This contains the notes on Perception In organisation Behavior. it covers details about following points:- 1. Introduction 2. Nature 3. Process 4. Importance 5. Factors Influencing Perception {Perception is the process of receiving information about and making sense of the world around us. It involves deciding which information to notice, how to categories this information and how to interpret it within the framework of existing knowledge. For e.g. – Yami goes to a restaurant and likes their customer service, so she will perceive that it is a good place to hang out and will recommend it to her friends, who may or may not like it. Yami’s perception about the restaurant is good.

1. Perception
 Perception is described as person’s view of reality.
 It is the process of interpreting something that we see or hear
in our mind and use it later to judge and gives a verdict on a
situation, person, group etc. 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 means the process of receiving information about making
sense of the world about us. It involves deciding which
information to notice, how to categories this this information
and how to interpret it within the framework of existing
knowledge.
Example – Yami goes to a restaurant and likes their customer
service, so she will perceive that it is a good place to hang out
and will recommend it to her friends, who may or may not like it.
Yami’s perception about the restaurant is good.
Nature of perception
1) Of sound − the ability to receive sound by identifying vibrations.

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2) Of speech − the competence of interpreting and understanding
the sounds of language heard.
3) Touch − Identifying objects through patterns of its surface by
touching it.
4) Taste − the ability to receive flavor of substances by tasting it
through sensory organs known as taste buds.
5) Other senses − they approve perception through body, like
balance, acceleration, pain, time, sensation felt in throat and
lungs etc.
6) Of the social world − It permits people to understand other
individuals and groups of their social world.
Perceptual Process
Perceptual process is the different stages of perception we go
through. The different stages are −
1) Receiving: Receiving is the first and most important stage
in the process of perception. It is the initial stage in which
a person collects all information and receives the
information through the sense organs.
2) Selecting: Selecting is the second stage in the process.
Here a person doesn’t receive the data randomly but
selectively. A person selects some information out of all in

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accordance with his interest or needs. The selection of
data is dominated by various external and internal factors.
 External factors − the factors that influence the perception of
an individual externally are intensity, size, contrast, movement,
repetition, familiarity, and novelty.
 Internal factors − the factors that influence the perception of
an individual internally are psychological requirements, learning,
background, experience, self-acceptance, and interest.
3) Organizing
 Keeping things in order or say in a synchronized way is
organizing. In order to make sense of the data received, it is
important to organize them.
 We can organize the data by −
 Grouping them on the basis of their similarity, proximity,
closure, continuity.
 Establishing a figure ground is the basic process in perception.
Here by figure we mean what is kept as main focus and by
ground we mean background stimuli, which are not given
attention.
 Perceptual constancy that is the tendency to stabilize
perception so that contextual changes don’t affect them.

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4) Interpreting: Finally, we have the process of interpreting
which means forming an idea about a particular object
depending upon the need or interest. Interpretation means
that the information we have sensed and organized is
finally given a meaning by turning it into something that can
be categorized. It includes stereotyping, halo effect etc.
Importance of Perception in OB
We need to understand what the role of perception in an
organization is. It is very important in establishing different role of
perceptions like −
 Understanding the tasks to be performed.
 Understanding associated importance of tasks allotted.
 Understanding preferred behavior to complete respective tasks.
 Clarifying role perceptions.
Factors Influencing Perception
I. Characteristics of the Perceiver:
When a person looks at a target and attempts to interpreter what he
sees, his interpretation is greatly influenced by his personal
characteristics which are discussed as follows:
1. Needs

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People will perceive only those items which suit their wishful
thinking.
2. Self-concept
The more we understand ourselves, the more we are able to perceive
others accurately. For example, secure people tend to see others as
warm and friendly. Less secure people often find fault with others.
3. Past Experience
Our perceptions are often guided by our past experiences and what
we expect to see. A person’s past experiences mold the way he
perceives the current situation. If a person has been betrayed by a
couple of friends in the past, he would tend to distrust any new
friendship that he might be in the process of developing.
4. Beliefs
A person’s beliefs influence his perception to a great extent. Thus, a
fact is conceived not on what it is but what a person believes it to be.
The individual normally censors stimulus inputs to avoid disturbance
of his existing beliefs.
5. Situation:

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Elements in the environment surrounding an individual like time,
location, light, heat etc., influence his perception. The context in
which a person sees the objects or events is very important.
B. Characteristics of the Perceived:
Characteristics of the person who is being observed can affect what
is perceived. Though, it may go against logic and objectivity, but it
cannot be denied that our perceptions about others are influenced by
their physical characteristics such as appearances, age, gender,
manner of communication as well as personality traits and other
forms of behavior.
For example, loud people are more likely to be noticed in a group than
are quite ones. So too are extremely attractive or extremely ugly
individuals.
Persons, objects or events that are similar to each other tend to be
grouped together. People dressed in business suits are generally
thought to be professionals, while employees dressed in ordinary
work clothes are assumed to be lower level employees.
C. Characteristics of the Situation:
The context in which we see objects or events is very important. The
surrounding environment and the elements present in it influence our

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perception while perceiving a particular situation or event, its
physical, social and organisational setting can also influence the
perception.
For example, if you meet a person for the first time and he is with a
person whom you respect and admire, you will create a favorable
image about him in your mind as compared to a situation in which you
see him with another person whom you intensely dislike. Of course,
the initial impressions may change with the passage of time, but the
saying that “First impression is the last impression” is very valued.
Location of a given event is also very important factor in determining
the behavior. For example, a conversation with the boss taking place
in a casual reception area may be perceived differently than when
taking place in the boss’s office with the door closed. Organisational
setting also affects the behavior of the people. An organisation
setting where people are given an opportunity to interact in a friendly
and sociable work situation, they become more trustworthy and less
defensive.