Psychology Commons^™

Why, How, And When Divergent Perceptions Become Dysfunctional In Organizations: A Motivated Cognition Perspective, Zhanna Lyubykh, Laurie J. Barclay, Marion Fortin, Michael R. Bashshur, Malika Khakhar

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Decades of research has demonstrated that people can arrive at starkly different perceptions in the same social situations. Divergent perceptions are not inherently dysfunctional. However, if divergent perceptions are not managed effectively, they can have deleterious effects that can undermine functioning in the workplace. Drawing on a motivated cognition perspective, we outline why divergent perceptions may emerge as well as overview the benefits and drawbacks of divergent perceptions in organizational contexts. Next, we highlight the complexities associated with divergent perceptions in the workplace, including why, how, and when divergent perceptions may become dysfunctional. We also showcase theoretical insights from a …

The Effects Of Team Surface-Level Diversity On Creativity & Innovation, Roman Mitchell

Faculty Publications

During the last 20 years, the global marketplace has become more competitive due to increased globalization, aggressive market competition, and changing customer demands. This has forced organizations to assemble teams with diverse knowledge, skills, and abilities to remain competitive. However, previous meta-analytic investigations examining the relationship between team surface-level diversity (i.e., race or gender identity), creativity, and innovation have indicated a small negative relationship. Despite the said positive effects of team diversity, theory and empirical evidence suggests that increased surface-level team diversity leads to decreased team collaboration, team cohesion, and diminished creativity and innovation (Bell, 2007).

This study explores the …