OB Assignment: Diversity, Perception, and Organizational Impact

This assignment delves into the core concepts of organizational behavior, specifically focusing on diversity and perception within a workplace context. The solution begins by defining diversity, differentiating between primary and secondary dimensions, and highlighting its benefits and challenges for organizations. It emphasizes the role of managers in leveraging diversity effectively through training and cultural awareness. The assignment then explores the complexities of perception, contrasting self-perception with the perception of others, and how environmental stimuli and individual differences influence this process. It examines the impact of perception on employee behavior and the potential for gaps between employee and managerial views. The assignment concludes by referencing key scholarly sources to support the analysis of these critical organizational behavior elements, providing a comprehensive understanding of how diversity and perception shape workplace dynamics and management strategies.

Running head: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Question 1
Diversity refers to the presence of different types of people from different backgrounds
and having different types of traits. Diversity of employees proves to be effective for the
organization. However, it is a challenge for the managers as they have the duty of using this wide
range of employees and their abilities so that they can contribute to the organization. There are
different factors of diversity, which includes, primary dimensions and secondary dimensions.
Primary dimensions include the factors like race, age, physical attributes and sexual orientation.
Secondary dimensions include marital status, religion, health, educational background and work
experience. The primary factors are stable; however, the secondary factors can change
(Ivancevich, Matteson & Konopaske, 1990).
Managing diversity is a challenging task for the managers of an organization. The
workforce in the United States has become more diverse in the recent times. Using this diversity
favorably for the organization is the task of the managers. It is essential for the organization to
promote training related to diversity and thereby manage the workforce in a proactive manner.
Cultural awareness should also be provided to the employees (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2012).
Diversity among the employees in the organization is beneficial because this diverse group of
employees represents the population of the area and the customer can connect effectively with
them. The ideas and experiences provided by the employees in a diverse group of employees is
also more. Diversity poses challenges to the organization. It is difficult for the people of different
cultures to adjust with each other. The role of the managers and the top management is to
provide training and further promote a work environment which non-discriminatory.

2ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
Individual differences between the employees affect their behavior within the
organization. The difference in employees is the main factor, which leads to the acceptability and
unacceptability of changes by different people in the organization. Every area of the organization
is affected by the differences within the employees.
Question 2
Perception of skills and abilities of oneself is different from the perception of others. The
perception of skills and abilities depends on previous experience. This process is dominated by
environmental stimuli. The meaning given to these stimuli differs from person to person, the
reason being that each person perceives each stimulus in a different manner. The choice of the
environmental stimuli that a person focuses on depends on the factor that which stimuli receive
his attention (Wagner & Hollenbeck, 2014).
The perception of the skills and abilities that the employee or subordinate has about
themselves differs from the perception of his supervisors. This leads to a gap between the
employees and the managers or supervisors. The observation of the stimuli is based on the
factors like, hearing, sight, smell and taste. The selection process involves the parameters of
intensity, size and impatience. The process of translation involves steps of self-concept,
stereotyping and emotions. This process leads to the employee’s perception of his skills and
abilities. These environmental stimuli also affect the perception process of the managers or
supervisors of the organization (Patrick & Kumar, 2012).

3ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR
References
Ivancevich, J. M., Matteson, M. T., & Konopaske, R. (1990). Organizational behavior and
management.
Kinicki, A., & Kreitner, R. (2012). Organizational behavior: Key concepts, skills & best
practices. McGraw-Hill Irwin.
Patrick, H. A., & Kumar, V. R. (2012). Managing workplace diversity: Issues and
challenges. Sage Open, 2(2), 2158244012444615.
Wagner III, J. A., & Hollenbeck, J. R. (2014). Organizational behavior: Securing competitive
advantage. Routledge.