Business Professionalism and Etiquette

Week 13, Management Skills

Interviews:

- - How effective ARE interviews?

- - What’s legal?

- - What’s NOT?

Validity of Interviews

- - Eder & Ferris, (1989) The Employment Interview

- - Validity =

Success in predicting high performance in position

POOR with interviews

GOOD with experience, education

Despite lack of validity...

- - Most frequently used decision tool in applicant selection

- - WHY?

Easy to administer

Public Relations tool for organization

Assesses personal chemistry

NOT legal:

- - Age

- - Marital status or plans,

- - Home ownership, financial status,

- - Religion, ability to work holidays

- - National origin or ethnicity,

- - Community, political memberships

- - Children, and/ or PLANS to have

- - Disability NOT related to unique job requirements

- - Height, weight, unless business necessity

- - Arrest records, unless business necessity

Businesses should ask themselves:

- - “Will the answers to this question, if used in making a selection, have a disparate effect in screening out minorities and/or members of one sex?”

- - “Is this information really needed to judge an applicant’s competence or qualification for the job in question?”

If you get an illegal question:

- - Take it on the chin… ANSWER

- - Be playful, evasive

e.g., “ [SMILE] Should I be invited to join you here at XYZ, we’ll have lots of time to exchange personal information. You know, I think the things I’m really good at are…”

- - Be firm, point out legality

You’ll probably lose position in candidate line-up

How to prepare for an interview:

- - PAR analysis

Problem/s

Action I took

Results

- - Helps to surface generic skills

Universal Laws of professionalism:

- - Always make your boss look good

- - Never degrade, devalue coworkers or your firm

- - Always leave a careful paper trail

- - Report your progress on a regular basis

- - Keep your eye on the prize, mission

- - Treat every person you meet with respect

- - Stay visible

- - Scan the horizon

- - Stay well-trained

- - Give more than you’re asked for, within limits

- - Watch successful people and learn from them

Etiquette = “A small ticket”

- - French translation

- - Ticket =

A certificate showing that an admission fee has been paid.

Importance of Etiquette at Work

- - Like clothing, the great leveler

- - Per WSJ,

“People have to realize that they will never get promoted if their bosses and customers don’t see them as looking and acting the part.”

The “McManners” generation

- - “We can’t assume that anything is being taught at home now.”

- - Point and click generation leads isolated existence that fails to promote development of good social skills and manners.

Creating business relationships takes 2 things:

- - Time

- - Manners

(Faith Popcorn,

Entrepreneur and Futurist)

Top 10 list of Bad Manners at Work:

- - 10. NOT resetting copier after using it.

- - 9. Forgetting to thank people who provide essential services, e.g., secretarial staff, cleaning personnel.

They can make your life miserable, and its just the RIGHT thing to do.

Mark of good character is being nice to people who can NOT do anything for you.

- - 8. Borrowing something and making ME go through embarrassment of asking for it back.

- - 7. Being too familiar, calling people you don’t know nick names that SEEM to fit.

Ask, “May I call you, ______?”

- - 6. Showing up late for meetings.

- - 5. Not calling if you’re going to be late, OR have to reschedule a meeting.

- - 4. Boasting, bragging about your accomplishments.

- - 3. Stocking checks on the way out of the bathroom. AND/OR Zipper checks on the way out of the bathroom.

- - 2. Swearing in public, making lewd remarks that may offend.

- - 1. Spitting (AKA, “hacking lewgy”)

Key Worrisome areas:

- - Dining

- - Dressing

- - Introductions

- - E-mail, voice mail

- - Discretion

- - Cultural faux pas

- - “Traffic” control

Dining, social gatherings with food and drink:

- - Noise, chewing volume

- - Spilling

- - Ordering

- - Salting

- - Dinner talk

- - Holding wine glasses

- - Drinking [DON’T, unless…]

- - OVER, instead of under dress

Useful tips:

- - Tear bread off piece at a time

Don’t slop up gravy with it, do that at mom’s

- - Never drink when the toast is to you

- - Hold wine glass by stem for white wine, bowl for red.

- - Club soda will get red wine out, but order white if you’re worried.

- - Being rude to the server impresses no one.

Leave a 20% tip, more if you took a long time at table, or got excellent service.

- - Eat on company’s dime like you would at home.

Expense account cheating is bad form

2. Dressing: Use attire to:

Dressing For interviews:

- - Be conservative

- - Wear a suit

u Navy or black suit with white or cream blouse

u Avoid patterns

u Go for natural fabrics: Wool, Silk, Linen, Cotton

- - If you can’t afford the best suit ($400) look at the best and do what you can with that in mind.

- - Pay careful attention to shoes

- - Arrive early

- - Have everything cleaned and polished the day before

Special advise for women:

- - Minimize jewelry: (1) pair earrings, (1) ring/hand. Pearls are good, diamond stud earrings.

--Bring extra stockings! Natural colors

--Minimize makeup, no bold lipsticks, blushes.

-- Hair should be simply styled

-- Minimum hair spray, NO teasing, avoid “big hair”

-- Short/Long not a big deal any more

--Don’t have to abandon femininity

-- Important not to be overly provocative, don’t dress like its a first date.

Daily work attire

--Dress like the next level you hope to achieve… or higher.

-- Assess culture

-- In beginning better to OVER dress

-- Develop reputation for grooming consistency

-- “She’s management material”

-- Buy suits that are timeless, good quality materials and craftsmanship,

-- Modernize accessories, blouses

--Buy the BEST you can

-- Less is better

-- Blend / Match conservative colors

After work

-- After work = AT work, different place.

-- Shop carefully for business casual

-- NOT jeans, NOT picnic clothes

-- Levi Dockers, with a suit coat, tailored sweater

-- Be very deliberate

-- Find conservative shoes, accessories

-- While traveling:

-- ALWAYS wear at least business casual, NEVER jeans, sweats.

-- Save comfortable clothes for home.

Avant Guard industries

-- Advertising

-- Fashion industry

-- Public relations

-- Retail clothing industry

3. Introductions

-- Introduce in order of hierarchical level. Make introductions 2-way.

-- To a student… “Dr. Yu, this is a student in my management skills class, Mr. Shawn Stalker. Shawn, I’d like you to meet Dr. Yu, our college President.”

-- Use formal form, e.g., Mr. Mike Voos

-- With women, when in doubt use “Ms.”

-- Shake every hand same way, repeat name as you do.

What do you do when you forget a name?

-- Revert to a one-sided introduction

--Nameless introduced person will often fill in the name by introducing themselves.

-- Avoid conversation until you can LEARN the name.

What do you do when you forget a job title, or don’t know it?

-- Refer to a geographic region the person is from, if from out of town,

-- Or, refer to the work unit that the introduce is from

-- Or, refer to the profession the person is in.

4. E-mail, voice mail

-- Proceed with caution!

-- Fast should not equal sloppy

-- Don’t send or leave any message you wouldn’t want to see in the newspaper

--Your e-mail, voice mail is company property

Promptness & Brevity:

-- The rule of thumb is that one should respond to all voice mail within 2- 24 hours.

-- NO later

-- Sooner if you are in town.

-- When in doubt leave it out

-- Do NOT leave long messages!

Essential data, ingredients:

-- For voice mail?

_______________

For e-mail?

Reason for mail

Lower case letters

Reply needed by?

Problems unique to e-mail:

Speed with which one may reply

Flaming

Responding to listservs

Sensitive information

Privacy

Commercialization of newsgroups, special interest listservs

5. Discretion

… is the better part of valor

When you are brought into the “inside” power base at work, do not betray the confidences of those who put you there.

Always keep your word, and try not to be part of a secret-holding culture.

Better to be part of it than target of it.

Not a reliable base of power

Do NOT participate in harmful gossip

Do NOT falter from commitments

If necessary learn how to say NO.

Quick test of Ethics:

1. Is it legal?

Will I be violating the law, company policy?

2. Is it balanced?

Is it fair to all concerned in the short term as well as the long term?

Does it promote win-win relationships?

3. How will it make me feel about myself?

Will it make me proud?

Would I feel good if my decision was published in the newspaper?

Would I feel good if my family knew about it?

6. Cultural issues

Use Internet service to learn of unique cultural requirements

ADHERE to them

e.g., leaving chop sticks standing up tall in bowl of rice

Done with the dead

Other cultural tips:

Shower people with respect

Let them know you’re trying, even if you goof.

When in doubt hold your tongue.

Learn the lingo.

Let patience rule.

www.webofculture.com

7. “Traffic” control

Say excuse me when you walk in front of someone

Even when the other person walks in front of you.

Be patient, hold elevators, doors for others

Don’t get into parking wars

May be your boss or a customer

Avoid eye contact on elevators, subways

Professionalism Role play

Look at the topic you’ve been given. Think of an instance in your own career that relates to this role play.

Describe the experience to your partner/s. Provide the following details:

Names of people involved.

Company name and type of industry.

Job titles, and/or job responsibilities.

If relevant, nature of problem upon which discussion is based.

If relevant, employees’ tenure in position, tenure with the organization.

Any other details relevant to your role.

Once the “story” is decided on, decide which member of the partnership will assume the designated roles, e.g., employer/boss, new employee/ orientation person, etc.