needs aim to ensure that the person will be able to meet the physiological needs not only in
present but also in future.
 It includes motivators like benefits of life insurance, pension plans, job security, etc.
 There are two kinds of security: Physical ( includes security from death, injury, illness) and financial ( security of job
and working conditions)
Social or Affiliation or Belonging Needs

 When physiological and safety needs are satisfied, social needs are important.
 These include need for love, friendship, affection and social interaction.
 The need for belongingness and acceptance plays a very important role in motivating human behaviour.

Esteem Needs

 After social needs, satisfaction of esteem needs is important.

 These needs relate to the desire for recognition and respect from others.
 Esteem needs include autonomy status, attention, appreciation from others or prestige in society.
 Generally, employees at a higher level are motivated by such needs.

Self Actualisation Needs

 These include needs of becoming what one really wants to become.

 These needs inspire and motivate a person to develop himself to his maximum potential.
 Therefore, they are placed at the top of the need hierarchy.
 These include growth, self-fulfilment and achievement of goals.

Assumptions of Maslows Hierarchy

 Fulfillments of needs decide the behaviour.

 People are motivated by unfulfilled needs.
 Motivation ends with the satisfaction of needs.
 An individual’s needs start from basic and go to other higher level needs.
 An individual moves to the next higher level of the hierarchy only when the lower needs are satisfied.

McGregors’s Theory X and Y

 According to McGregor, there are two aspects of human behaviour at work which he described as Theory X (negative
aspect) and Theory Y (positive aspect).
 Theory X:
According to McGregor, Theory X is based on the following assumptions:
 The average human being will avoid work whenever it is possible because of their inherent dislike of work.
 Most of the people are gullible and not very intelligent.
 Most people by nature, always resist change and have security as their priority.
 An average person doesn’t like responsibility, lacks ambition, and prefers to be directed by others.
 Lastly, an average human being is self-centred and indifferent to organisational goals.
 Based on these assumptions, the following proposition is put together:
 It is the responsibility of the management to organise the elements of a productive enterprise (money,
equipment, material, and people) in the interest of economic gain.
 While talking about human beings, management includes directing the efforts of people, motivating them,
controlling their actions, and modifying their actions and behaviour based on the organisational needs.
 It is essential for the management to reward, persuade, punish, and control people. It is because, without
their active intervention, these people would become passive and even resist the organisational needs.
 As it is assumed in this theory that people dislike work, it is necessary to coerce, control, direct, and threaten
them with punishment to get things done from them for the accomplishment of the organisational goals.
  The assumptions on which Theory X was formulated had some faulty misconceptions about human nature. McGregor
realised that there are some needs that were not considered in Theory X, such as ego satisfaction, social needs, and
self-fulfilment of individual workers. Therefore, to meet these left-out needs, McGregor developed a counter
approach, known as Theory Y, which proposes that:
 It is the responsibility of the management to organise the elements of a productive enterprise in the interest
of social as well as economic gains.
 2. The theory also states that people are not passive or restricted to the needs of the organisation by nature.
Their nature changes to this because of experience.
 Characteristics like readiness to direct behaviour towards the organisational goals, motivation, potential for
development, etc., are already present in the people. The management has to just make it possible for these
people to recognise these characteristics in themselves.
 4. Besides, it is important for the management to arrange the condition and methods of operations of the
organisation so that the employees can achieve their personal goals by directing their efforts towards the
goals of the organisation.

Herzberg’s Motivation Hygiene Theory

  Herzberg’s theory of motivation was coined by Fredrick Herzberg.
 The main goal to conduct the experiment was to determine which factors people believe to be necessary for achieving
desirable goals and, inversely necessary for avoiding undesirable conditions.
 The motivational factor relates to the factors of growth, and the hygiene factor relates to the factors of survival or
maintenance.
 Herzberg found out that some factors are likely to be constantly correlated with job satisfaction, and on the other
hand, some factors are likely to be constantly correlated with job dissatisfaction.
 Factors related to job satisfaction are motivational factors and are intrinsic in nature, and factors related to job
dissatisfaction are hygiene factors and are extrinsic in nature.
 Any improvement in motivational factors will increase satisfaction levels, quality of work- as a result these r called
“motivators”.
 Hygiene factors protect the performance and productivity of employees but do not stimulate growth in them. So they
are also called “dissatisfiers”.
 Also, the point to be observed is that the presence of hygiene factors does not satisfy the employees but the ‘absence
of hygiene factors definitely causes dissatisfaction’ among employees.
 Herzberg also claimed that the motivational factors of today will become the hygiene factors of tomorrow.
 The reason is that as soon as a need is met, it no longer affects behaviour.
 Also, because the motivation of an individual is also affected by an individual’s personal attributes, so what is hygiene
for one individual can be another person’s motivation.

Disadvantages of Herzberg’s Theory

 Not Conclusive as impact of motivational and hygiene factors may completely be the opposite for different individuals.
 Greater emphasis on Job Enrichment:
 Interviewers were requested to share either exceptionally positive or negative work experiences. Such information or
inputs will always be personalized and partial, so this approach is considered to be flawed.
 Ignores Situational Variables: - A maintenance factor for a worker in the U.S.A. may be a motivator for an Indian
worker.
Alderfer’s ERG theory
 Clayton Paul Alderfer is an American psychologist who developed Maslow’s hierarchy of needs into a theory of his
own.
 Alderfer compressed Maslow's hierarchy of needs from five to three:
 Existence
 Relatedness
 Growth

Advantages of ERG Theory

 Flexibility: Recognizes that different needs can be prioritized simultaneously, not sequentially.
 Personalized Motivation: Emphasizes addressing a variety of individual needs for effective motivation.
 Adaptive to Changes: Accounts for shifts in priorities due to personal circumstances.
 Practical Application: Helps leaders provide good working conditions, positive relationships, and development
opportunities.
 Acknowledge Non-Hierarchical Paths: Allows for individuals motivated primarily by growth needs.
  Compatibility with Other Theories: Fits well with McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y, offering insights into different
motivational styles.
 Frustration-Regression: Highlights the need to address higher-level needs to prevent regression to lower-level needs.

McCellands’s theory of needs

 McClelland’s notable contributions revolve around the identification and exploration of three fundamental human
needs:
 the need for achievement (n Ach),
 the need for affiliation (n Aff),
 and the need for power (n Power).
 n Ach - Need for achievement is a Behaviour directed towards competition with a standard of excellence. McClelland
found that people with a high need for achievement perform better than those with a moderate or low need for
achievement.
 McClelland identified the following six characteristics of high need achievers:
 strong desire to assume personal responsibilities
 tend to set moderately difficult goals
 have a strong desire for performance feedback
 need for achievement for attaining personal accomplishment
 look for challenging tasks
 are not buck-passers
 n Aff - defined as a desire to establish and maintain friendly and warm relations with other people.
 The people with high need for affiliation have the following characteristics:
 have a strong desire for acceptance and approval from others.
 tend to conform to the wishes of those people whose friendship and companionship they value
 value the feelings of others.
 n Pow - need for power is concerned with making an impact on others, the desire to influence others, the urge to
change people, and the desire to make a difference in life.
 People who have a high need for power are characterized by:
 A desire to influence and direct somebody else.
 A desire to exercise control over others.
 A concern for maintaining leaders-follower relations.


Vrooms Expectancy Theory

 This theory is given by Victor Vroom.

 He believed that people’s motivation is influenced by the type of reward they expect to receive for
performing their tasks well.
 People in the organization determine how much effort they should put to get the required rewards.
 People get highly motivated if they believe that behaving in a particular way will lead them to their
preferable rewards.
 In Vroom’s model, three variables are involved and these are Valence, Expectancy and Instrumentality.
Following is the relationship among these variables.

Motivation = Valence * Expectancy * Instrumentality

 Valence -
 Valence refers to the ‘value of the rewards’ which results from performance.
 Valence is the attraction or repulsion of an outcome.
 Valence is not the actual value of the reward rather it is the perceived value of the reward
 Every person has a different perception towards valence. As, what is valuable for one person might
not be for others
 Expectancy -
 It indicates the extent to which a person believes that his efforts will result in the first-level
outcome, like task completion.
 The value ranges from 0 to 1.
 So, assuming that employees feel the likelihood to attain an outcome is zero, the efforts would also
be 0. Also, if employees feel the likelihood to attain an outcome as 1, then they will put in more
effort to achieve the outcomes.
 Instrumentality –
 It is the degree to which a first-level outcome will lead to a desired second-level outcome.
 For example, if someone desires a promotion and believes that superior performance is crucial to
getting the promotion. Then, superior performance will be considered the first-level outcome and
promotion as the second-level outcome.