Business Etiquette
The Importance of Etiquette
Etiquette has always been an important part of life, be it social or business. However, it seems that business etiquette is has become more important in the last decade. This is mainly due to the fact that the business world is becoming more global and that “relationship selling” has become must for success. Etiquette is important for a variety of reasons. It helps to ease what might become and uneasy situation and can make or break business relationships that are worth millions of dollars. In essence, etiquette helps people to understand what is appropriate in any situation. It is also important to know the difference between business protocol and business etiquette. Business protocol determines what actions you take in a situation. Etiquette tells you how to take those actions. According to Ann Marie Sabath, there are a few guidelines that professionals should follow. Firstly, be proactive. Find ways to establish relationships with clients before they need to purchase something from you. Secondly, send a thank-you note. If someone is willing to give you 15 minutes of their time than they deserve a written thank-you. And thirdly, be a good sport. Even if you have been turned down by a client, thank them for giving consideration to your company (Bass, 2000).
The Effects of Social Etiquette on the Business World
The business world of the past encompasses a predominantly male environment with innate, discerned guidelines. Today, the business arena has changed with the civil rights movement and the entry of women into the workplace. The changes continue to evolve with other sociocultural issues. In order to be successful in the business world a masterization of business etiquette is imperative.
There is a sizeable difference between social etiquette and business etiquette. Social etiquette is primarily based on chivalry, which includes the concept of protecting women. Business etiquette, on the other hand, includes military origins based on hierarchy of power. This effects the behavior in the business world in as much as men and women are treated equally as peers. For example, if one should hold the door open for a woman, he/she should open a door for a man in the same situation. Regardless of gender doors are held open for superiors, clients, peers following close on one heel...
... middle of paper ...
... integral part of our daily lives. It is very easy to slip into “casual speak” when dealing with business e-mails. However, business professionals should keep in mind that they are dealing with other businesses and the same formality use when face-to-face should be used for writing and sending business e-mails. It may also be a good idea to take a few tips from the pros…literally. There are several services that provided by etiquette consultants. Many of these services can be found online or in your nearest bookstore. Knowledge it the most important aspect of good business etiquette.
Works Cited
1. Alihan, M. (1970). Corporate Etiquette. New York: Weybright and Talley
2. Mathew Ferrara Seminars.
Http://www.mfseminars.com [Accessed: 2000, October 9]
3. Jankowic, E. (1986). Behave Yourself!. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall
4. Klinkenberg, H.
Http://www.etiquetteintl.com/manner.htm [Accessed: 2000, October 9]
5. Martin, C. Untitled.
Http://www.builder.cnet.com/Business/Rules [Accessed: 2000, October 9]
6. Pearce, F. Business Etiquette International.
Http://www.bspage.com/Inetiq/Netiq.html [Accessed: 2000, October 8]
Etiquette is defined by the society cohesively as the standard behavior of human interaction and the code of conduct to establish a respectful and courteous environment. As social media and text abbreviations have become normalized in the 21st century, the emergence of informality has alerted the assistant professor Molly Worthern and professor Lisa Wade. In the article, “U Can’t Talk to Ur Professor Like This,” Worthern highlights the prevalence of informality in the interaction between the students and professor. She urges the need of putting etiquette guidelines in the syllabus allowing students to follow the rules. Meanwhile, in the article “10 Things Every College Professor Hates”, Wade highlights college professors’ ten complaints toward
In her article “But What Do You Mean” Deborah Tannen, claims that there is a huge difference in the style of communicating between men and women. Tannen breaks these down into seven different categories; apologies, criticism, thank-yous, fighting, praise, complaints, and jokes. With each of these she compares men to women by explaining the common misconceptions that each of the genders do. The different style of communication can cause some problems at the workplace and even affect the environment. The different styles of communication has been around forever and almost becomes a “ritual”(299). Tannen is effective with mainly women and not men. She is primarily successful with women due to the fact that her tone targets women, also the organization
For an example, while working for Chick-Fil-A, the managers would not only train the new hirers in their positions, but also train them to say “My Pleasures”. Which shows manners and respect, but also creating a hospitality environment for their customers. Without customers your business wouldn’t be running.
Business ethics is one of the most important aspects of business. It consists of the moral/underlying principles of conduct that must be practice...
The rest of the book is spent discussing each of the countries in detail. For each country the authors give a brief explanation of the history of the culture. Then they give tips on what each country expects from a visiting businessman. This includes tips on whether or not it is okay to be late for meetings, proper behavior during a business lunch or dinner, and how to properly address people you come in contact with during your business trip. They also give a guide t...
A businessperson needs to understand that the Mexican government plays a large part in establishing a business in Mexico. The government in Mexico influences and controls the Mexican business world, as most business transactions require a permit. Because of the strong government influence, many business practices in Mexico are corrupt. Not understanding or taking the time to learn Mexican business etiquette along with rules and regulations, one can find themselves in a compromising position. This paper intends to provide the necessary details such as customs, etiquette, mannerism, and culture of doing business in Mexico.
This is not about being nasty or nice – it is entirely about being achievement oriented by focusing on performance and organizational goals. Being achievement oriented, leaders have to recognize that they have to be mindful of and accountable for the choices they make because they are setting the model of what’s appropriate and inappropriate. Words matter, they are as much a form of expression for leaders as they are to poets, singers, and writers. According to Posner and Kouzes(p. 59) to be a leader, you got to awaken to the fact that you don’t have to copy someone else or follow a script and you don’t have to wear someone else’s style. Currently, there are an increasing number of women who are in leadership roles in the workplaces. It is a generally accepted as true that woman are supposed to use feminine ways of doing leadership. However, this is not always true. In some cases, women also use masculine ways of leadership. In this paper, Miranda Priestly illustrates how a female leader breaks traditional gender stereotypes and uses masculine leadership style.
Women face an unofficial barrier called the glass ceiling, which limits how high a women can advance in a profession. “Women holding the titles of chairman, CEO, COO (chief operating officer), and executive vice president remain at about 7 percent of the population of executives in the United States” (Hoobler, Wayne, & Lemmon, 2009). Women seem to have more of a family-work conflict then men, so bosses don’t seem to have as much desire, to promote females compared to men (Hoobler, Wayne, & Lemmon 939-940). Men still view women as having a social role, examples are cooking, childcare, and household chores. Men feel threatened, and scared when females are able to handle both work and their personal life. Excuses are created by men, where they believe females should focus on one role, because they won’t be able to accomplish family roles and work roles efficiently. Women can help themselves with this issue of family-work conflict, by, improving communication with their employers. Women can communicate to their employer, by explaining and clarifying their expectations on how much workload they can
The key to doing business in Japan is establishing strong relationships. According to Haru Yamada, a linguistics professor at the University of Westminster in London and the author of Different Games, Different Rules, “Present yourself as a trustworthy person who is sensitive to Japanese interests. Ask some non-sales related questions about their company. By shifting your focus from the product to the relationship, you will consider it the most interesting part of doing business and don’t consider it an effort at all. It’s part of figuring out who you’re dealing with, and how familiar with the West you counterpart is. Japanese people are deeply proud of traveling. Get them to tell you about their trips. Then you can start to gauge their familiarity [with the West] and get a good sense of how good they are at telling you what they’re thinking, directly, as opposed to the indirection that the Japanese are famous for. The Japanese are like emotional bonds with people.” When doing business in Japan, they are very formal. Yet there are some aspects of business etiquette in Japan that are similar to those of the United States. When in a business meeting, the Japanese expect for you to wait to be seated because they have a custom on which party sits on which side of the table. It is also important to take a lot of notes from the beginning of the business meeting to the end. A huge “must have” in the Japanese business society is carrying a business card, meishi. You must present the card with both hands to the most senior member and so on down the corporate ladder. It is considered rude if you put the card in your pocket or wallet. You must keep it on the table in front of you during the meeting. If you were to receive a business card, yo...
Imagine having a business that allows employees to dress and act in whatever manner he or she pleases. We lose the value of our jobs and the professionalism that it provides to help keep things running smoothly. Another harmful result is that individuals will stop self-reflecting. This means that no one will actually stop to ask if how they are dressed is appropriate, or even if how they are postured is professional. This is all because they never have to ask those questions. While employees lose self-reflection skills, the employers do as well. The employer will never have to stop and say, is this person fit for the job, or did I choose the right person. Flammang brings up another point that, not only is human to human communication becoming less relevant, but face-to-face family dinner conversation as well. She mentions that “the household provides such a safe place. Children can learn about thoughtfulness and generosity… and see how conflicts can be managed without blows. At the table, they can learn about their identity and what is expected of informed citizens.” (Flammang 128) Dinner table discussions are no longer being used as a way to learn about current events and even learn about life skills. Dinners are simply
Firstly, etiquette makes an agreable and a peaceful classroom. These days, there is a misconception that etiquette is about formal behavior. The foundation of etiquette is kindness to others, treating others as you would like to be treated. Although many of its rules evolved into f...
Ethical business practices include assuring that the highest legal and moral standards are observed in your relationships with the people in your business community. This includes the most important person in your business, your customer. Short term profit at the cost of losing a customer is long term death for your business.
There are three major issues concerning gender inequality in business that is significantly unethical. First, men are considered higher leaders than women within business, according to gender differences such as physical and emotional factors. Second are the specific jobs for men are significantly higher than the job that are specified for women because men have a choice to do job more than women based on education and experience. Lastly is the unequal salary in business between men and women due to the gender specific jobs and wages for those jobs. Nevertheless, it is not only in the business that gender inequality is present. Gender inequality has a presence in all aspects of modern
In business usually people make decisions based on what they believe is moral. For example, some people might believe it is ethical to commit fraudulent accounting information to benefit a company, but most people would disagree. Interpretations of what is moral depends on one’s culture, making it that what is ethical to one group will not be considered so by someone living in a different culture. This can make drawing the line between what is ethical and unethical in business difficult. Business etiquette, standards, and practices differ between different firms and even countries. One approach to the same situation may significantly differ from another company, and especially in other countries depending on the top managements culture. Approaches to draw this line have been made to further the success and development of
First of all, people are more educated and competitive if they have good manners. Ladies and gentlemen who have good manners appear more educated, creditable, and superior than other ill-mannered people. Dr. Sokolosky believes, “all things being equal in terms of skills and abilities, the person who leaves a good, positive impression will come out on top” (Ricketts, par. 9), which means in a group of people who have equal skills, the one who has good manners will be the winner; thus, good manners can improve one’s competitiveness. Moreover, my Professor Eadus said that manners are the biggest part of social skill, which is true because good manners affect people’s interpersonal relationships and social communications. In fact, dining has been a principal social event in people’s lives; therefore, good table manners are essential and conducive to show one’s education while erroneous table manners can cause punishment by mothers, embarrassment in front of friends, or being dumped by dates (Packer 268). I have had one of the most embarrassing experiences in my life. When I was young, I used to play with my food and hold my knife and fork incorrectly until one day I dropped my whole piece of steak on the woman who was sitting at the next table. At that moment, I was totally embarrassed and frightened while the woman yelled at me and said I was a rude kid. After that, I went to borrow some books to learn table manners. “The way you handle yourself at the table gives off very clear signals as to what kind of a person you are” (Cooper, par.