Eric knew that his new management position would be a challenge but found it a lot rockier than he expected. He had extensive previous management experience in private industry, in government and, for a brief time, running his own consulting company. Ambitious and looking to build his resume for a future move into senior management, Eric had recently become Director at a regional office of a national consulting company. There had been a lot of turmoil in this office, with four people sitting in the Directors desk in the last five years. He was determined to make a name for himself, taking a good look at what could be accomplished and making some dramatic changes. Erics last position was at a manufacturing company where he had been brought in to clean up an unproductive division. Before his arrival, people had been coming in late, leaving early, taking unused sick days as vacation, having long personal phone conversations (often long distance), and running far over budget with very loose spending practices. Eric brought everything in line, imposing strict procedures, and turning the departments fortunes around. His job done, he looked for a new challenge. Several things surprised Eric in his new position at the consulting company. One was Katya, who organized and delegated work and often dealt with clients even though she was technically only secretarial support and did not have a degree. Eric felt there was no way a secretary could have the brains to handle those responsibilities well. So he pulled out a copy of her job description and told her she would now be sticking exactly to the terms of her job description. The other tasks she had taken on beyond her job description would be handled by him and the consultants. A second surprise was the relaxed way in which the office was set up and procedures were followed. Because of the informal ways in which things were done, Eric assumed these people did not take their jobs seriously. They were not true professionals concerned with results. That would soon change. Eric demanded to check everything. No document was allowed to leave without his approval. He also scrutinized every printing order, every order for new office supplies, and every penny that was spent in the office. He questioned people in detail about what they spent their time doing. He checked peoples phones after they left for the day to see who they had called. Erics arrival was a shock for the staff in many ways. The previous manager had been extremely warm so Erics courteous but no-nonsense professionalism seemed cold in comparison. Secondly, Erics micromanaging drove them crazy. Staff felt insulted and mistrusted. There was no apparent reason for Erics insistence on inspecting every penny spent and every client interactionthey had been running the office quite well in the gap time since the previous manager had left. There were no budget issues or customer complaints and, in fact, business was flourishing. They also resented Erics treatment of Katya. He did not seem to realize she was the heart and soul of the office, with a wealth of knowledge, a wonderful way with clients, and a knack for organizing information and people efficiently. And Eric did not seem to realize that rules and procedures had to be flexible in their businessthere were always exceptions, unusual client circumstances. Many employees became demotivated, no longer staying late or doing anything extra to ensure things got done, and certainly taking no initiative. When Eric observed this behaviour, it frustrated him but confirmed his original thoughts that this was a group of unprofessional people who really did not care about the company or their clients. He started contemplating how to change the staffing. The employees were equally hard on Eric. They noticed when he came down hard on someone or looked annoyed, but did not recall him letting them go early on the Friday afternoon before the long weekend, or the praise he offered for their good work. They explained his management behaviour by saying he was a control freak; none of their other managers had been like this; and Eric had been like this from the first day he arrived. They noted that he took credit for the new training program that had been such a success with clients (even though its design and development had predated Erics arrival) yet he blamed the slowdown in the offices workflow on the staff (when it was really due to his insistence on nothing leaving the office until he had reviewed it). Ironically, Eric managed to alienate the one consultant who was trying to support him. Golnaz knew there was a lot of pressure on Eric from headquarters and she felt sorry for him; she thought he was trying hard and had good intentions but did not understand the organization or its people. So she put in extra time and effort to move projects forward where she could, and took the initiative to negotiate some date changes with clients to better accommodate the backlog of work. But Eric simply saw her as ambitious (as these were tactics he had used to get ahead in his own past) and he misinterpreted her client negotiations as undermining his authority. 1. Because Katya was a secretary, Eric assumed she was not smart enough to handle the extended responsibilities she had been carrying. What perceptual barrier does this illustrate? a. First impression error b. Stereotype c. Projection d. Contrast effect e. Selective perception 2. Eric incorrectly interpreted Golnazs efforts as reflecting her ambition rather than her concern and work ethic because ambition was the underlying reason for his own similar behaviour. What perceptual barrier does this illustrate? a. Impression management b. Self-fulfilling prophecy c. Discounting principle d. Projection e. Recency effect 3. Because Erics mistrust of the staff led him to check everything they did, many staff ended up becoming disinterested in their work and showing no initiative and little effort, confirming Erics original judgements of them. What perceptual barrier does this illustrate? a. Self-fulfilling prophecy b. Discounting principle c. Contrast effect d. Self-serving bias e. Fundamental attribution error 4. The staff judged Eric as particularly cold because of their experience with the previous manager. What perceptual barrier does this illustrate? a. Stereotype b. Selective perception c. Contrast effect d. Projection e. Impression management 5. Eric took credit for the new training program developed by his staff but blamed the slowdown in the offices workflow on the staff. What perceptual barrier does this illustrate? a. Self-fulfilling prophecy b. Recency effect c. Contrast effect d. Fundamental attribution error e. Self-serving bias 6. Both Eric and his staff tended to judge the others behaviour by attributing it to internal causes rather than looking for external causes. What perceptual barrier does this illustrate? a. Self-fulfilling prophecy b. Recency effect c. Contrast effect d. Fundamental attribution error e. Self-serving bias 7. Staff said Eric behaved the way he did because he was a control freak; none of their other managers had been like this; and Eric had been like this from the first day he arrived. They have used two of the three types of informational cues to come to this internal attribution. Which informational cue is represented by none of their other managers had been like this? a. Consensus b. Consistency c. Distinctiveness