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, consider the following and then, formulate an analysis about how attribution theory and bias (according to chapter 8 in our text) can explain human behaviors within organizations and industry.
- Use, or closely follow, this template for your paper.
- Consider the following information associated with attribution theory to support to your writing about decision-making:
- perceptions
- bounded reality
- cognitive biases
- conjunction fallacy
- consistency
- consensus
- distinctiveness
- fundamental attribution error
- creative decision making
- Writing Content
- Decision-Making
- Based on our content this week, discuss the importance of rationale decision-making in an organization, using necessary citations. Include how bounded reality, cognitive biases, and conjunction fallacy might affect decision-making.
- Attribution Theory
- Explain attribution theory using necessary citations. Include a discussion about the effects of consistency, consensus, distinctiveness, and fundamental attribution error. Consider inclusion about the effects of perception, primacy and recency effects, selective perceptions, contrast effect, stereotyping to further support your discussion.
- Personal Experience: Inaccurate Judgement
- Based on our content this week, 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? How could this experience support your thesis about whether or not attribution theory and bias affect human behaviors with organization?
- Can self-serving, or other, bias affect one’s perception of a behavior?
- Creative Decision Making
- Explain how creative decision-making can improve our ability to make better decisions, considering the numerous obstacles to do so. Include an analysis about how good decision making can potentially affect productivity and job satisfaction.
Writing considerations:
- The introduction paragraph should introduce your topic and clearly explain what the paper will address.
- Headings can be used to organize your information. See template (Each heading should include at least two paragraphs – minimum.)
- Each paragraph should make a point which can be linked back to your introduction paragraph. Design the topic sentence to embody what the paragraph will entail.
- The most important consideration in the body paragraphs is the argument that you want to develop (is or is not perceptions, attribution theory and bias applicable?) in response to the topic (applicability of perception, attribution theory and bias). This argument is developed by making and linking points in and between paragraphs.
- The conclusion paragraph should restate your thesis (your suggestion that perceptions, attribution theory and bias does or does not apply to human behaviors in organizations.)
Your assignment should be a minimum of five to six double-spaced pages, and should adequately discuss the topic, demonstrate maturating self-awareness, and include at least one peer-reviewed source, in addition to your text. Use the rubric to check for thoroughness. Include frequent citation to resources.
