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Business Etiquette: What Your Students Dont Know Recent developments in the workplace have supported the need for more awareness of business etiquette, especially by new employees entering the workforce. This study was completed to determine the current level of etiquette awareness possessed by students enrolled in business communication courses at three AACSB institutions. The findings indicate that students are most concerned with issues related to job interviews, interpersonal relationships, and social issues and least concerned with intercultural issues.

variety and number of business publications X including articles on etiquette in the workplace reflect a definite interest in the topic by employers. One reason for the interest may be in the general belief among business persons that etiquette skills have declined or at best stayed the same during the past decade. Over 40% of the respondents in a study by Schaffer, Kelley, and Goette (1993) believed that the business etiquette skills of college graduates had actually worsened over the past ten years. Furthermore, they said once in the business world, these graduates have little on-the-job opportunities for etiquette training. Finally, the respondents indicated the business school should include etiquette in the course of study. Even if your students have had the benefit of being well-grounded in social etiquette, they mayfindthat familiar rules do not always apply in the workplace. The double-sided effects of trying to walk thefineline of proper etiquette in the different worlds of social and business are recognized by Judith Martin. In Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior she said, "Good business manners often dictate the opposite of good social manners" (1982, p. 12), and in Miss Manners'Guide for the Turn-of-theMillennium, she said, "If the relaxed manners of leisure could be used successfully in the ofiice without anyone's being fooled about the realities hidden underneath. Miss Manners could argue against them only on aesthetic grounds" (1989, p. 302). However, professional protocol, that is, business etiquette, is considered by some to be a "soft" communication skill that does not need to be focused upon in business students' training. Prevalent attitudes are either "They know how to behave" or

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Business Communication Quarteriy 58:4 December 1995

Jean Mausehund R. Neil Dortch University of Wisconsin—^Whitewater

Paula Brown Northern lilinois University DeKaib

Carl Bridges Ohio University, Athens

"They'll pick up social savvy on the job." The reality may be that because business students are graduating with less effective business social skills each year, more of them will continue to make social gaffes on the job. Probiem and Procedures The problem of this study was to investigate what facets of professional protocol are of concern to business students. When gathering data for this study and interpreting results, the researchers worked within the parameters of the following assumptions: 1. Business etiquette permeates all activities in the workplace. 2. Educators can incorporate business etiquette across the curriculum. 3. Students recognize need for but are unclear on what constitutes acceptable business etiquette. 4. Students are uncertain of appropriate etiquette in routine situations in the workplace. A data-gathering instrument was given to and collected from 457 juniors, seniors, and graduate students enrolled in business communication classes in three AACSB-accredited colleges of business (COBs) at the close of the 1994 spring term. In addition to providing demographic data, the students responded to one open-ended question: What is one question about business etiquette that you've always wanted to ask? Statisticai Anaiysis Analyses of data identified the social discomfort areas of students. The major categories of professional protocol discomfort are shown in Table 1. The major source of discomfort areas are job interview, interpersonal relationships, and social issues. At the lower end of student responses were two areas that should be noted. First, approximately 10% of the students did not respond by writing a question on the survey instrument. This lack of response could indicate either no interest in the topic or such a lack of knowledge that no question could be formulated. Second, students gave little attention to the area of intercultural issues. This low response does not

Business Etiquette / Mausehund, Dortch, Brown, Bridges

refiect the current emphasis placed on diversity in the workplace. Table 1 Categories of Business Etiquette Questions Category

No.

Pet.

Interviewing Interpersonal relationships Social issues Job-related issues Ethics Appearances Intercultural issues Unrelated No response Tbtal

150 78 78 35 30 26 3 9 48 457

33 17 17 8 7 6 1 2 10 100

Questions Reiated to tiie interview Process Interviewing appears to be the major concern of respondents in the study, and the topics broached by respondents tend to cover the following areas. Dressing for Business

As Brandon and Kliener (1994) indicated in their article, "Etiquette for Managers," "Whether we like it or not the best approach in business dress is to conform. By conforming the [interviewer-interviewee] is at least satisfying the corporate etiquette if not his own preference" (p. 37). Regardless of such pronouncements by business authorities, the study under review showed that some respondents questioned the necessity of professional dress for the interview, while others questioned what is appropriate dress for an interview. One respondent went so far as to say, "Why do you have to falsify your appearance at interviews and act like someone that you are not?" The actual range of questions in this study covered the entire spectrum from "what to wear" to "why one should wear a suit." Gender issues were also raised with such questions as "why not pants suits [for women]" "wearing an engagement ring," and "how to wear one's hair." Surviving the Business Meai

Stohs (1994), quoting Elizabeth Post in the newest edition of her grandmother's Emily Post's Advice for Every Dining Occasion, said, "Eating is basically not a particularly attractive maneuver" (p. 1). No wonder Aaronson (1990) maintained, "Nowhere is etiquette or the lack of it - so visible as at the table" (p. 24). And, no wonder students asked such questions as these:

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• "How should one handle dinner interviews?" • "When interviewing at a meal setting, do you start eating first or do you let the interviewer start first?" • "What is the best thing to order when going out for an interview lunch?" • "During an interview, if you are asked if you want something to drink (alcohol), do you say yes or no? What do interviewers expect you to do?" Using Nonverbai Behaviors

Next to the impact of the first visual impression, often the most important nonverbal signal in a business encounter is the handshake. Students seem aware of the significance of the handshake but seem uncertain of how or when to initiate the traditional greeting. Several questions indicated the same concern as the person who asked, "Should you take the initiative of offering the first handshake or wait for the interviewer to extend it?" The general advice is to give afirmhandshake both to men and women. The rule of waiting for the female to extend her hand no longer holds; the only rule is for subordinates to let superiors make the first move. Unlike handshaking rules that have evolved through common usage, rules regulating smoking refiect company or governmental policies. Smoking has become an issue in all business functions both in and out of the workplace. For those students wondering when ^t is appropriate to smoke, they should consider that "most offices have designated smoking and nonsmoking areas, the boundaries of which must not be crossed" (Davidson, 1986, p. 22). Therefore, interviewees or people in new situations would be wise to refrain from smoking until the ground rules are known. Asking and Answering Questions in the Interview

Many students expressed concerns about questions during the interviewing process. They wanted to know • "What questions will be asked?" • "What are legal questions?" • "How do you ask questions?" • "How many questions should you ask?" Because of the variety of questions possible during an interview, a detailed discussion of individual interview questions is not possible. However, students do need to know sources to study before going to an interview. Stewart and Faux (1994) in their chapter on "Landing that Big Job: The Etiquette of the Job Search," from Executive Etiquette in the New Workplace and Crook (1992) in "Killer Interview Questions" both provide methods for answering lypi-

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Business Communication Quarteriy 58:4 December 1995

cal questions - including how to handle illegal questions. Foilowing Up on the interview Although a follow-up thank you letter for the interview would seem to be common sense, students did ask if a thank you letter for an interview is required. A representative for the accountingfirmof Alexander Grant, Madison, Wisconsin, said that less than 4% of the interviewees nationally send a thank you note (Dortch, 1991). As far as the acceptance or refusal of an offer goes, students may not realize that both are of equal importance. The acceptance letter forms part of a contract between employer and job seeker. By not sending a refusal letter, tbe implication is a lack of courtesy and lack of knowledge of proper business procedure. This oversight may come back later to haunt the job seeker should the need arise to have a professional association with that company in the future. Questions Reiated to interpersonai Reiations on the Job Another area of major concern to students is interpersonal relationships on the job. Issues raised by students included serving customers, employee-toemployee relationships, friendships and dating on the job, and gender differences. Serving the Customer

Does anyone still believe Marshall Field, who said, "The customer is always right." Perhaps not, because students posed such questions as, "At what point is the customer not right?" "Why do you have to put up with customers with bad attitudes?" "At what cost to the company is it worth it to always satisfy the customer?" Customer service, or the lack thereof, is a current hot topic based on the number of books and articles appearing in print with such titles as Tbtal Customer Service (Davidson & Uttal, 1989), The Service Edge (Zemke & Schaaf, 1990), The Customer Driven Company (Whiteley, 1991), and Total Quality Service (Brown, 1992). Getting Aiong on the Job According to Savage (1988), the primary rule for getting along on the job is to "treat everyone with respect; that is the underlying etiquette of the workplace" (p. 77). Students expressed concern about knowing how to refuse a social lunch date with a coworker, be more assertive without being too overbearing, and determine how much is too much fun at work. Within the area of developing relationships, the students appear to see problems both in forming

friendships and in dating co-workers, asking questions such as these: • "Should you date someone from work?" • "How familiar can you be with either a supervisor or a subordinate?" • "At what point in a new business relationship can you relax and think of this business associate as a friend?" • "How much socializing is considered appropriate in an ofiice setting?" Acicnowiedging the Gender issue

To emphasize a time of changing roles, Baldridge (1985) said, "We are still in the developmental stage of the new manners . . . people are supposed to treat each other equally and act according to rules of protocol, not of gender; and one sex is supposed to come to the aid of the other whenever either needs assistance" (p. 41). Gender issues that students desired more clarification on ranged from the simple "If you know a female is married, is it more proper to refer to her as 'Mrs', or 'Ms.'?" to asking "What exactly is characterized by sexual harassment, and if a complaint isfiled,will it hurt me with future jobs?" In the middle were questions addressing how to adapt old rules to new standards on such things as opening doors, standing to greet someone, pulling out a chair, or paying for dinner. Questions Related to Sociai and Protocoi issues The third major area in which students desired answers involved some blending of traditional social customs and emerging business protocol. These areas included use of alcohol, business cards, difference between social and business behavior, introductions, use of first names, and table manners. Consuming Aicohoi

Questions about alcohol consumption included whether to consume and how to avoid consuming. Students desired guidelines for consuming alcohol when at business functions or quasi-social functions such as the ofiice party. For instance, tjT)ical of the questions asked were "Are liquid lunches commonly accepted among middle and top management?" or "Is it all right to get drunk with your boss at an office party?" Presenting Business Cards

The ultimate passport into business circles is a properly prepared and presented business card. Although small in size, the card looms large in the mind of students as shown by the following questions: "How do you accept a business card?" "How and when should

Business Etiquette / Mausehund, Dortch, Brown, Bridges

you present your business card to someone?" In some international situations, business cards are exchanged at the first meeting. However, "in the U. S. [business cards] are exchanged not automatically on meeting but usually only if there is some reason to want to get in touch later" (Axtell, 1993, p. 176). introducing Business Associates

Few people today have not struggled through an introduction. They stumble and mumble through presenting whom to whom and silently pray they did it right. Students are no different; they want to know the proper protocol for making introductions. According to Brody, as quoted in McGarvey (1994): "The rule is plain. Always introduce the person with more authority to the person with less" (p. 28). Using First Names in the Woricpiace

Refiecting the current casual trend in business in the United States, many students wanted to know "When can I use first names (for the boss, the customer, peers, and older colleagues)?" According to Sabath (1991), "One of the most common business faux pas is assuming that everyone wants to be on a first name basis. Simply put, business etiquette dictates that individuals should always be addressed by their last name unless otherwise requested" (p. 100). Observing Good Tabie Manners

Students asked questions that relate to three areas of the business meal. First, they were unsure of the mechanics, for example, which fork to use. Second, they expressed a need to know when and what to order from the menu. Third, they wanted to know about the intangible parts of the meal, such as choosing topics to discuss, pajdng for the meal, and accepting and declining invitations. Problems arising in the first two areas can be solved by following the lead of the host or hostess. In the third area, students would be required to do more than follow the lead of the host or hostess. Again, the topic of intangible behaviors during the business meal is so broad that not all issues can be addressed in depth. However, students can refer to such guides as Letitia Baldrige's Complete Guide to Executive Manners (1993) or other shorter volumes on business etiquette such as Sabath's Business Etiquette in Brief (1993). Areas with Limited Responses This article has addressed the three topics most broached by the respondents as displayed in Table 1. However, before concluding the topic of what students don't know about business etiquette, two more issues need to be addressed: first, the issue of new skills or knowledge for global success, and second, the number of no responses to the survey.

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Less than 1% of the students asked questions about intercultural issues, which may indicate their lack of understanding of the importance of diversity issues in our global village. Elashmawi (1991) indicated tbat the increasing level of activity in the global market place brings many managers into contact with people from many cultures oversees and at home. Many organizations may have already overcome the barriers to opening up global markets, but most have not yet been fully able to cope with the cultural issues of multicultural management. The lack of student responses in the area of intercultviral issues indicates more classroom emphasis still needs to be placed on diversity in the workplace. Likewise, the 10% of the students who had no response to the final question may indicate another case of students' "not knowing what they need to know." The fact that so many students made no response may lead to the conclusion that they either do not have enough knowledge to ask a question or that they do not believe etiquette is important enough to warrant their attention. Conciusions and Recommendations Based on thefindings,logical inferences have been determined as to the problems students perceive. These include the following: 1. Students may not have a thorough grasp of etiquette in the workplace. 2. Because of the number and variety of questions asked, students appear to have an interest in learning more about proper etiquette in the workplace. 3. Students at the end of a semester of business communication still have many unanswered questions related to business etiquette. 4. Students list interviewing skills, interpersonal relationships, and social issues most frequently. 5. Student questions about intercultural issues ranked last, which does not refiect the current emphasis on diversity in the workplace. 6. Students not responding with a question about etiquette may indicate that many students do not have enough knowledge about etiquette to ask questions. Based on these conclusions, the following recommendations are made: 1. Include a unit on etiquette in the workplace, using lecture,films,demonstrations, and case studies. 2. Encourage students to continue developing their protocol after they leave the classroom. 3. Inventory students' knowledge levels of business etiquette early in the course to develop the most effective curriculum for the course.

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Business Communication Quarterly 58:4 December 1995

4. Include interviewing skills, interpersonal relationships, and social issues into more units of courses. 5. Emphasize intercultural concepts of business protocol throughout the course because of the growing international emphasis in the workplace. 6. Be aware that students may not know they need to know more about etiquette. Many business professionals are talking about etiquette but, just like the weather, don't seem to be doing much about it. Caudron (1993) summed up a discussion of business etiquette in these terms: We've been able to determine that two principles govern almost all manners in the workplace: that professional manners are different from social manners and that precedence in business depends on rank, not personal characteristics. However, there is a tremendous range of nuances of behavior, and the minute you say, "This is the rule,' someone will find an exception, (p. 25)

Although "hard" content skills are crucial for securing jobs, business social skills are important to maintain jobs and contribute to the communication success of business graduates in the workplace. REFERENCES

Aaronson, K. (1990, April). Power entertaining. American Salesman, 35(4), 24-28, Brandon, N., & Kliener, B, H, (1994, April), Etiquette for managers. Agency Sales Magazine, 24, 36-40. Brown, S, A, (1992). Jbtal quality service. Scarborough, Ontario, Canada: Prentice Hall. Caudron, S. (1993, February). Doing business with Miss Manners. Industry Week, 242, 23-25,

Crook, B. H, (1992, Spring). Killer interview questions. Cosmopolitan Life After College, 42-45. Davidson, J. P, (1986, October). Astute DP professionals pay attention to business etiquette. Data Management, 24, 2223. Davidson, W. H., & Uttal, B.(1989). Tbtal customer service. New York: Harper & Rowe. Elashmawi, F. (1991, February). Multicultural management: New skills for global success. TbAryo Business Tbday, 54-56. Gelles-Cole, S.(1985). Letitia Baldrige's complete guide to executive manners. New York: Rawson Associates. Martin, J. (1982). Miss Manners'guide to excruciatingly correct behavior. New York: Alensum. Martin, J, (1989), Miss Manners'guide for the tum-of-the-millennium. New York: Pharos Books. McGarvey, R. (1994, October). Office etiquette for the 90s. The American Legion, 138,26-28. Sabath, A, M. (1991, April). What's in a name? Sales and Marketing Management, 143,100. Sabath, A. M. (1993). Business etiquette in brief Holbrook, MA: Bob Adams. Savage, J, (1988, August). Beware gentle readers: Business etiquette may spell your success or failure. ComputerWorld, 22, 77-78. Schaffer, B. E, Kelley, C. A., & Goette, M. (1993). Education in business etiquette: Attitudes of marketing professionals. Journal of Education for Business, 68, 330-333. Stewart, M. Y, & Faux, M. (1994). Executive etiquette in the new workplace. New York: St. Martin's Press. Stohs, N. (1994, November 27). When impressions count. Afi7waukee Journal, pp, PI, P5, Whiteley, R. C. (1991). The customer driven company. New York: Addison-Wesley. Zemke, R., & Schaaf, D. (1990). The service edge. New York: Penguin Books. Q