Theories of Perception and Perception in the Workplace

Theories of Perception and Perception in the Workplace Perception Perception can be termed as the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses. It can be understood as the way in which something is regarded, understood and interpreted. In our day to day activities we perceive things constantly. Perception is a process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment. Various authors have defined Perception as follows : â€Å"The best and the most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, nor touched†¦but are felt in the heart† Hellen Keller â€Å"To begin with, our perception of the world is deformed, incomplete. Then our memory is selective. Finally, writing transforms.† Claude Simon Perception includes our five senses i.e. touch, sight, taste smell and taste. It also involves the cognitive processes required to process information, such as recognizing the face of a friend or detecting a familiar scent. The perceptual process is a sequence of steps that begins with the environment and leads to our perception of a stimulus and an action in response to the stimulus. Most of the perception process takes place subconsciously. However what we perceive can be substantially different from objective reality. For example, we may view our workplace as a great place to work favourable working conditions, interesting job assignments, good pay, excellent benefits, understanding and responsible management but someone else may have a different view point than ours. This is due to the difference in our way of thinking or perception. The Perception Process consists of Three Steps: They are: Selection Organization Interpretation 1. Selection Selection is the process by which we attend to some things in our environment and not others. Because we are exposed to infinitely more data than we can possibly manage, the first thing our brain helps us do is select the data we want to attend to. Many things affect what data we select out of the environment to attend to, but this is primarily a matter of contrast: we are attracted to larger things against a smaller background and vice versa; things that move against a still background, and vice versa; things that repeat, things that are familiar in a strange environment, things that are different in a familiar environment, etc. For example if we are walking around a park we may focus on the swings and not the lake. This is due to the fact that we want to focus on the swings because we give greater importance to it. 2. Organization While we may have selected out and attended to particular data in the environment, many messages are still ambiguous – that is, we can ‘‘arrange’’ the data in more than one way. We all can remember from some training exercise or psychology class those pictures and images that challenged your perceptual abilities – like the one that is both the old haggardly woman and the beautiful young woman with a hat – but not at the same time? There are others that are common – lines that are both bent and parallel; grey spots that appear between squares, but are not ‘‘really’’ there in the physical data? Thats the same issue plaguing us. Importantly however, notice that in all cases, we cannot see the competing sets of stimuli at the same time. We cannot see the old woman and the young woman at the same time; we cannot see the lines as parallel unless we are told to look; we cannot see how the man continually ascends the staircase unless we look for other data. The fact that we see one thing and not the other is the way perception works in conflict. Of course, it’s the same physical picture for everyone, so what explains the discrepancy in ‘‘reality’’? Again, the same picture for everyone – the physical data don’t run around and rearrange themselves when we blink – so why don’t we see the same thing? 3. Interpretation The final perceptual process is interpretation, where we attach an assessment or evaluation to the data, or derive a particular understanding of the data. Our interpretations, as do our organizing schema, come from our mental models or frames of reference. Past experiences play an important role in how we interpret data, as well as our assumptions about human nature, and our expectations about people, things and events. How we interpret data is also influenced by personal mood, as well as ‘‘closure’’, which allows us to add finishing touches to an experience to reduce any uncertainty about the data. It is what allows us to finish another person’s sentence for them, or generalize what another person must be like based on what they are wearing or something they say. Various Studies Conducted on Perception There have been many research and studies done on Perception. Some of them are detailed below: 1. Self Perception Theory Self-perception theory (SPT) is an account of  attitude  formation developed by  psychologist  Daryl Bem (1972).According to self-perception theory, people come to know themselves in the same way that they come to know others. They observe their own behaviors in a variety of situations and then they make attributions about their behaviors. Of course, people are free to make so-called fundamental attribution errors. Most of the time we prefer to attribute the causes of behaviors in others to personality traits or internal factors, rather than situational ones. We tend to think that another persons actions are caused by something within, rather than being caused by circumstances, or external, situational factors. The personality traits to which we attribute our own behaviors can be seen as self-definitions. This is especially true in the context of narratives about ourselves in psychotherapy. It may be useful to outline specifically how self-definition operates in counselling and psychotherapy. Such a model can serve to identify the stages of the process. It should also point out a basis for the reciprocal nature of therapy. Here is a proposed six-step outline of the self-definition process in counselling and psychotherapy. In a psychotherapy experience, people learn about themselves by observing their own behaviors: They observe and attend to the things they say about themselves in counselling sessions. The therapist encourages new behaviors, including new recognitions of feelings, new experiences and new cognitions. People then try out new behaviors, both in and out of the counselling sessions. With the counsellors help, they reflect on these new behaviors: What do these behaviors say about their self-definitions? They then redefine their selves according to their new behaviors. Feedback from others, including the counsellor and other members in a group counselling setting, allows them to monitor the changes. It may be that when this sequence occurs, therapists quite often notice that the therapy is â€Å"working.† Perhaps good counselling and psychotherapy experiences can be best understood as instances of heightened self-perception. 2. Extrasensory Perception Extrasensory perception or ESP refers to the sixth sense in an individual. It was coined by Dr. J. B. Rhine to denote psychic abilities. These psychic abilities included telepathy, clairvoyance, clairaudience and precognition or retro cognition associated with them. He believed that individuals perceive using their mind senses rather than the physical senses. Experiments and Findings Ina Jephson (1920) was one of the first person to conduct a study using cards on ESP. She reported mixed findings across two studies. G.N.M. Tyrrell conducted further experiments using target-selection and data-recording to guess the location of a point of light in future. Other experiments of paranormal cognition and ability to retrieve information through token objects were conducted by Whateley Carington and J. Hettinger respectively. In the 1960s, cognitive psychologyandhumanistic psychology were the centre of development. Therefore in line with them, parapsychologists became increasingly interested in the cognitive components of ESP, the subjective experience involved in making ESP responses, and the role of ESP in psychological life. Memory, for instance, was offered as a better model of psi than perception. This called for experimental procedures that were not limited to Rhines favoured forced-choice methodology. Free-response measures, such as used by Carington in the 1930s, were developed with attempts to raise the sensitivity of participants to their cognitions. These procedures included relaxation, meditation, REM-sleep, and the Ganzfeld (a mild sensory deprivation procedure). 3. Gregory (1970) and Top Down Processing Psychologist  Richard Gregory (1970) believed that perception is a hypothesis. Heargued that perception is a constructive process. It relies on the approach of top down processing. For  Gregory was of the opinion that perception involves making inferences and best guesses from what we see.He argued that people perceive using their past experiences as an anchor in his approach. When we see something, we develop a perceptual hypothesis based on prior knowledge. The hypotheses we develop are nearly always correct. However, on rare occasions, perceptual hypotheses can be disconfirmed by the data we perceive. 4. Gibson (1966) and Bottom Up Processing James Gibson (1966)  criticized Gregorys discussion citing it as artificial and of having no relevance in the real world. It is important to note that Gregory noted these as exceptions in his theory rather than a norm. Gibson was of the opinion that perception is direct. He believed that there is enough information in our environment to perceive directly.Gibson thought that perception is sensation and we get what we see. He believed that the information we receive about our environment w.r.t. to shape, distance, size, etc. is sufficiently detailed for us to form our own perception. For example, Gibsons support of the argument that perception is direct is parallax motion. As we move through our environment, objects which are close to us pass us by faster than those further away. This is most recognisable when we are moving in a fast car. Emerging trends and Challenges globally and in India Factors Affecting Perception in Workplace There are various factors that can affect an individuals perception in a workplace. These factors are responsible for the difference in attitudes among employees, absenteeism, turnaround, job satisfaction etc. The various factors are : Stereotyping: We sometimes see stereotyping in an organisation based on an employees field of work. The most common example is that of white-collar employees and blue-collar employees. The employees from both these stratas have a different perception of each other simply because the kind of work they do. Though both are contributing towards the growth of the organisation but stereotyping brings different perceptions among them Personal problems: Many a times the personal problems of a worker finds its way into his/her work life. These problems can include death, divorce, pregnancy etc. A worker going through a personal problem may be grateful that he has a job atleast and works hard to retain the same. On the other hand he sees is colleague as not being so grateful and perceives him/her as lazy. Cultural Difference: Cultural Differences may play a major role in development of perceptions among individuals. These occur due to the upbringing and the past experience of an individual. Asian employees have a tendency to focus more on the relationship with their employer compared to their western counterparts. In America and Britain the emphasis on time management which is secondary to Indian employees. Management Styles: If a manager does not interfere in the subordinates work and maintains a distance between them he may be perceived as one who does not care about the employees or their work. However if he interferes, he may be thought to be a person who does not trust anybody. Gender Bias: Gender bias and sexual harassment are burning issues that plague all organizations today. What constitutes sexual harassment and what does not is widely influenced by perception. Macabe and Hardman conducted a survey in Australia on sexual harassment and found that white-collar workers perceive and report sexual harassment more than blue-collar ones. The survey found that in white-collar organizations, most women experience sexual harassment. While men were more tolerant than women, women who had experienced it were most likely to report it. In blue-collar organizations, the type of harassment and the people most likely to report it were same but there were no gender differences as far as sexual harassment is concerned. Conclusion Perception is the way we perceive people, objects and events. A number of factors operate to shape and sometimes distort perception. These factors can reside in the perceiver; in the object, or target, being perceived; or in the context of the situation in which the perception is made. When we look at a target and attempt to interpret what we see, our interpretation is heavily influenced by your personal characteristics our attitudes, personality, motives, interests, past experiences, and expectations. For instance, if we expect police officers to be authoritative or young people to be lazy, we may perceive them as such, regardless of their actual traits. The Perception theories too are not cent percent applicable in all cases. This is due to the fact that each individual is different and he has a separate way of thinking. I would like to conclude by saying that Perception is about PERCEIVING and it depends on the individual. References: Books Robbins , Judge and Vohra (2013) Organisational Behaviour Perception and Individual Decision Making In-text reference : (Robbin, Judge and Vohra,2013) Journals R. Michael Boneko (2011). Learning in conflict: revisiting the role of perception  Development and Learning Organizations VOL. 25 NO. 2 2011, pp. 15-17,  In-text reference : (R.Michael Boneko, 2011) Rostylsaw W. Robak (2001). Self-Definition in Psychotherapy: Is it Time to Revisit Self-Perception Theory?  North American Journal of Psychology, 15277143, 2001, Vol. 3, Issue 3  In-text reference : (Rostylsaw W. Robak, 2001) Ellis, A. (2000). Rational emotive behavior therapy.  In R. J. Corsini D. Wedding (Eds.), Current Psychotherapies (6[supth] ed., pp. 168–204). Itasca, IL: F. E. Peacock Publishers.  In-text reference : (Ellis, A. ,2000) Websites Kendra Cherry Perception and the Perceptual Process.  Retrieved from the website : http://psychology.about.com/od/sensationandperception/ss/  In-text reference : (Kendra Cherry) Boundless Psychology Sensation and Perception  Retrieved from the website:  https://www.boundless.com/psychology/textbooks/boundless-psychology-textbook/sensation-and-perception-5/the-basics-of-perception-39/selection-168-12703/  In-text reference : (Boundless Psychology) Wikipedia Perception Theories  Retrieved from the website : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/perception-theories.html  In-text reference : (Perception Theories)

Asset Liability Management in Banks

5 Asset and Liability Management (ALM) 29. There are different organizational and governance models that guide the management of bank asset and liability activities. The models reflect fundamentally different risk philosophies that tend to evolve with the growing sophistication and depth of financial markets together with the position and activities undertaken by a bank in the market. The terms ‘ALM unit’ and ‘treasury unit’, can be confusing as they are often used by organizations who assign different responsibilities to them – this will be explained below. 5. 1 Key aspects that influence a banks approach 0. The evolution of models is driven by differing philosophies about the role of the treasury or the ALM unit and banks in markets at different stages of development often regard the treasury unit differently. 31. In emerging markets the treasury function is usually simplistic and a support function mainly focused on liquidity management and basic f oreign exchange activity. In these banks, it is not uncommon to have a prohibition on involvement in more sophisticated capital markets transactions such as derivatives due to lack of knowledge and suspicion about the instruments. Such markets can suffer from poorly developed capital markets that provide little capacity to offset the risks assumed from the customer franchise. The result is often that these banks are slow to evolve and run risks, without knowing it, which can threaten their very survival. 32. In developing markets the treasury function usually begins to take on more structure, more activities and a broader mandate. At the simpler end of the spectrum it can assume full balance sheet management responsibility, involving itself in more complex analytics and hedging activities. At the more complex end it can assume trading and market making responsibilities for a range of capital market products that are used in hedging but also are provided to customers. This can often be referred to as an ‘integrated treasury function’, with profit making as well as hedge management the central themes. 33. In developed markets the model usually evolves by separating out the trading and market making functions into a more customer centric unit such s a capital markets or institutional banking division, with a subsequent refocusing of the core ALM functions on more detailed analysis, and management of the banks’ assets, liabilities and capital base. Treasury becomes more of a service centre in these banks, providing assistance and support with pricing and analytics to customer facing divisions. The ALM or balance sheet can often be managed aggressively through the use of 11 | P a g e derivative contracts. Funds transfer pricing mechanisms are used extens ively to create economic transparency and to immunize business units to risk. 4. In all models the ALM function reports to either the CEO / CFO with the CFO generally having the day to day responsibility for the ALM core functions. Under all models it is important to establish a clear understanding of activities and risk thresholds in the Treasury function and ensure the risk framework is aligned to the operating structure and market realities. Establishing a governance structure within which the board of the bank is fully informed and cognisant of the risks being run is a critical and mandatory component. 35. It is in the more developed markets that the Chief Risk Officer function has developed and come to represent the single independent point of oversight both internally and externally. 5. 2 Focus on some key ALM activities 36. Successful ALM units create a properly aligned risk and return management process. The right mix between skills and risk appetite must be identified, expected outcomes of activities known and appropriate metrics established. The approach adopted needs to be aligned to the realities of the market the bank is operating within and to its desired risk appetite. 5. . 1 Mismatch Management and Performance Measurement 37. A bank needs to decide whether it wants to take a relatively neutral approach to ALM risks or is prepared to take a more aggressive approach and target higher long term earnings and an increase in economic value. Irrespective of the choice made, a bank needs to realise that the right level of skills and resources need to be committed to support the fun ction. Failure to do this can result in a poorly managed operation characterised by volatility in; core earnings/margin; economic value, and; unpredictable economic results. 8. The mismatch position of the balance sheet represents the interest rate and liquidity risk profile inherent. Assuming a single portfolio without hedges, a large and well diversified bank, with transactions weighted broadly across all market segments, will find that its balance sheet will naturally take on countercyclical characteristics as the business environment consolidates through the economic cycle. This makes sense as the bank is effectively providing customers with solutions they are demanding as they operate in the external environment. The market itself will also provide limitations and one of the areas where this can manifest strongly is on the liability side of the balance sheet. Various techniques are used to examine the mismatch in a bank’s balance sheet and it can be a difficult process if not supported with adequate systems. Depending on systems and analytical support the ALM process will undertake a number of analysis designed to identify; static and dynamic mismatch; sensitivity of net interest income; and, market value under multiple scenarios -including under high stress. 39. The majority of banks set net interest income (NII) limits as a main measure of performance with the more advanced banks also using market or economic value as a secondary measure. NII has become the industry benchmark simulation tool because; it is relatively easy to understand and implement; it’s a single period measure that does not require many assumptions, and; it is easy for investors to relate to because it is directly linked to reported financial results. On the negative side, it is limited as it does not provide a full view of the risks run by a bank or reflect fully the economic impact of interest rate movements. Market value or economic value simulations on the other hand, offer a more complete assessment of the risk being run but require significantly more 12 | P a g e detailed analysis which is out of reach of many banks at this point. The process requires multiple assumptions that are difficult to form in some cases and is less intuitive and more difficult to understand. Notwithstanding the difficulties of the latter, both metrics are important in the measurement and management of embedded risk in banks. In less developed ALM units, the time it takes to collect and analyse information can render much of it useless for active management as by the time it is available markets have moved making hedging ineffective. 40. Access to timely and accurate data is critical in support of any form of ALM activity. 5. 2. 2 Funds Transfer Pricing (FTP) 41. The funds transfer pricing system has become a fundamental ALM tool in a bank. It creates the ability to immunize business units from risk and provides the basis for economic and product transparency. 42. The process of FTP is designed to identify interest margins and remove interest rate and funding or liquidity risk. Looking at it from the business unit perspective, it effectively locks in the margin on loans and deposits by assigning a transfer rate that reflects the repricing and cash flow profile of each balance sheet item – it is applied to both assets and liabilities. From the ALM unit’s perspective, it isolates business performance into discrete portfolios that can be assigned individualised metrics and facilitates the centralisation and management of interest rate mismatches. A by-product is that it effectively allocates responsibilities between the organizational business units and the treasury department. 43. In more developed banks, the FTP mechanism can also be used as a tool to assist with management of the balance sheet structure with FTP rates adjusted to either encourage or discourage product and customer flows. The associated analytical process leads to greater understanding of a bank’s competitive advantage, assisting with asset allocation and protection of the franchise. Similarly, in smaller and/or less developed banks it is of equal value as both a management and strategy tool. 4. The methods used by banks are generally consistent – FTP rates are structured to include both interest rate and funding liquidity risks with the derived transfer yield curve constructed to include appropriate premiums. Such premiums should capture all elements associated with the banks funding cost. These should include the cost of items such as; holdi ng liquidity reserves; optionality costs, where pre-payment rights exist; term funding program costs; and, items such as basis risk. 5. 2. 3 Liquidity Management 45. The main liquidity concern of the ALM unit is the funding liquidity risk embedded in the balance sheet. The funding of long term mortgages and other securitised assets with short term liabilities (the maturity transformation process), has moved to centre stage with the contagion effect of the sub-prime debacle. Both industry and regulators failed to recognise the importance of funding and liquidity as contributors to the crisis and the dependence on short term funding created intrinsic flaws in the business model. Banks must assess the buoyancy of funding and liquidity sources through the ALM process. 46. Banks are in the business of maturity transformation to meet their customers’ requirements and these result in liquidity, interest rate and currency mismatches which need to be managed. ALM 13 | P a g e units have traditionally analysed and ‘managed’ liquidity within pre set limits; however it is only the recent crises that have brought its true importance into focus. Failure to manage effectively can have dire results but the events of recent times have demonstrated that liquidity impacts can be cataclysmic to a bank. 47. Like all areas of risk management, it is necessary to put a workable framework in place to manage liquidity risk. It needs to look at two aspects: 1) Managing liquidity under the business as usual scenario, and 2) Managing liquidity under stress conditions. It also needs to include a number of liquidity measurement tools and establish limits against them. Some of the tools that have become industry standard are shown in Table 2. Table 1 – Selection of Liquidity Measurement Tools Liquidity Management Tool Description / Aim Static Funding Gap Defines the short fall in maturing liabilities required to service maturing assets– it is usually calculated on a maturity bucket basis and is calculated as the net asset osition over total liabilities. Dynamic Cash Flow Gap This includes a measurement based on maturing assets and liabilities plus assumed marketable asset liquidation over a given period. Liquidity Asset Ratios This is the ratio of liquid assets to total liabilities with liquids defined to include items such as cash and cash equivalents, trading account securities, repos investme nts into government securities, etc Concentration Ratios This is an important ratio that reassures the funding from a particular source compared to assets /liabilities or capital. Liquidity Stress Measurement A number of ratios can be examined here looking at multiple low stress and high stress scenarios Source: Modified from GARP 2008 Best Practices presentation. 5 48. At the governance level, boards need to recognise liquidity risk as the ultimate killer. This means a board needs to clearly articulate the risk tolerance of the organization and subject the balance sheet to regular scrutiny. Guiding principles need to be included as part of this process. The following 5 principles are valuable: 1. Diversify sources and term of funding – concentration and contagion were the killers in the recent crisis. . Identify, measure, monitor and control – it is still surprising that many banks do not fully understand the composition of their balance sheet to a sufficient level of detail to allow for management of the risks. 3. Understand the interaction between liquidity and other risks – e. g. basis risk – the flow on impact of an event in on e area can be devastating to others. 4. Establish both tactical and strategic liquidity management platforms – keep a focus on both the forest and the trees. 5. Establish detailed contingency plans and stress test under multiple scenarios regularly.

The roads of major cities are congested to a great extent

Many people say that bikes are the future â€Å"environment friendly† transport. The roads of major cities are overcrowded and no one seems to do anything about it. Cars, Lorries, vans and busses are vehicles that take up a lot of space and create mayhem. Most people who take vehicles as an option to work or school are late. There is traffic everywhere nowadays. Bikes, motorbikes and possibly trains are the future transports. Children and teenagers up to the age of eighteen cannot ride a motorbike. Trains don't take you specifically where you want. And the only option left are bikes. There are many advantages and disadvantages of bikes. The most important advantage of bike is that it is safe for the environment. It also means that the air around will be cleaner. If most countries start to use bikes, gradually there will be a lot less pollution. One of the countries that have already started to use bikes as a transport is China. Most of the population in china use bikes. Cycling also means that a person can become fit and everyone could become healthier. It would also mean that the roads will be free and everyone could reach to their destination on time. If bikes are considered as an answer to a major sport, than what if people have to go on a long distance journey-possibly to another city far away. This would take a long time to reach the destination and the person would have to take rests in between. It would also be tiring for a person who has to go on long distance cycling. Another factor to be considered is it would be dangerous for children under ten to ride bikes on roads and what if the mother had to take a baby to a place (babies can't ride bikes!) Some adults that are unhealthy don't like to ride bikes, and some have cardiovascular or other diseases or problems that prevent them from riding bikes. Most aged people would not be able to ride bikes and it wouldn't be safe for them to ride bikes. There are lots of statements that agree and disagree to bikes being the transport for roads in major cities. In my opinion, there should be a lot less vehicles in the future. This would mean vehicles for only long journeys. People whose destinations are closer could take a bike or walk.

The Dream Of A Dream - 1645 Words

Slipping back into her dream, she was no longer in the church. Dream Fianna had just reached the market in the village square with her sisters and the cart. Scouring the marketplace for the shawl maker, the girls were approached by a middle-aged woman leading a bedraggled nag attached to a cart stacked with knitted goods. Laboriously, the lady plodded along, dragging her left leg. Dream Fianna smiled shyly at the woman. This wasn’t part of the lesson, Fianna told them. I never met this woman in the VRC. Dream Fianna turned. â€Å"You should have. You missed the witch thing. This is part of what you need to understand.† â€Å"See what exquisite wares fill my cart,† she crooned in a grandmotherly voice, enticing the girls to step closer. From†¦show more content†¦Margaret’s told us the maker of these shawls was a young woman named Erin.† The old woman shifted her weight. Her terse smile drew down the corners of her mouth again, creating lines of wrinkles that edged around her neck and drooped into her blouse. â€Å"No, lassie, there is only one maker of knotted shawls such as these.† Her gnarled hands, too worn and creased for a person with a middle-aged face and chestnut hair sparsely streaked with silver, smoothed the stack of shawls lovingly. She moved in front of Fianna, her back to the other girls, blocking Fianna’s view of the market square. For a few seconds, Mistress Tooley’s face morphed into that of a scraggy ancient hag with long gray hair. She looked nothing like a pudgy-faced woman. Apologetically Dream Fianna tried to ease the tension. â€Å"Maybe there are others who knit the same pattern.† â€Å"It is a sad day when a child takes not the word of an elder. You should be asking forgiveness of the good Father in confession for your rudeness. As you are strangers here, I see that I must tell you the truth. I am the shawl maker’s mam. Unfortunately, she took ill this very morn so I find myself at the market today. After all, the rents must be paid and we need food for the table.† Ashamed that she had the bad manners to challenge an adult, Dream Fianna found the perfect spot to focus her downcast eyes, the toes of her shoes. â€Å"I’m sorry if I was rude, Mistress Tooley, it’s just that I’m in such a hurry to find