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Module: IOP2602
Assignment Number: 01
Unique Number: 702576
Student Number: 50969048

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Index
Pg.
Introduction 3
Question 1 3-4
Question 2 4-7
Conclusion 7
References 7

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Introduction
Organisational psychology is a field of study that studies the effect of individual behaviour,
group behaviour, and contextual variables on organisational functioning. The purpose is to
promote effectiveness by applying knowledge (Robbins, Judge, Odendaal, & Roodt, 2017). In
the following section, the perceptions people form about others will be discussed, as well as
the four types of teams that is found in organisations.
Question 1: People tend to use shortcuts in forming judgements (perceptions) about
others which sometimes result in significant distortion. Explain and provide examples of
the shortcuts used when making perceptions about others.
 Selective perception
Selective perception refers to the inclination to selectively interpret what one sees on the basis
of one’s interests, experience, background, and attitudes (Robbins, Judge, Odendaal, & Roodt,
2017). We engage in selective perception because we cannot observe everything going on
around us simultaneously, thus we take in only certain stimuli. Thus, we see a situation only as
we wish to perceive it, and not what the actual situation is. For example, the manager favourites
one employee above the other employees. The reason for this is that the employee and the
manager share very similar interests, a similar background, and attitudes. The employee tends
to always agree with what the manager says, while the rest of the employees do not always
agree with the manager and they do not share very similar interests, attitudes or backgrounds
with the manager. The result is that the manager overlooks the favourite employee who is
always late and whose work is never up to date, while reprimanding the rest of the employees
who do not adhere to all the rules of the organisation.
 Halo effect
The halo effect refers to the tendency to draw a general impression about a person on the basis
of a single characteristic, i.e. intelligence or appearance (Robbins, Judge, Odendaal, & Roodt,
2017). A single trait of a person can influence the impression of the whole person. For example,
if a client meets an employee in a corporate setting who is dressed as if they are at the beach,
the client will form the impression that the employee is sloppy and does not care to portray a
professional appearance. The employee could have come in on their off day to pick something
up. However, the client would have already formed an impression about the employee.
 Contrast effect

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The contrast effect is the evaluation of a person’s characteristics that is affected by comparisons
with other people recently encountered who rank either higher or lower on the same
characteristics (Robbins, Judge, Odendaal, & Roodt, 2017). For example, if an interviewer
interviewed an individual that made a good impression, and the next interviewee makes less of
an impression, a contrast effect will distort the perception of the interviewer. The first candidate
is more likely to get the job than the second person because of the contrast effect.
 Stereotyping
Stereotyping refers to judging someone based on the perception of the group to which that
person belongs (Robbins, Judge, Odendaal, & Roodt, 2017). There are different ways of
stereotyping people. For example, we’d be right to assume that the person working in the
salaries department of an organization would know something about how salaries are processed
every month. Other stereotypes can be harmful or negative. For example, “women belong in
the kitchen”, “black people have a lower IQ than white people”, or “older people can’t do the
job as efficiently as younger people”. Stereotypes often work below conscious level, thus
making them hard to challenge or change (Robbins, Judge, Odendaal, & Roodt, 2017).
Question 2: Provide a detailed summary on each of the four most common types of teams
in the organization.
A ‘work team’ is a group whose individual efforts result in performance that is greater than the
sum of the individual inputs (Robbins, Judge, Odendaal, & Roodt, 2017). In the following
section, the four most common type of teams will be discussed. They are: Problem-solving
teams, self-managed work teams, cross-functional teams, and virtual teams.
Problem-solving teams
A problem-solving team is groups of five to 12 employees from the same department who meet
for a few hours each week to discuss ways of improving quality, efficiency and the work
environment (Robbins, Judge, Odendaal, & Roodt, 2017). In the 1980s the applications of
problem-solving teams were quality circles. These work teams consist of eight to ten
employees and supervisors. They have a shared responsibility and meet frequently to discuss
their quality problems, investigate the causes of problems, recommend solutions and take
corrective actions. Problem-solving teams only make recommendations. The following are
prerequisites for the success of problem-solving teams (Robbins, Judge, Odendaal, & Roodt,
2017):

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• Management should give meaningful and visible support to the team.
• Teams need to be a part of an on-going total approach to improvement.
• All the stakeholders should be involved.
• Adequate training needs to be an ongoing process.
Self-managed work teams
Self-managed work teams refer to groups of ten to 15 people who take on responsibilities of
their former supervisors (Robbins, Judge, Odendaal, & Roodt, 2017). Tasks can include the
following:
• Planning and scheduling work
• Assigning tasks to members
• Making operating decisions
• Taking actions on problems
• Working with suppliers and customers
A fully self-managed work team can also select their own members and evaluate one another’s
performance. Supervisors are of less importance and are sometimes eliminated altogether.
Research on these teams have not always produced positive results. Typically, these teams do
no manage conflict well. Members might stop cooperating and power struggles ensue. This in
turn leads to lower group performance. Although individuals on these teams tend to report
higher levels of job satisfaction than other individuals, they also tend to have higher
absenteeism and turnover rates (Robbins, Judge, Odendaal, & Roodt, 2017).
The readiness of employees and team leaders to embrace the concept and work independently
is a prerequisite of a successful self-directed team. The team leader has in the past, and in the
future will play, a crucial role in the effective functioning of organisations. The following roles
have been identified for team leaders (Robbins, Judge, Odendaal, & Roodt, 2017):
• Leader
• Coach/trainer
• Barrier buster
• Team developer
• Facilitator
• Business analyst

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Self-managing work teams are the highest form of team work in an organization. For this
reason, these teams cannot be implemented without the necessary preparation. The essence of
the self-managing work team is contained in the following concepts (Robbins, Judge,
Odendaal, & Roodt, 2017):
• Involvement
• Empowerment
• Enabling
• Leadership
• Evolution
Implementation is a process that should take place over a period of time. Therefore, it should
include all interested parties and also provide the necessary training and support (Robbins,
Judge, Odendaal, & Roodt, 2017).
Cross-functional teams
A cross-functional team refers to employees from about the same hierarchical level, but from
different work areas, who come together to accomplish a task (Robbins, Judge, Odendaal, &
Roodt, 2017). All the major automobile manufacturers make use of cross-functional teams, e.g.
Toyota, Honda, Nissan, BMW, GM, Ford, and Chrysler. Cross-functional team allow for
individuals from diverse areas within or between organisations to (Robbins, Judge, Odendaal,
& Roodt, 2017):
• Exchange information
• Develop new ideas
• Solve problems
• Coordinate complex projects
These teams are not easy to manage as it consists of individuals with different focuses and
ways of thinking. The early stages of development for these teams are often long, for the reason
that members need to learn to work with diversity and complexity. Because people stem from
different backgrounds with different experiences and perspectives, it tends to take time to build
trust and team work (Robbins, Judge, Odendaal, & Roodt, 2017).
Virtual teams

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A virtual team is a team that uses computer technology to tie together physically dispersed
members in order to achieve a common goal (Robbins, Judge, Odendaal, & Roodt, 2017). This
kind of team collaborates online. This means that the communicate via wide-area networks,
video-conferencing, or email, whether they are in the same building or continents apart. Virtual
teams have their advantages, but they also have significant disadvantages. The most important
disadvantage lies in misunderstanding one another or poor communication. Electronic
communication can lead to misunderstanding and faulty interpretation that is due to the fact
that neither the sender or receiver has the ability to clarify connotation and denotation. Stress
can also occur because of a lack of social rapport and direct interaction among the team
members. Research has shown that virtual teams are better at sharing unique information, than
non-virtual teams. However, they tend to share less information overall. In order for virtual
teams to be effective, management should ensure the following (Robbins, Judge, Odendaal, &
Roodt, 2017):
• Trust is established among members
• Team progress is monitored closely
• The efforts and products of the team are publicized throughout the organization
Conclusion
The perceptions that people form about one another can be crucial in the work environment. It
can have an effect on job performance and how clients perceive members of an organisation.
We also discussed the four types of teams found in an organisation. Finding and choosing the
correct team for an organisation is very important. It will have a huge impact on how members
work together and communicate. This can influence turnover in an organisation.
References
Robbins, S.P., & Judge, T.A., & Odendaal, A., & Roodt, G. (2017). Organisational
Psychology for IOP2602. 1st
UNISA custom edition. Organisational behavior: global and
Southern African perspectives. Pearson Education: Cape Town.