BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

PRECONCEPTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH NAMES AND ITS ROLE IN INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

Submitted by:
Gibin Venugopal(M130001MS)
Roshni Yasmin Kallayi(M130006MS)
Susan Joseph Kathaliyil(M130005MS)
Vinay Mangire(M130010MS)
PRECONCEPTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH NAMES AND ITS ROLE IN INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION

INTRODUCTION
Name of a person is what distinguishes him/her from the vast pool of people on this planet. Names are assigned to everything around us – people, places, things, chemical compounds, trees, technology, inventions and it goes on. Globalization has brought in a scenario at workplaces whereby people belonging to different countries, cultures, ethnic, religious and social backgrounds interact and work together in teams in global organisations. Even within countries, people mingle with others of different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Whatever be the origin of a person’s name, it is a vital aspect of his life as the name is the primary identity that is used to set him apart from others in social interactions, especially daily conversation. In India, there is a significant percentage of people who name their children based on their religion or caste. Either the name or the surname reflects this aspect. When preconceptions are made about a person based on the sole aspect of his/her name, it creates a assumed or misinterpreted image of the name bearer. This greatly affects one’s mental attitude and communication with the other person. Such preconceptions have a great impact in organisations where teamwork and maintaining cultural harmony among employees is an essential component to ensure smooth functioning of teams.

ROLE OF PRECONCEPTIONS IN INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION Preconceptions made on one’s own or others’ names leads to misinterpreted perceptions. Every person is likely to make assumptions upon hearing a person’s name especially when you are accustomed to hearing names of a particular religion or caste. Names can be of varied origin - unique names that have been coined, names of famous personalities, names in remembrance of a loved one, names with meaning, religion-specific names etc. Some names sound funny to a majority of people which makes the name bearer the victim of mockery/jokes. Preconceptions when made on a positive note is actually a blessing in disguise, but on the other hand when preconceptions are made on negative note it turns out to be the opposite. Forming preconceptions based on a person’s name not only results in a biased opinion, but it also makes a deep impact on the name bearer’s character by continuous or repeated negative reactions to the name, thereby associating the reactions to oneself rather than the name as such. When a preconception about a person is made based on his/her name, it directly results in the formation of an image in one’s mind which in turn reflects in his/her interaction and communication with the other person. Hence, name of a person indirectly plays a role in interpersonal communication, especially at the workplace. The purpose of conducting this survey is to analyse the importance people give to names in their lives, its impact on their lives and in their social interactions and how it affects behavioural patterns at the workplace.

OBJECTIVE
The objective of the study is to understand the effect of a person’s name in his personal and professional life and to analyze the effect on attitudes, behaviour and communication, if any, exhibited in this context.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The study on ‘Preconceptions associated with names and its role in interpersonal communication’ was carried out by using questionnaire survey method conducted over a period of 1 month. Primary data was collected by using online questionnaire (See Annexure 1: Survey Questionnaire) sent via email and the social networking site, Facebook. Since the questionnaire had name as a mandatory requirement for submission, it was found that a few people were reluctant to respond. The snowball sampling method was adopted for this survey using references from employed acquaintances to their peer groups. The data collected was then analyzed and interpreted to form results by using pie charts and bar graphs.
Sample size : 104

FINDINGS * People happy with their own names - Majority (86.5%) of the people like the name they own. (Fig. 1) * Preference of a name change given the opportunity - Given a chance, majority (80.8%) of the respondents would not prefer a change of name. (Fig. 2)

* Perceived importance of a person’s name in his/her personal and professional life - More than 50% of the respondents are of the opinion that name plays a very important role in their personal/professional life. (Fig. 3)

* Influence of a person’s name in one’s own life - 61.54% of the respondents’ names have had a positive influence in their lives. This is also an indicator of the fact that people do consider names to have an impact in their lives. (Fig. 4)

* Frequency of assumptions made before meeting a person based on their name - 45% of the respondents make assumptions about a person based on their names on a frequent basis. This is a significant measure which shows that names do make a difference to people in interpersonal interactions. (Fig. 5)

* Associating names to religion/ethnicity/culture - 72.1% of respondents associate names to religion/ethnicity/ culture. (Fig. 6)

* Experience of gender miscontruation - 26% of the respondents have had the experience of their names being mistaken to be of the opposite gender. (Fig. 7)

* Uncomfortability when gender is misconstrued - Majority of the respondents do not feel uncomfortable when they are mistakenly considered to be of the opposite gender (Fig. 8)

* Importance given to names while hiring and selecting employees -Study shows that names don’t play significant role in recruitment. This has been interpreted under the assumption that the respondents may be involved in the hiring process as the questionnaire was not administered completely to recruiters alone. (Fig. 9)

* Closeness felt towards people with attractive names - Closeness felt towards attractive names is not a significant measure to relate names and social interactions. (Fig. 10)

* Discomfort while communicating to people with complicated names - Though not the majority , a significant part of the sample population(33.7%) do feel discomfort in communicating to people with complicated names. (Fig. 11)

* Nicknames – 61.5% of respondents are either comfortable or do not mind the usage of nicknames (Fig. 12)

* Irritation towards funny nicknames – 41.3% do not get irritated while 35.6% of respondents sometimes get irritated with funny nicknames (Fig. 13)

* Effect of jokes made on names on job concentration/work performance - 46% find their concentration or work performance is disturbed when people make jokes on their name. (Fig. 14)

* Attitude towards jokes made on one’s name - 41.3% smile and take it lightly. Contradictory to the previous finding that people do feel their job concentration gets affected when jokes are made on their names, most do have a general attitude of smiling and taking it lightly otherwise. (Fig. 15)

* Preference of method adopted in naming one’s child - 48.5 % prefer to name their child by way of unique names framed by themselves(Fig. 16)

* Imaging personality based on names - Most of the people (except 20.2%), form an image of a person based on their name. (Fig. 17)

RESEARCH GAP
All the respondents have not answered all the questions. Some have selectively answered questions. Hence, some of the findings may not be an absolute representation of the total sample.

CONCLUSION
Name of a person does have a significant impact, but not to an extreme extent on a person’s interaction/communication with fellow beings both on a personal and professional front. Major preconceptions occur in race/ethnicity/culture determination and communication to people with complicated names, but there are exceptions. Names perceived as ‘bad/funny/weird/complicated’ by others has some influence on a person’s confidence level in social situations considering how they feel irritated when jokes are made on their name. Though a person’s name does play a role in his social interaction and interpersonal communication, there is no evidence to prove it can change one’s personality, life and career growth, unless a person permits the influence of external factors to do so.

FIGURES

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ANNEXURE 1
Survey Questionnaire
Name :
Occupation :
Role/Designation : 1. Do you like your name? * Yes * No

2. Given a chance, would you change your name? * Yes * No

3. On a scale of 1 to 5, how important is a person’s name in his professional life and career?
(Circle your choice)
Very important Insignificant/ Not important at all
1 2 3 4 5

4. Influence of your name in your personal or professional life/social interactions * Positive Influence * Negative Influence * No Influence

5. Have you made assumptions regarding a person upon hearing his/her name before meeting in person?
Always Never
1 2 3 4 5

6. You relate names of the persons with particular religion or ethnicity or culture? * Always * Sometimes * Never * I can’t distinguish

7. Have you been mistakenly addressed by others as a member of the opposite gender because of your name? * Always * Sometimes * Never

8. If yes, does it make you uncomfortable? * Yes * No

9. Do you give importance to names when you select/hire employees?
Always Never
1 2 3 4 5

10. At your workplace, do you feel closer to people whose name you find attractive ? * Yes * No * Can't say

11. Do you feel discomfort/difficulty while communicating to people having complicated names? * Yes * No * Names don’t bother me

12. If everyone in your team is assigned a nick name that is short and easy to pronounce, you feel * Comfortable * Uncomfortable * I don’t mind

13. Does it irritate you when people address you with funny nicknames at your workplace? * Always * Sometimes * I don’t get irritated * This never happened to me

14. Does it affect your job concentration or performance when people joke about your name at your workplace? * Always * Sometimes * Never

15. Your attitude/feelings when people constantly joke about your name? * You smile and take it lightly * Neutral / No feelings * Dislike * Sad * Hatred * Anger

16. Your preference in naming your child * Names that indicate your religion * Names from your language(irrespective of religion) * Name of a famous person * Unique names framed by you * You don’t care, any name will do * Others …………………………………………………………….

17. Do you believe a person’s name creates an image of his personality in others’ minds?
Always Never
1 2 3 4 5

18. Any personal experience to share?
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