The 4th Space, Creativity & Organizing Workshop was devoted to the senses – in particular to the sense of smell. Continue reading “Mindblowing” Workshop on Smelling & Organizing at Tallinn #offegos2018
Tag Archives: impression management
The social role of a perfume
“Perfume plays a social role in that it effects a unique synthesis of individual egoistical and social purposes in the field of the sense of smell.” -Â GEORG SIMMEL Continue reading The social role of a perfume
Scent Masquerade: Gendering your Nose
Do you remember the commercials that promote deodorants and openly appeal to sexist phantasies? Women are drawn in hordes to any male who has sprayed himself liberally with the deodorant – the “Axe effectâ€. The commercials have been known as the world’s sexist advertising campaign for many years.  Continue reading Scent Masquerade: Gendering your Nose
Dressing for success – and scent?
The common slogan “dress for success” underlines the wide-held view that what you wear matters in everyday life. It originates in Erving Goffman’s studies on the social world as a stage. Accordingly, individuals interact as performers. In the context of management and organization studies this mode of interaction has later been labeled as “impression managementâ€. It is obvious that workplace attire is used to manage the impressions of others. Studies show that women are more interested in clothing and experience more “appearance labor†when compared to men.*
Fragrant Careers? The olfactory presentation of self at the workplace
Individuals who want to be successful in today’s career landscape have to go beyond solid performance and strong results; personal branding is an increasingly important factor as well. Impression management plays a key role in today’s professional world, and one’s olfactory appearance is an integral part thereof. Which strategies and intentions one wants to achieve with personal scent, however, have only been researched casually, at best, so far.
Thus, the leading German newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, recently discussed the use of certain perfumes by representatives of a political youth organization. What message does a user of Tommy Hilfiger perfume want to convey? According to the FAZ this young politician wants to identify himself as a performance oriented achiever who spends his money on clothes that are distinctly designed for this social group.
Continue reading Fragrant Careers? The olfactory presentation of self at the workplace