The Importance of Perceptual Errors, Biases, and Attributes on Decision-Making

Discuss about the Managing Organizations for Educational Leadership Journal.

The  background of the study is on the role played by  perception, and attributes on the decision-making procedure of the organization.  In accordance with Vázquez-Diez et al. (2016), the managers offer performance to other individuals based on their perception regarding the individuals. In this context, it can be stated that perceptual errors might create a negative impact on the decision-making process. It has been observed that a wrong perception of the organisational managers might drive them to draw the generalized perception of a person. appraisals. According to Plutarco, Freitas nd Mota  (2015) this kind of judgement is done by managers after assessing a single characteristic trait of this person.  It has been observed that stereotyping also plays a significant role in the decision-making process. It has been observed that stereotyping also plays a significant role in the decision-making procedure of any organization. The thesis statement is perceptual errors, biases along with attributes adversely affects the decision-making procedure of any organization. The scope  of the essay is to understand the importance of perceptual errors, biases and attributes on the decision-making procedure  of the organization. It has been observed that inaccurate perceptions, biased attitudes as well as attributes delays the  decision-making process. Sometimes the wrong perceptions, biasness and attributes drives the management of the organization to undertake wrong decision. As a result,  productivity of the organization gets hampered in the due process. The outline of the essay is to  examine the impact of perpetual errors, biases and attributes on an organizational decision-making procedure has been discussed.  In this study, the concept of perpetual errors, stereotyping and attributes are discussed in a precise manner. This study sheds light on various theories of perception and attributes are discussed. In addition to this, the application of these theories on managerial decisions in the context of Woolworths, Wesfarmers  and Metcash are covered in this particular study.  The following paragraphs will shed light on  positive and negative impact on the organizational decision-making procedure. Apart from this, possible ways for improving the HR management are briefly explained in this particular study. This study will identify the key barriers, which restricts the managers to maintain perpetual accuracy in their decision-making process based on which developments would be made by the HR managers working at Woolworths.

 In accordance with the opinion of  Vázquez-Diez et al. (2016), perception refers to the procedure of recognizing as well as interpreting the sensory stimuli.  In other words, Oettershagen et al. (2016) commented that perception is used for representing as well as getting an idea of the information or an environment. Mistakes committed by the individuals at the time of interpreting information is termed as perpetual errors. Therefore, illusion is a kind of perceptual distortion.  From the perspective of Chappell et al. (2016), Illusion does not exist in the reality. It has been observed that stereotyping can be explained as the judgements of the individuals, which are based on beliefs of the group membership. Stereotyping allows the managers working at Woolworths to maintain a consistency throughout the decision-making processes.

Theories of Perception and Attributes

In accordance with Chappell et al. (2016), perpetual biases are the systematic mistakes committed by people at the time of perceiving others. In most of the cases, it has been observed that perception is the main reason of conflict.

 It is seen that in case of fundamental attribution error people tend to put importance inherent characteristics instead of putting emphasis on the external factors at the time of describing another individual’s behavior in the given circumstance.

It has been observed that these generalized perceptions can positive or negative. In the opinion of Small et al. (2016), halo effect can be explained as the individual’s tendency to judge a person after assessing a single characteristic of the respective individual.  Moreover, Calegari, Sibley and Turner (2015) commented that this judgement can be favorable or unfavorable. Harvey et al. (2014) argue that attribution is a procedure where organisational managers draw conclusions regarding the factors, which impacts on each other’s behavior. It is seen that personal disposition as well as situational disposition are two different kinds of attributions.

As per the concept of Kelleys’s  theory of casual attribution, information, agreement, distinctiveness as well as consistency, are the sources responsible for influencing making judgements of behavior of other person. It has been noticed that agreement is the extent to which the behavior of another person is same like the behavior of the observed individual (Plutarco, Freitas and Mota, 2015). Consistency can be defined as the extent to which the observed individuals begins behaving in the similar way on the similar occasions (Shaver, 2016). Distinctiveness can be described as the extent to which the observed individuals starts behaving similarly on the different occasions.  Fiske (2018) commented that managers working at the  supermarket chain of Australia are to some extent behaving similarly on different occasions. This theory has been used in this study because it will help us to understand how perceptual errors, biased attitudes negatively impacts on the management’s decision-making process. It also helps in understanding how information, agreement, consistency along with distinctiveness adversely impacts the decision-making process. This is the justification for using this theory in this particular student.

The application It is seen that Wesfarmers is adhering to a strict management style. The employees of his reputed supermarket chain does not have any scope to share their individual viewpoints in front of top executives, managers of this company. As a result, the employees become disappointed and they are also suffering from low morale, which is restricting them to deliver their best performance in the organization. In this regard, it can be stated that it is essential for the management of the respective company to implement Lewin’s change management model in its working procedures. This model comprises of three steps such as freezing, changing and refreezing. It has been observed that procedure of change which entails formulating the perception that change is required, then it moves towards a new level of the behavioral approach, and solidifying that this new behavioral approach as a norm. This model has been chosen because it will bring change in the working procedures of the respective company. It will bring changes in the decision-making procedures of Wesfarmers., which is following an autocratic style of management, thereby giving rise to low morale among its workforce. This is the justification that lies behind this theory.

Application of Theories in Managerial Decisions of Woolworths, Wesfarmers, and Metcash

 The first step is unfreezing. It includes preparing the company to accept the fact that change is essential in the working process of the organization. In this particular stage, the breakdown of the current status quo takes place. It is required for the management of Woolworths to  let the employees know why the  breakdown has taken place and why change is essential.  It is required for the managers to challenge beliefs, value as well as attitudes of Woolworths. It is the responsibility of Woolworths to explore the scope of expanding their business activities in the marketplace. In this regard,  it can be stated that they need to initiate open and honest conversation with its workplace. This approach will inspire its employees to use their critical thinking abilities in order to meet the specified business objectivities.

Change is the next step.  It is seen that after creating uncertainty in the initial stage, individuals start resolving the uncertainty in this particular stage. In this particular stage, people starts seeking for the new ways of doing things. Individuals take time to accept changes and they take part proactively in this change. In this context, it can be stated that in order to embrace change, individuals should gain an understanding how such changes are going to benefit them. It has been observed that Metcash often recruits wrong individuals after judging on their single trait. As  a result, these individuals deliver poor performance in the respective supermarket chain thereby lowering the overall productivity of the respective company (Liu et al. 2015). However, it is essential for the managers to bring a change in the recruitment and selection process. In order to implement this change, they need to form a strong coalition by bringing all its employees under the same roof. It has been observed that by building a unified team , it is possible to avoid perpetual errors thereby increasing the productivity of the respective company.

The third step is refreezing. It is seen that after making modifications in the organizational workflow and after individuals have accepted these changes, refreezing of Wesfarmers takes place. The stable company chart, consistency in job description are some signs that shows refreezing is happening within the workflow of the respective company. Employees become confident after the changes are made and they feel comfortable with new means of working. Ineffective management style and lack of a good leader has caused disappoint and resentment among the employees. As opined by Liu et al. (2015) it is important for the company to create a strong vison so that its employees can understand what they have to do in order to fulfill the expectations of Wesfarmers. In addition to this,   Heilman et al. (2018 ) asserted that a good leadership can aid this supermarket chain to form  a fruitful strategy, which should be aligned  with  the company’s new vision. It is needed for the management of Wesfarmers to give directions to its employees for executing the new vision.

Positive and Negative Impact on Organizational Decision-Making

 It is very important for the supermarket chain to interact its vision to all the workforce so that they can work harder to meet the goals and objectives of this Australian company. According to Liu et al. (2015), it is very important for the managerial section of Wesfarmers  to address employee’s concerns by starting an open conversation with them. In this, it is possible for the respective company to avoid perpetual errors.

In accordance with Amodio (2014), it is the duty of the management of Woolworths to bring change by identifying the individuals who are showing their unwillingness for changing the working processes. There are various reasons for resisting change in organisational workflow such as lack of resources, lack of financial security, and concern for security. It is seen that there are individuals who are reluctant for bringing any sort of modification in the working procedures because they feel that there is no need to change the current organisational working procedures. It is needed for the management of this company to make ensure the fact that appraisals are given to performers after judging their performance. This judgement should be unbiased in nature thereby decreasing the scope for perpetual errors.

From the perspective of Heilman et al. (2018), it is the primary task of the management of Metcash to set short-term goals for the workforce. In addition to this, it is required for the managers to recognize the good performance of the employees through offering them performance appraisals.  It also empowers the workforce for action.

The management needs to find out what are the loopholes and what are its strengths so that they can work for continuous improvement.

It is very important for the management to recognize the efforts of the employees who are responsible for bringing innovative changes in the workflow of Metcash.

It has been noted that perceptual errors, stereotyping as well as attributions directly influences the decision-making process of Woolworth. Various factors contribute to create an impact on the perceptions, which influences the overall decision-making procedures.  These are selective perception, halo effect, contrast effect, stereotyping, rationality as well as projections. Selective perception refers to a procedure where a person perceives what the individual intends to and ignores perceptions of rest individuals. The rigid management style of Woolworths ignores other’s perspectives. In case of halo effect, it is seen that sometimes, managers undertake final decisions after evaluating a person’s single trait, thereby adversely influencing on the decision-making process of Woolworths. Strict management style of Woolworths gives no scope to employees to share their opinions in the decision-making procedures. Therefore, Fiske (2018) commented that the management does not have any idea about the critical thinking abilities and creative skills of their employees.  On the other hand, Amodio (2014) asserted that  they judges their employees only on single characteristic trait  of  the  employees thereby giving rise to wrong perceptions, biasness and attributes thereby increasing the ineffectiveness of decision-making procedure. Incorrect perceptions, biased attitudes and attributes gives rise to prevalence of low morale among the employees. Therefore, they feel demotivated and demoralized. This led to reduce the overall workflow of the respective organization.

Ways to Improve HR Management

In the opinion of Amodio ( 2014),  contrast effects means assessment of the single trait of the individuals, influenced by comparison with characteristic of other individuals. These individuals rank higher or lower and they possess same characteristics. This impacts managerial decision-making of Wesfarmers. Managers of Wesfarmers often takes logical decisions instead of taking optimal decisions, thereby impacting the decision-making procedure. It has been observed that projection refers to a defense mechanism, which aids to safeguard individual from the unpleasant truths. In this context, it can be stated that managers working at Wesfarmers sometimes becomes reluctant to listen unpleasant truths about themselves or the company. This creates a negative impact on the decision-making process of Woolworths.

In the opinion of  Heilman et al. (2018), perpetual errors, biases and attributes creates a positive impact on decision-making process of Metcash. On the other hand, Hamilton (2015)  commented that, stereotyping enables a person or a manager to undertake prompt decisions thereby impacting the decision-making process of the respective organization. In this context, it can be stated that sometimes perpetual errors, biases as well as attributes helps the management to take quick decisions without lowering the productivity of the respective business firm. This approach enhances the decision-making process of Metcash.

Conclusion and Recommendation

From the above discussion, it can be concluded that perceptual errors, biases along with attributes are responsible for creating a negative impact on the decision-making process of Woolworths, Metcash and Wesfarmers. It has been observed that different factors contribute to the prevalence of perpetual errors within the workflow of the organization. Factors like projections, halo effect, contrast effects, rationality, stereotyping  and selective participation are responsible for influencing perception, which is directly responsible for creating an adverse effect on decision-making process. Moreover, it is seen that the proper implication of Lewin’s Change management model will reduce the extent of perpetual errors that often disrupts the workflow of the entire organization. It is suggested for the HR managers to adopt participative style of management where all low-level employees, mid-level employees and high-level employees can share their ideas and thoughts in front of the hierarchy. This approach of the management will reduce the chance of perpetual errors that usually takes place at the time of undertaking important business decisions.  It has been observed that managers of Woolworths, Metcash and Wesfarmers sometimes make perpetual errors while evaluating the performance of their employees. As a result, these perpetual errors, attributes along with biases adversely impacts on the decision-making procedures. It is required for the HR managers to show their unbiased attitude at the time of interviewing the individual. It is a suggestion for the HR managers working at Woolworth, Wesfarmers and Metcash to include on-job training in its working procedures. In this training sessions, HR managers of the respective company would act as a mediator thereby resolving the conflicts of  existing employees and new joinees. Apart from this, it is recommended for the HR managers to improve their analytical skills so that they can appraise one’s performance after judging all the traits of the respective individual.

References

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