RUNNING HEAD: The Concept of Impression Management
The Concept of Impression Management
This essay provides a discussion on the concept of impression management and explains why many business leaders have chosen to utilize impression management in their day-to-day operations. In addition this essay will describe and discuss two intended and two unintended consequences of using impression management using real-life examples to substantiate its position.
Impression management is a term that is heavily paralleled with self-presentation where the individual attempts to have an impact and influence on how others perceive them. Impression management is a term coined within sociology and social psychology to refer to either the goal directed conscious or unconscious course through which business leaders attempt to influence the discernment of others regarding a person, event or object. It is not only gained by regulating, but also through controlling the information within social interactions. Impression management is used to expand on the process of configuration of an organization’s public image within a professional or public relational setting.
From a leader’s perspective, impression management is important because it enables business leader to quickly influence outcomes. Each situation is different and the process to handle each situation is also different. For example, a business leader may want to improve his executive presence meaning of conveying that he is in charge of a group, and may also want to give the impression that he is the facilitator or the discussion at hand. To achieve impression management the business manager refocuses from a defensive thinking standpoint to one that is offensive and the manager is able to recognize the root of the issue and respond to it in a manner that he able to the best result. This process is known as outcome thinking, (How Will Outcome Benefit, n.d.).
In a business leader’s day to day operations he...