Perception & Impression Management- Need & Relevance

Contents1. PerceptionI. II. III.

Definition Why it matters? Types of Perception and Theories affecting Decision Making

2. Impression ManagementI. II. III. IV. V.

Definition Why It Matters? A Self Evaluation First Impression Strategies for Impression Management.

What is Perception Perception is a process by which individuals organize and interpret their

sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment. Perception is important because people s behavior is based on their perception of what reality is, and not on reality itself.* We make perceptions about people, countries, companies and products

everyday.

*Pg157- Organizational Behavior- Robbins, Judge, Sanghi

Color Illusion Video

The target of perception is whatever the perceiver is trying to make sense of. In OB terms, the target of perception is often another person.

The perceiver is the person trying to interpret some observation that he or she has just made, or the input from his or her senses. The situation is the context in which perception takes place.

Attribution Theory Locus - location of the cause internal (dispositional) or external

(situational) to the person Stability - whether the cause is likely to stay the same in the near future or

can change Controllability - whether the person can control the cause

Perception Influencing Decisions in Organization Selective Perception Halo Effect Contrast Effect Stereotyping Pygmalion Effect

Pygmalion Effect Video

How Perception matters The executive was interested in the deal, but his skepticism was if the deal

is so simple why is such an important man dealing with me .

(Mark McCormack-What they don t teach you at Harvard Business School).

Companies use this to their advantage

What is impression management It is an attempt that is goal-directed,may be

conscious or unconscious to influence the perceptions of other people about a person, object or event by regulating and controlling information in social interaction.

Wikipedia.org

Impression- why it matters? It is an age old saying that first impression is the last impression. An effect, feeling, or image retained as a consequence of experience is

called impression in dictionary. Within three seconds of seeing a person for the first time we decide their:o social status o education o friendliness o approachability

First Impressions: the 93% rule55% appearance & body language 38% tone, pitch & pace of your voice

7% what you say

Some Aids to Impression Management

Impression management theory Impression management theory says that any individual or

organization must establish and maintain impressions that are in tune with the perceptions they want to convey to consumers.

A Self Evaluation1. I would probably make a good actor. 2. I can argue only for ideas I believe in. 3. I feel a bit awkward with strangers and do not show up quite as well as I should. 4. I may fool people by being friendly when I really dislike them. 5. I can make off-the-cuff speeches even on topics about which I have almost no information. 6. I find it hard to imitate the behavior of other people.1 = Definitely not true of me. 2 = Generally not true of me. 3 = Occasionally true of me. 4 = Definitely true of me.

A Self Evaluation-Scoring For items 2 and 6:

1 = 4; 2 = 3; 3 = 2; 4 = 1 Add your scores for all of the items. Your score should range from 6 to 24. The average for college students is about 10-11.Low Somewhat unconcerned with or unaware of social demands. Somewhat concerned with what others think and try to react with appropriate behavior.

High

Shakespeare crafted the famous sentence "All the world is a stage, and all the men and women merely players".

Erving Goffman on Impression management "All the world is not, of course, a stage, but the crucial ways in which it isn't

are not easy to specify. The actor, shaped by the environment and target audience, sees

interaction as a performance. The objective of the performance is to provide the audience with an impression consistent with the desired goals of the actor. Thus, impression management is also highly dependent on the situation

Situation : Interview

HR manager s views We asked 10 HR managers from different companies what impression

would they get from a person coming in Jeans and T-Shirt for a managerial position ? Casual or Focused The response from all 10 was that the person will be perceived as Casual

and easy going. This helps us understand that Dressing sense plays a very critical role

in Interviews. It helps a person to form a positive impression in the mind of a person.

Strategies for Impression Management Now we will discuss a few impression management strategies that have

been discussed by organizational researchers (e.g. Jones and Pittman, 1982; Tedeschi andRiess, 1981

The attempt to be liked. It includes, among others, flattery , opinion

conformity, association, excuse, self descriptions and doing a favor for the target in order to increase his or her liking for you.

Impression managementBefore ring elections

Rise to power One of the best incidence of using impression management. Portrayed herself as someone who suffered a lot of social atrocities. Was able to turn the sympathy of people into votes and became MP in 1996 and 1999.

Can you guess the name of this person?1. Born in a famous family. 2. Studied at The Doon School. 3. Studied at Harvard. 4. M.Phil in Development Studies from Trinity College, Cambridge 5. Worked as consultant for Michael Porter's Management consulting firm, Monitor Group.

Impression Management-Rahul Gandhi Able to change people s perception about congress. Managed to project himself as leader of masses. Congress got 206 seats,1st to cross 200 mark since 198489.

Ingratiation (seven steps)1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Show respect. Be friendly. Express consent. Smile. Be polite. Be congenial. Listen patiently.

Self-promotion This involves drawing attention to one s accomplishments so as to appear competent Five steps to Self Promotion:1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

personal

Demonstrate my experience. Demonstrate my dependability. Demonstrate my expertise. Submit accurate reports. Demonstrate self-confidence.

Exemplification The exemplifier wants to be respected and admired for his or her integrity and moral rectitude. For example, an individual might always arrive at work early or leave late in order to create the image of dedication to his or her job. Six Steps to Exemplification:1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Voluntarily invest in my work beyond what is required. Show initiative whenever I have a chance. Initiate conversations on work-related issues. Actively participate in meetings. Say things like I am making a special effort . Volunteer for various missions and activities.

Impression Management TacticsBehavioral Matching SelfPromotionThe target of perception matches his or her behavior to that of the perceiver. The target tries to present herself or himself in as positive a light as possible. A subordinate tries to imitate her boss s behavior by being modest and soft-spoken because her boss is modest and soft-spoken. A worker reminds his boss about his past accomplishments and associates with coworkers who are evaluated highly. A worker stays late every night even if she has completed all of her assignments because staying late is one of the norms of her organization.

Conforming The target follows agreed-upon to Situational rules for behavior in the organization. Norms Appreciating or Flattering Others Being Consistent

The target compliments the perA coworker compliments a manager on his ceiver. This tactic works best when excellent handling of a troublesome employee. flattery is not extreme and when it involves a dimension important to the perceiver. The target s beliefs and behaviors A subordinate delivering a message to his boss are consistent. There is agreement looks the boss straight in the eye and has a between the target s verbal and sincere expression on his face. nonverbal behaviors.

2002,Prentice-Hall

Thank You! Ayush Shukla (P10074)| Debomita Mukherjee (P10079)|Himanshu Kapila (P10086)|Mrigank Aggarwal (P10091)| Shruti Tharad (P10110)