Impression Management &

Organizational Image
Dr. Faisal Asghar Imam

Impression Management What it is?

It is a goal-directed conscious or unconscious

attempt toinfluencetheperceptionsof other

people about a person, object or event by
regulating and controlling information in social
interaction (Piwinger & Ebert 2001, pp.1-2)
The notion of impression management

also refers to practices in professional

communication and public relations,
where the term is used to describe the
process of formation of a company's or
organization's public image

Impression Management Why Know about it?

At the very least an awareness of impressions

management since its a critical phenomena

within social interactions and as we know
organizations are all about these interactions
Many times it happens that you are not even

aware of the fact that your colleagues or

subordinates are consciously managing their
impression on you and you fall into their trap
KLP- this will not only lead to unfairness but
other employees will also get disheartened by it
and a negative word-of-mouth regarding the
organization may get around

Impression Management Why Know

about it?
In the same way if you do not know how to manage your

own impression or you are not aware of the fact that

what kind of an impression you are leaving on people,
then this can also have negative consequences. For
example due to your body language or dressing, you
might be seen as aggressive and your colleagues and
subordinates might actually be scared of you and this
has a potential for decreasing their productivity or
increasing their grievances against you
Are your impressions logical? Are they based on

prejudices? Are they in need of updating? Are they the

result of jealousy or compassion?

IMPRESSION
MANAGEMENT
WHY DO PEOPLE
USE IT?

TO BE LIKED

If you want to be likedsay youre new at school or on

the job and you want to be well liked, included in the

activities of other students or work associates, and be
thought of highly by these other peopleyoud likely
use what are now called affinity-seeking strategies;
for example, you might display altruism and be of help
to others, or show respect for the other person and help
the person feel positive about himself or herself, or you
might present yourself as socially equal to the other
person
Ingratiation- Edward E. Jones
Other enhancement
Opinion conformity

TO EXCUSE FAILURE
If you were about to tackle a difficult task and were

concerned that you might fail, you might use what are
called self-handicapping strategies. In the more
extreme form of this strategy, you actually set up
barriers or obstacles to make the task impossible and
so when you fail, you wont be blamed or thought
ineffectiveafter all, the task was impossible given
the circumstances. Lets say you arent prepared for
your interpersonal communication exam and you feel
youre going to fail. Well, with this self-handicapping
strategy, you might go out and party the night before
so that when you do poorly in the exam, you can
blame it on the all-night party rather than on your
intelligence or knowledge. In the less extreme form,
you manufacture excuses for failure and have them
ready if you do fail

TO SECURE HELP
If you want to be taken care of and protected

or simply want someone to come to your aid,

you might use self-deprecating strategies.
Confessions of incompetence and inability
often bring assistance from others. And so you
might say, I just cant find the appropriate
formulas on Excel, I am simply horrible at this
program with the hope that the other person
will offer help

TO HIDE FAULTS
Much impression management is devoted not

merely to presenting a positive image, but to

suppressing the negative, to self-monitoring
strategies. Here you carefully monitor (selfcensor) what you say or do. You avoid your
normal slang so as to make your colleagues
think more highly of you; you avoid chewing
gum so you dont look juvenile or
unprofessional. While you readily disclose
favorable parts of your experience, you
actively and strategically hide the unfavorable
parts

TO BE FOLLOWED
In many instances youll want to get people to

see you as a leader, as one to be followed in

thought and perhaps in behavior. Here you can
use a variety of influencing strategies. One set
of such strategies are those normally grouped
under power. And so, for example, youd stress
your knowledge (information power), your
expertise (expert power), your right to lead by
virtue of your position as, say, a doctor or judge
or accountant (legitimate power). Another set
of strategies are those of leadership where you
might stress your prior experience, your broad
knowledge, or your previous successes

Employer Branding
Challenging the traditional assumptions

What is a brand???

What can a company offer???

The Process