REFLECTION PAPER 7

NAME: NUR FARAHIN BINTI ABU SUAIB KHAN

MATRIC NO: 826365

TITLE: IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT

Impression management is a social phenomenon that happened in our daily life continuously.
First impression always last longer than anything else. Impression of a person are always based
on physical appearance and comparing them to the norms of our society. All of us can admit that
on the first meeting of any person and first noticing their gender, race and many more
characteristics. Based on leadership, I got the insight from two lessons on impression
management in organization and presentation of our self in organizations. I already heard this
terms of impression management before but I’m not truly understand how impressions can affect
the influence and all the implications towards leader. These things make me think that leadership
is something related directly with impression.

In today’s world, it is very important to understand who is playing which kind of role,
how the person going to act and why should other people do what they are doing. Impression
management can be described as a process employed by most people to present themselves and
control various perceptions concerning themselves. There are a lot of individuals believe that
outer appearance and personality is part of factors that determine how they are judged by other
people. By applying this, that person tend to control so that the other people think the way the
person want them to be. Sometimes, they try to be real and looking great for their first
impression.

Based on Erving Goffman, he believes that we all play many roles at any given moment.
As example, daughter at home, wife when together with husband and mom with kids. I know
that everyone has different roles for any situation. We have dozen of roles based on the moment
and act differently and manage the impression that we give others especially at the workplace.
There are several strategies on impression management which is ingratiation, self-promotion,
intimidation and supplication.
 If we focused on ingratiation, it’s obvious at many organization because any workers
want to be accept among other workers and liking from them. This strategy is simple step that
any employee can do to their co-workers. For instance, asking favors, giving compliments,
describing ourselves in a desirable way. With this impression the workers can be friendlier and
make the works between groups easier. Next, supplication strategy also works at organization
because they presenting oneself as infirm to avoid obligations and to elicit help and support from
others. For example, for new employees they tend to seeking help from senior worker so that
they can gain knowledge and know how to their task in the way organization want them to do.

Lastly, they are many ways to manage our impressions such as ingratiation and self-
promotion can make us to gain respect and liking from others. If we choose to intimidation and
supplication it will bring fear and pity from others. In any kind of impression we want it depends
on what we do based on roles we used on it. The result may be vary of other impression because
not all people have same view. Other than that, having many roles is good so that we know how
to show the right impression on the right time and situation.