Perception can be described as “The process by which individuals organise and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment” Robbins et al, 2010.
Perception can determine the way a Business is run and what the morals and beliefs of the company stand for. It can factor in to every part of the organisation and can manipulate the way certain things are directed and run.
All five senses of an individual are used during perception. There can be many factors that can influence how one perceives.
Perceiver --------> Target ---------> Situation
The perceiver may perceive a situation or person incorrectly due to the attitude they hold at the time, any interests they have, past experiences they have encountered and expectations they hold towards people and situations. The target of a situation may fluctuate depending on sounds occurring at the time of perception, the background or if the person has encountered similarities to the subject. The perception of the situation depends solely on the time and place of the scenario taking place. Perception can differ entirely depending on whether the situation is taken place in a working environment or a social environment.
Reflecting upon my time in school, I recall making a perception about a teacher which I no longer hold to be true. I perceived this woman at the time to be rude, unable to understand problems and as if she would make no time for any of her students. I made this judgement due to the attitude I held that day and struggling to cope with being in a situation I did not want to be in. It was not in fact the teacher’s fault why I perceived her in such a negative light. To avoid making the same misjudgement again there are several methods I could use.
- Effective Communication
- Focus on goals
- Look for information to dis-confirm your beliefs (“devil’s advocate”)
Each of these would give me the opportunity to think about the situation and person before I judge. My perception will change when I take into consideration the situation around myself.
After reading the article “How to Improve Staff Communication”, it is my belief that the three ways the University could improve communication with students would be to :
- Enforce ‘One To One’ meetings between students and personal tutors more often
- Ensure feedback is understood after assignment have been marked
- Enforce communication and survey forms more often to provide both students and teachers with information on how the public are feeling.
It is my belief that these points would increase the communication levels between the University and students. If the Internal and External factors of a person could be observed and taken less into consideration, a person’s perception would change dramatically.
Referencing :
Robbins et al, 2010
L.J. Mullins Management & Organisational Behaviour (2010) 9th Edition.
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