Survivorship Bias
What is survivorship bias?
A cognitive bias/heuristic that occurs when a successful individual or subgroup (and their success) is mistaken to represent the “entire group” due to the lack of visibility of the failure subgroup. (Source: The Decision Lab).
What does OB stand for?
Organizational behavior
What type of mechanisms does leadership fall under?
Group mechanisms.
Rule of One-Eighth
The belief that at best one-eighth, or 12 percent, of organizations will actually do what is required to build profits by putting people first.
How does survivorship bias relate in OB?
Survivorship bias is readily applicable to business contexts, as it often focuses on success. Failing to consider survivorship bias will likely lead to a flawed leadership model or a misinformed understanding of what it takes to become a successful business. (Answers may slightly vary)
What type of science is OB?
Social Science
What type of mechanism is used when a job redesign improves an employee's motivation?
Individual mechanism.
How did Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates become examples of survivorship bias?
They are all college dropouts, but later became founders of current big tech companies. However, dropping out of college ≠ success in business.
What factors impact the primary OB outcomes?
Individual characteristics, individual mechanisms, group mechanisms, and organizational mechanisms
A firm restructures reporting lines and changes its culture to improve performance. What type of mechanism is this an example of?
Organizational mechanisms.
An employee's house floods, and their work quality drops. What mechanism was impacted?
Stress and well-being.
How are unicorn start-ups an example of survivorship bias?
While it is something to strive for, ~90% of startups fail, and the successful ones can’t be at the level of FAANG (Big tech groups)
How to use OB concepts to improve your personal performances
Understanding your personality, motivation, and values, and aligning your goals and work environment to enhance intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy.
An employee experiences high motivation, job satisfaction, and well-being in their job; what does this result in?
Higher job performance and organizational commitment.
Starbucks implements a new policy that all baristas must draw on every cup they make. What mechanism is this an example of?
Explain the classic example of survivorship bias. Planes in WW2.
The military analyzed returning bomber planes and mapped where bullet holes were most common. The initial idea: reinforce the areas with the most damage. Wald’s insight: this logic ignored the planes that never returned. Conclusion: armor should go where returning planes were not hit, because hits in those areas caused planes to be lost.
How does understanding OB impact you?
Interpersonal Skills, Communication Skills , Strategy and Innovation
An employee has a disagreement with their coworker. Their boss encourages them to talk it over. What 2 group mechanisms are used here?
Communication and leadership behaviours.