Organizational Behavior: Perception, Social Learning & Self-Efficacy

Introduction

This paper explains the core concepts of organizational behavior through the lens of a case study set at Great Northern American. It first explains the importance of perceptions and the attributions formed on the basis of those perceptions. It also highlights the most appropriate learning theory that could be effectively deployed in managing employees. Moreover, it explains how social learning theory could be instrumental in improving employee performance levels. Finally, it explains how self-efficacy can assist in hiring new people within the organization.

Perception, Attribution, and Their Significance for Sales Employees

Perception is a pivotal consideration in the domain of sales and marketing. In order to sell a product successfully within the market, a company needs to build strong and trustworthy perceptions in the minds of its target customers. Perceptions are mainly responsible for making customers select, organize, and interpret the information provided to them by a company. Attributions comprise an understanding of the causes and reasons that lead to one's own behavior or the behavior of others (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). This means that attributions are formed through perceptions. A customer holding a negative perception of a particular product will negatively affect sales of that product due to the unfavorable attributions so formed. Similarly, a positive perception can be instrumental in enhancing sales. Thus, attributions and perceptions work in concert and are significantly important in retaining loyal customers.

Perceptions and attributions formed by customers serve as core factors determining a company's sales (Champoux, 2011). It is highly essential for a salesperson to deeply understand his or her customers — their preferences, their dislikes, and the way they form perceptions and attributions. Once salespeople are acquainted with these patterns, they can develop efficient and effective ways of overcoming shortcomings and negative impressions of a product in the market. This implies that an appropriate understanding of perceptions and attributions is essential in the process of impression management as well (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). It aids a company in maintaining a strong impression among customers that the product it offers meets their needs and is worth purchasing.

Sales employees can effectively use an understanding of perception and attribution formation to build strong relationships with customers, which benefits both company sales and customer trust. By controlling the perceptions that potential customers form about them and the products they offer, salespeople can determine whether a sale is made or lost. Because employees are evaluated on the basis of their sales figures, an effective understanding of attributions and perceptions can make them more successful by enabling them to establish meaningful, lasting relationships with their customers.

The most suitable learning theory for this organizational context is social learning theory, as it revolves around acquiring knowledge by mentally processing information through observing, watching, and imitating others. Social learning theory often produces productive results because people tend to adopt the behaviors of others by observing them. This learning process can be either direct or indirect, as people adopt behaviors after observing the outcomes those behaviors produce in others' lives (Pawar, 2009). Effective learning is often considered a social process in which role models and real-life examples are instrumental in teaching appropriate behaviors in an effective way.

Social Learning Theory as the Optimal Framework

Social learning theory revolves around five core features: symbolizing, self-efficacy, self-control, forethought, and vicarious learning (Griffin & Moorhead, 2009). All of these characteristics help employees recognize which behaviors are considered appropriate and which are not. Social learning theory also helps employees understand the personality traits and behaviors required for succeeding within the company and ultimately within the target market.

Social learning theory communicates the importance of adopting appropriate workplace social behaviors by demonstrating how an organization has responded to the same behaviors when exhibited by other employees (Champoux, 2011). For example, an employee may begin contributing creative ideas if he or she observes that a colleague was rewarded for doing so. This is a natural social phenomenon: people imitate the behaviors of those they admire, respect, or see achieving fruitful outcomes. Because social learning theory advocates learning from the behaviors of others, it is the most appropriate strategy for this company's employee development.

Conclusion

This case study was instrumental in highlighting the core concepts of organizational behavior. It firstly highlighted the fact that an appropriate understanding of the formation of customer perceptions and attributions is highly essential in maintaining loyal customers. It stressed the importance of social learning theory in advocating positive social workplace behaviors, which shape the personality and professional capabilities of employees and ultimately make them more valuable organizational assets. The case study also examined several ways in which social learning techniques can be adopted to enhance employee performance. Lastly, it explained the importance of leveraging self-efficacy both in the hiring process and in ongoing employee development.