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Enjoying Your Work Richard Brislin |
Statistics can show
trends that escape
casual inspectionOf all the courses students take in college, one of the most unpopular is statistics. Students in many disciplines suffer through a required course and sometimes plan a lighter load in other areas to make sure they have sufficient time to pass statistics.
Disciplines that require one or more courses include business, education, psychology, sociology, nursing, medicine and agriculture. Even though they may be the kindest and most cooperative members of their departments, statistics professors are often unpopular with students and become the targets of their cynical humor.
Reasons for unpopularity include mathematics anxiety, a problem that would apply to other required courses, such as calculus. Another reason is that the use of statistics asks people to go beyond their initial impressions after they casually examine an important issue. People spend years learning to form first impressions, and often their conclusions are good enough to deal with issues in a satisfactory manner. Statistical tools can give more information than initial impressions, but these tools must be mastered in a relatively short time compared to the years people have relied on their gut reactions.
The use of statistics can reveal problems of which any one individual is unaware. Faye Crosby at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has argued that women often underestimate biases in the workplace that put them at a disadvantage. If one woman has not been the target of bias, or if she dismisses biased behavior as a temporary aberration, she may conclude that her organization is supportive of women. But if an informal survey is taken where many women respond, basic statistical analysis may lead to the conclusion that the organization has problems. If 30 women are questioned and 12 give examples of biases, this is a trend management should examine.
Other statistical tools can determine if the biases are reported more in one department than another, whether specific executives are involved in more than one example, and whether older women report more problems than younger women.
If careful efforts to gather information from many employees are not undertaken, there may be a misperception known as a "false consensus." If nobody speaks up publicly about biases, people may conclude that the organization has no problems.
People may not complain individually because they remember their mothers' admonition, "If you can't say something nice, don't say it."
This can be especially true in Hawaii where social norms include the additional guidance for everyday behavior, "Don't talk stink!"
Good managers should go beyond informal conversations and casual impressions and circulate questionnaires asking about problems, suggestions for improvement, what customers are saying about the company, and so forth.
Analysis of the results will often identify actions management should take to improve the organization so it attracts the most able employees.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
The purpose of this column is to increase understanding of
human behavior as it has an impact on the workplace. Given the amount
of time people spend at work, job satisfaction should ideally be high and
it should contribute to general life happiness. Enjoyment can increase as
people learn more about workplace psychology, communication, and group influences.
Richard Brislin is a professor in the College of Business Administration,
University of Hawaii. He can be reached through the
College Relations Office: cro@cba.hawaii.edu