Bus 200 ( Principles of Management )

Perceptual distortions refer to the preconceived notions that we have of other people and we use it as basis to identify , understand and pass judgment on them . One of the most common forms of perceptual distortion is stereotyping (Schermerhorn et . al , 2003 . Stereotypes refer to our personal bias of people based on the category or class to which a person , situation , or object belongs . We encounter it everyday , and at times may be subtle but implicitly prevalent . Like when we think that homeless people are lazy and worthless and are addicts . In my

work as an event planner for civic centers and arenas , this usually brings me in close contact with union workers . The stereotypical union worker is lazy , difficult to work with , overpaid , scheming and dishonest and at times I often catch myself thinking about these traits when I deal with them . However , for some time now , I have not had major problems working with union workers except for the difficulty in scheduling them when there is an event , because they have to take breaks at certain times and for a certain number of people . If there were any problems in the past it was more of personal differences rather than because they are union workers . This experience have taught me that the stereotypes we have of union workers or of other people are just that , stereotypes that have no real basis and no truth in it . It makes me realize that how I deal with them are often influenced by the stereotype of a union worker I have in my head and this should not be because it has not been proven and my first hand experience with them does not even support it . If I let myself be influenced by my preconceived ideas about them , then I would always feel that they are cheating on me , that they take breaks just to skip form work , etc . that would not really help me in my job . Besides I would not be able to build a positive relationship with them considering that I always have to deal with them . Thus , in to avoid perceptual distortions , we must not let our stereotypes of certain groups of people cloud our judgments or get the better of us

References

Schermerhorn , J , Hunt , J Osborn , R (2003 ) Organizational Behavior , 8th Ed . New York

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