Decision-Making
Our text suggests that objective reality is often significantly different from perceived reality and is an important variable to consider when making decisions within an organization. In addition, attribution theory describes how people create the explanations for their own and others' actions, as well as the outcomes of the applied behaviors. Based on these two premises, analyze and discuss the following questions:
Consider your own experiences with others. Have your actions ever been judged inaccurately by a person such as a boss, a peer, or a family member? Does attribution theory offer us any explanations for what happened in the experience?
Every day we all make choices and decisions to act on something or behave in a specific way. Consider a time where you behaved in a way that was misinterpreted by someone. Why do you think it was misinterpreted?
Further analyze your behaviors during the event. How do you believe that your actions were inaccurately interpreted or do you think you may have not fully considered why you made this decision at that time? Consider the following as you make your decision:
- Consistency. Do you tend to react/behave this way often?
- Consensus. Would other people act similarly in the same situation?
- Distinctiveness. Do other situations and stimuli elicit the same behavior?
Could perceptions of the behavior be attributed to a possible fundamental attribution error?
Could a self-serving bias be affecting your perception of what someone else thought about your behavior?