that spells out some of the problems found in operating garment factories in 60 coun- tries around the world to produce clothes for the Gap, Old Navy, GapBody, GapKids, and Banana Republic. It found persistent wage, health, and safety violations in many factories. These violations ranged from failure to provide protective wear to physical abuse and coercion. The Gap pulled its business from more than 140 factories and turned down business from hundreds of others when they failed to meet the Gap’s labor standards.
High worker turnover (more than 60 percent) is common in the apparel industry and is a sig- nificant contributor to production costs. The Gap found that good factory practices and bet- ter working conditions lead to these results:
(1) Factories that treated their workers better had significantly lower turnover than those that treated their workers poorly, (2) factory man- agers who maintained close relationships and frequent communications with buyers tended to have better human resource management systems and experienced lower management turnover than those with limited buyer contact, and (3) a factory’s production efficiency declined by 16 percent for each 1 percent increase in monthly turnover.
Armed with these data, the Gap’s vice presi- dent for social responsibility, Dan Henkle, took a variety of actions, three of which are discussed here. First, the Gap built an elaborate monitor- ing system with about 90 members who perform more than 8,500 factory inspections each year.
The inspections have focused on working condi- tions, such as child or forced labor (prisoners), unrealistic production cycles, requiring employ- ees to work more than 60 hours a week, and expecting employees to work unpaid overtime.
As a result of the inspections, 136 factories were found in violation and dropped from the Gap’s supplier list.
Second, the Gap outlined specific goals for each of its supplier factories to achieve.
For example, in its Southern China plant, plant management redefined the role of sew- ing supervisors to focus on workers’ wages and operational efficiency as well as output.
The result was a decrease of 99 percent in the
Ethics competency
The Gap
The Gap discovered that good factory practices and working conditions lead to positive results.
IMAGEBROKER/ALAMY
JEFF GROSS/GETTY IMAGES
missing units from theft, a 9 percent decrease in worker turnover, a 35 percent reduction in overtime, and a 50 percent average increase in workers’ monthly pay. In India, the Gap added benefits like on-site child care and
health care, as well as free meals. These have reduced turnover and improved productivity.
Third, Henkle and his staff met with several labor-advocacy groups in an effort to clarify the Gap’s labor policies.
To learn more about The Gap, to go www.gap.com.
After reading this competency feature, did your perceptions of the Gap’s use of foreign manufacturers change?
Attributions of Success and Failure
The attributions that employees and leaders make regarding success or failure are very important. Leaders may base decisions about rewards and punishments on their perceptions of why subordinates have succeeded or failed at some task. In general, individuals often attribute their own and others’ success or failure to four causal factors—ability, effort, task dif- ficulty, and luck31:
I succeeded (or failed) because I had the competencies to do the task
•
(or because I did not have the competencies to do the task). Such statements are ability attributions.
I succeeded (or failed) because I worked hard at the task (or
•
because I did not work hard at the task). Such statements are effort attributions.
I succeeded (or failed) because the task was easy (or because the task
•
was too hard). Such statements are attributions about task difficulty.
I succeeded (or failed) at the task because I was lucky (or unlucky).
•
Such statements are attributions about luck or the circumstances sur- rounding the task.
Causal attributions of ability and effort are internal. Causal attributions of task difficulty and luck are external. These attributions about success or failure reflect differences in self-esteem and locus of control—personality dimensions discussed in Chapter 3. Accordingly, the self-serving bias refers to individuals attributing their success to internal factors (abil- ity or effort) and attributing their failure to external factors (task difficulty or luck). For example, an individual with high self-esteem and high internal locus of control is likely to assess his own performance positively and to attribute his good performance to internal causes.
The tendency of employees to accept responsibility for good performance but to deny responsibility for poor performance often presents a serious challenge for manag- ers during performance appraisals.32 A self-serving bias may also create other types of problems. For example, it prevents individuals from accurately assessing their own per- formance and abilities and makes it more difficult to determine why a course of action has failed. The general tendency to blame others for a person’s own failures often is associated with poor performance and an inability to establish satisfying interpersonal relationships at work and in other social settings. In general, a version of the self-serving bias seems to operate when people are asked to compare themselves to others in the
▲ Tiger Woods' key to success relies on internal attribution processes.
work setting. That is, managers and employees often view themselves to be more ethical, more effective, better performing, and so on, than the “average” other person.
One of the more traumatic events that can occur to anyone is being fired.33 Today losing a job doesn’t carry the stigma that it once did. But—it still hurts! Inevitably the person asks herself: What went wrong? What could I have done differently? And, perhaps most important: What am I going to do now?
For most people, undertaking a job search at any time is always stressful.
Undertaking a job search after suffering the psychological blow of being fired can be a formidable challenge for anyone. Suppose that you have just been fired. You can take certain constructive actions to increase your chances of success and even end up with a more satisfying job. All of these tips assume that you have not been fired for unethical behaviors, including theft, bullying, sexual harassment, and other issues.
1. Work through the firing psychologically. Emotionally, you might feel like hiding or taking a sabbatical. Experts suggest, however, that beginning the search for a new job immediately is crucial. The first contact or two may be hard, but the sooner you get started and the more people you talk to, the quicker you will find another position. Of course, reestablishing your normal good spirits may be either a long or slow process, depending on your ability to bounce back.
Maintaining a sense of humor helps. Hal Lancaster, of the Wall Street Journal, suggests that “getting fired is nature’s way of telling you that you had the wrong job in the first place.”
2. Figure out what went wrong. This step is an important part of coming to grips, psychologically, with the situation. If you don’t understand what led to your being fired, you’re likely to repeat the same mistakes in the future. Moreover, you need to talk to your former employer, coworkers, and friends and seek honest feedback to help you understand your strengths and weaknesses. Doing so may well be dif- ficult. Many firms’ human resource professionals prefer to say as little as possible at the time of dismissal in order to minimize lawsuits. If you can’t get insights from your former employer, experts suggest utilizing a career counselor to help you make the same evaluation.
3. Work with your former employer to develop an exit statement. If possible, you should have something in writing from your former employer that will be an asset in your job search. Specific suggestions include having a paragraph that describes what you accomplished in your former job followed by a paragraph that explains why you are no longer with the firm. There are lots of “socially acceptable” reasons that can be given in such a document: a change in man- agement style, a change in strategy, the desire to pursue interests that no lon- ger fit what the employer wants, and so on. Surprisingly, the fired employee can often get a former manager or a senior manager to sign such a document.
Managers often want to be helpful, and if such a request is approached in a constructive, problem-solving manner, many times the former manager is willing to help create a letter or other document that does not condemn the company or you. This approach has the advantage of creating a situation where prospective future employers hear the same “story” from both the for- mer employer and you.
4. Avoid negative attributions as part of your explanation. Experts say that you should never say anything bad about your former employer. Don’t make excuses, don’t trash the people you used to work for, and don’t blame everything on oth- ers. Focus on the positive aspects of any written understanding that you have obtained. Accept responsibility for both your failures and successes. Quickly move the discussion to the future, stressing what you’ve learned from previous jobs and focusing on what you can do for a new employer.
Chapter Summary
Key Terms and Concepts
Attribution process, 119 Expatriates, 113
Feng shui, 106
Fundamental attribution error, 122 Golem effect, 116
Halo effect, 116
Implicit personality theory, 111 Impression management, 117 Perception, 104
Perceptual defense, 115
Perceptual set, 110 Person perception, 111 Pollyanna principle, 110 Projection, 117
Pygmalion effect, 116 Selective screening, 107 Self-fulfilling prophecy, 116 Self-serving bias, 124 Stereotyping, 115
Perception is the psychological process whereby the individual selects information from the environment and organizes it to make sense of his world. Environmental stimuli are observed, selected, organized, interpreted, and responded to as a result of the perceptual process. Understanding the two major components of this process—
selection and organization—is particularly important.
Perceptual selection is used to filter out less important information in order to focus on more important environmental cues. Both external factors in the environment and factors internal to the perceiver influence perceptual selection. External factors (i.e., size, motion) can be thought of as characteristics of the event. These influence whether the event is likely to be noticed. Internal factors include personality, learning, and motivation.
How the individual perceives another is particularly important for organizational behavior. Person perception is a function of the characteristics of the person per- ceived, the characteristics of the perceiver, and the situation within which the percep- tion takes place. Individuals may go to great lengths to manage the impressions that others form about them.
The perceptual process may result in errors of judgment or understanding in various ways.
The more important and common perceptual errors include perceptual defense, stereo- typing, the halo effect, projection, and impression management. However, through train- ing and experience, individuals can learn to judge or perceive others more accurately.
Attribution deals with the perceived causes of behavior. Individuals infer causes to understand the behavior of others. Their perceptions of why certain behaviors occur influence their own subsequent behaviors and feelings. Whether behavior is internally caused by the nature of the individual or externally caused by circumstances over which the individual has little control has important implications for leaders. Individuals also make attributions concerning task success and failure that have important implications for organizational behavior.
1. Describe the major elements in the perceptual process.
2. Identify the main factors that influence what the individual perceives.
3. Identify the factors that determine how one person perceives another.
4. Describe the primary errors in perception that people make.
5. Explain how attributions influence behavior.
Discussion Questions
1. Go to www.google.com and enter “Jim Sinegal.” Scroll down until you find “ABC News: Costco CEO Finds Pro-Worker Means Profitability.” What is your percep- tion of him?
2. The individual forms perceptions of how ethical principles are portrayed in organizations through the behaviors of leaders, advertisements, news stories, and the like. Go to the Gap’s website (www.gap.com). What
attributions can you make about their ethical principles from visiting this website?
3. Review the Communication Competency feature show- ing different hand gestures on page 109. Do you use any of these gestures? How might these be interpreted by people in different countries?
4. What are your scores on the Impression Management Assessment questionnaire in Table 4.2? Based on these, how might the overuse of any tactic backfire on you and hurt your career advancement?
5. If you take an assignment with an organization in a for- eign country, what are some of the perceptual errors that you should avoid to complete the assignment successfully?
6. Give three examples of the halo effect that you have observed personally.
7. Give an example of a situation in which you attributed someone’s behavior to internal or external factors. What influenced your attribution?
8. Describe an important task at which you failed.
Describe a second important task at which you suc- ceeded. Identify the attributions that you made to explain your failure and your success.
9. Provide two real examples of the Pygmalion effect.
10. Which stereotypes do you believe are most widely held by leaders in organizations? Why?