Archive for April 2009

Perception management involves actively performing (or not performing) a set of activities and behaviors in order to thoughtfully and deliberately manage how other people perceive you. These activities and behaviors are in areas like verbal and non-verbal communication, work environment, volunteerism, and image. In today’s blog, I’m going to talk about image.

 People make up their minds about you within the first few seconds of meeting you. The only thing under your control at that point is your appearance. A positive impression will create a halo effect, positively coloring a person’s feelings about you for the next several minutes. If you begin with a negative impression, it will be very hard to change. But it doesn’t end with first impressions. People are confirming or revising their opinion about you every time they meet you. While having a solid, established, positive reputation can smooth over a few faux pas, perception management can let you save that for when you really need it.

I grew up with a casual approach to dressing. Most days, I wore jeans and a flannel shirt, and that’s still my preference. However, I have slowly and reluctantly come to the conclusion that I have to pay more attention to my attire, everyday and everywhere. Whether I’m at work, at the store, volunteering at soccer, or at church, I run into people that I know and meet new people. If I want them to see me as a savvy business professional, I have to “act” the part by dressing like a savvy business professional.

If you think that how people dress doesn’t make a difference, consider how dress is viewed in our society. A future MBA student was telling me about the game show “Cash Cab.” If the contestant needs help, they are allowed to ask a person on the street (a street shout-out), in which case, the contestant usually looks for a man in a suit. Why? “…because they think he’ll be Ivy League educated.” (greenbaypressgazette.com) People wearing a suit are simply assumed to be educated professionals.

This doesn’t mean you have to wear a suit everyday, but a little attention to your appearance will go a long way for perception management. Upgrade from jeans and a t-shirt to khakis and a polo. Save your sneakers for the gym, and buy yourself some nice leather shoes. Looking good doesn’t mean you have to be uncomfortable.

Dress like you are going to meet the most influential person in your life. You just might.

Nils Stenvig is pursuing an MBA and a Master’s in Electrical Engineering at Michigan Tech. Recently, Nils and Adam Manty, a graduate of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, received the Outstanding Poster Award for “Reducing Blackout Likelihood via Advances in Tripping, Re-Closing, Load Shedding and System Separation Strategies” in the IREE Section at the National Science Foundation Engineering Education Programs Awardees Conference, held Feb. 1-3 in Reston, Va.

The poster integrated research from projects titled “Transient Analysis of Single Pole Tripping and Re-Closing Strategies on the 300kV Aura-Orkdal Line,” “Transformer Magnetization Measurement Inaccuracies” and “Dynamic VAR Control.”

Nils and Adam are advised by Associate Professor Bruce Mork from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. In addition, Nils is advised by Director of Graduate Business Programs Ruth Archer from the School of Business and Economics.

Nils says: “I actually ended up talking quite a bit about our MBA program, tying a bit of energy economics into my research spiel. A lot of people were really impressed with the MTU group. This will now be an annual event, and the business school should consider sending a representative in future years. It was a really interesting and educational experience!”

Congratulations, Nils!

Other MBA students have previously been honored with these awards. Tanya Sickels was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, and Matt Mlinar has been honored with Phi Kappa Phi membership.

Beta Gamma Sigma is the honor society serving business programs accredited by AACSB International. This is the highest recognition a business student anywhere in the world can receive in an AACSB undergraduate or master’s program.  This invitation is offered to students ranking in the top 10 percent of the baccalaureate and top 20 percent of graduate programs at schools. Members receive many benefits, including a members-only job board and access to an alumni network, partnerships, and society benefits. Co-advisors for the Michigan Tech chapter are Drs. Chelley Vician and Mari Buche from the School of Business and Economics.

Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest, largest, and most selective all-discipline honor society. Membership is by invitation only to the top 10 percent of seniors and graduate students, and 7.5 percent of juniors. Faculty, professional staff, and alumni who have achieved scholarly distinction also qualify. Member benefits include career counseling, job connections, networking, society services, partnerships, awards, grants, and fellowships. Dr. Paul Nelson is the president of the Michigan Tech chapter of Phi Kappa Phi.

Get 25 percent off almost everything at University Images, including the Dress for Success Shop, and the Campus Bookstore during the Annual Customer Appreciation Sale, to be held Wednesday, April 22. Sale merchandise includes suits, sport coats, tuxes, dress shirts, ties, shoes, slacks, dress coats, Michigan Tech apparel, gifts, souvenirs, trade books, and school supplies.

The new Engineering Information Technology group is hiring student employees to help with user support. The group will assist the College of Engineering and the School of Technology with their IT needs.

EIT is seeking outstanding students with the right combination of computer know-how (in Windows, Linux or Mac OS X), and personal and communication skills. These students will form the front line of user support and will help faculty, staff and other students with computer support issues.

Applicants should be eligible and available to work at least 15 hours per week, including weekends, and should be available in August during orientation week for training.

EIT will have ongoing opportunities for training in computers, including hardware, software, programming, scripting, etc.

Interested applicants should send their resume to jfernand@mtu.edu by Friday, April 24.

Another networking opportunity for MBA students: Ben Clark from Google will be at Michigan Tech University to tell you about the Google story, Google Ann Arbor, some Google apps and how to get your website to come up on searches. You can meet him at 9am in Fisher 139 on Wednesday, April 22.

Ben Clark, Google Account Strategist

Ben Clark is an Account Strategist at Google Ann Arbor, working primarily in Google AdWords, Google’s advertising program, and Google Analytics, its web analytics program. Ben started at Google in 2007 after graduating from Indiana University with a degree in Economics. When he isn’t Googling things, Ben enjoys running, traveling, being outdoors and a nice cup of tea.

Ben is coming here as part of the School of Business and Economics’ CenTILE Entrepreneurial Speaker Series. CenTILE is the Center for Technology, Innovation, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship. The purpose of CenTILE is to foster technological innovation by developing entrepreneurial thinking and action at multiple levels and across multiple disciplines in order to create economic value and meet societal needs.

This event is open to all Michigan Tech students.