Perception & Communication

Perception often occurs when people gather a stereotype of what they perceive a person to be like, (Mullins, 2010) suggested that we all have our own 'world', our own way of looking at and understanding our environment and the people within it. This could be due to the many things which differentiate people such as age, gender, race, attitudes, values, beliefs, past experiences, stereotypes and background. Things seen or heard in the media is often the underlying cause of these perceptions and interpretations. (Robbins et al, 2010) suggested that perception is the process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give a meaning to their environment.

Perceptions are often made with being in the presence of someone within thirty seconds, very quickly. These first impressions are often what influences the way a person is perceived. Within a business environment this often occurs in selection or in an interview situation, however the interviewer needs to be fair and treat candidates equally. For instance, if the candidate is a graduate, on one hand they have good qualifications and are intelligent where as on the other hand was previously as student, who are notoriously stereotyped as lazy. This kind of stereotypes are difficult to hide however they may exist because they're true, therefore need to be taken into consideration however they are often a representation of the minority.

Communication is a key skill involved within the workplace as its involved within nearly 70% of employees time at work. Communication is important to keep control and inform employees of whats happening within the organisation, this in turn helps to motivate employees. People management created an article about 'how to improve staff communication', using these recommendations it is possible to relate these ideas to improving communication between Buckinghamshire New University and its students. The CIPD employee outlook survey provided some interesting results regarding how well employees felt they understood what was going on in their firms. According to the survey less than half the respondents felt well informed within their organisation. People Management magazine have therefore put together a plan to create an effective communication strategy.
Within this strategy one of the key points was to 'ensure that leaders realize the importance of communication and take time to share their vision'. Within any business or organisation it is important that a shared sense of purpose is established as it enables employees to understand the goal the are working towards. A common problem in many organisations is that senior management often delegate communication to junior managers. Employees like to able to put a face to management and feel like they can approach them if there is a problem. This can also be applied to Buckinghamshire New University and it students. Students tend to only be aware of their lecturers and personal tutors, in order for the student to feel more involved within the university it would be better if the senior management were made more well known by attending  certain university events for example. If senior management were to arrange a meeting once a term held in on of the lecture halls wheres students are able to attend then they would feel more involved and would understand more about what is going on within the university.
The second key point made in the article by people management was to 'create communication that is two- way, not only top-town'. This would be an effective form of communication to implement within the University so that students could easily talk to the correct member of staff. Top down communication refers to Handy's role culture which suggests a chain network where the person at the top directs the flow of information to the bottom of the chain. (Mullins 2010) suggests that Handy developed the ideas of Harrison to create four types of organisational culture , one of which being role culture position is power. A greek temple has been used as imagery to support Handy's theory of role culture with the apex of the temple being where the decisions are made, this can be seen in the diagram below. The pillars then reflect the functional aspect of the organisation which takes orders from the apex. According to Handy's role culture it is most appropriate within organisations which that not constantly change in, for example; local authorities, government departments, public utilities and the public sector in general. This sort of culture finds it extremely difficult to change rapidly. The role culture is typified by rationality and size.

Two way communications however is where there is no set way in which employees communicate. This means that everyone is active within the communication process. If this system were to be implemented within Buckinghamshire New University then i feel that students would be more confident and able to approach management and have their say. This will help students feel more involved within the university and would therefore improve communication between students and the university. A diagram of a chain network can be seen below.

Using the article from People Management it can be identified that the third way in which Buckinghamshire New University can improve communication with its students would be to measure the success of the universities action. The article suggested that it is important for organisations to conduct surveys to understand the effectiveness of the organisations internal communications. Relating this back to our university and its students it would be useful for it to conduct regular surveys so that they can measure its success. Currently the university asks students to complete surveys on the modules in their course but not about the university on the whole. For the university to improve its communications with its students it would be advisable to create a survey about how students think communication could be improved. The university could then use these results to make the necessary improvements.

Personal Experience 
Personally i don't think i judge people on looks, but definitely on first impression. When i am introduced to a new group of people anywhere i am very quiet and generally just observe peoples expressions, gestures, confidence, what they say and how they say it etc. I know i am good at reading people and enjoying working people out, once i feel comfortable to excel myself i do with confidence. I have not really had that many situations where i have perceived someone (apart from Susan Boyle on her Britains Got Talent Audition) and then thought different of them, i always give people a chance.
A time i do remember where my initial perception of someone was incorrect was at an induction night back in 2003 for the Army Cadet Force. Me and a friend turned up 10 minutes late and found that the induction parade had already started, when we walked in and the commanding officer sent us both out of the parade hall and had a go at us for being late on our first day. He was very tall and very big and had a drill cain in his right hand (a pace stick to measure distance of feet whilst marching, not used for hitting), this gave me the impression that he was very strict as his serious face was going redder and redder whilst he was telling us off. The first impression of him was very different to what he is really like as we caught him at a bad time. After committing to the unit i got to know him very well on a personal and disciplined level and he played a big part in my 6 year career which he helped me with, gaining the second best cadet in the United Kingdom and the highest ranked in the North East.

Conclusion
Perception and communication are both essential tool within the business environment as it has a significant impact on how the organisation is run. With regards to improving communication between the university and its students it can be concluded that firstly a two way communication system should be implemented so that students can have their say. The university management needs to make itself more well know so that students can feel part of the bigger picture and understand the common goal. Finally the university needs to measure its success by conducting surveys to receive students opinions, these results would help them a lot in attracting new students to the university.







Bibliography:

Mullins, L,J. (2009) Management & Organisational Behaviour. 9th Edition. Essex: Pearson Education Limited

Robbins, S.P. & Judge, T. (2010) Essentials of Organisational Behavior. 1st Edition. Prentice Hall

Lancs. Perception Images-chapter four (online) Available from: Lancs.ac.uk (Assecced 7th April 2012)


 Rebecca Clarke (2010) People Management: How to improve staff communication [online source] Available from: http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2010/07/how-to-improve-staff-communication.htm Published on 15th July 2010 [Accessed: 08/04/2012]

Managing Change Toolkit (2009) Culture - Charles Handy [Online Source] Available from: http://www.lindsay-sherwin.co.uk/guide_managing_change/html_overview/05_culture_handy.htm Copyright Linsey Sherwin [Accessed; 08/04/2012]