Write 10 observations, comments and/or take-ways from Chapter 12. Submit on a separate word.doc. Include your first and last name on the document.

I. Introduction

• Everyone has dealt with an employee of some company that did not care or take their

job seriously; this can be an example of poor business etiquette. We do not want

ourselves or our employees to be one of those people and that is why we need to stress

the importance of proper business etiquette.

• Business etiquette is directly related to professionalism, professionalism can show

customers and business partners that you and your company take their jobs seriously.

• Professionalism can be most readily seen in how an employee interacts with those

around them, whether in-person or through text-based conversations.

• Professionalism and therefore business etiquette is a learned trait, meaning, that one is

not necessarily born with proper business etiquette or professionalism but that doesn’t

mean they can’t learn to have the etiquette or professionalism.

II. Body

• Employees are going to interact with all kinds of people on a daily basis: from

Stakeholders to customers and following proper business etiquette, all should be

interacted with in different ways

o Managers, executives and stakeholders should be addressed with respect; they

worked hard to be were they are today and should be spoken to in a

professional manner.

o If they ask for information you should supply the information quickly but

accurately as they are most likely being asked for that information for one of

their managers.

• Coworkers can be addressed in a more relaxed fashion, but it is important to be wary if

they are busy. If a coworker is busy, perhaps you can try to talk to them later. If you

happen to have a coworker who is difficult to deal with try to avoid them but if said

employee can’t be avoided, then you should cordial and respectful but avoid any

confrontation or arguments.

• Customers are one of the greatest assets to a company and should be treated with

respect, compassion and the desire to help them.

o You are the face of the company when interacting with customers you should

treat their problem as if it were the companies, because it is.

o According to Fox Business News: if you find yourself interacting with an irate

customer you need to listen, be empathetic to their situation, remain calm and

keep a low voice

• It is the 21st century and business no longer relies solely on in-person interactions and

letters; it is extremely important that we maintain our business etiquette in all forms

of communication.

o With in-person communication, you need to be mindful of your body

language, tone and follow the previous guidance on interacting with different

types of people.

o With typed messages becoming more and more common we need to be

mindful of common mistakes such as maintaining your professionalism, being

cautious of who might see your e-mail, checking for spelling and grammatical

errors (DO NOT USE TEXTING ABBREVIATIONS!), verify that you are sending

accurate, up to date information, remain on topic and keep your message

short. If you want to look into more information on this subject I would

recommend Jacquelyn Smith’s article on Business insider on the link on the

slide here.

o Phone calls and video calls have their own separate etiquette that needs to be

followed. First of all, you are going to need to introduce yourself (including

your title and company), the person on the other end might not know who

you are. Follow the previous guidelines on addressing different types of

people. Do your best to avoid interrupting others and if you are on a video call

be cautious of what you are wearing and what the other people can see in

your video frame.

• There are consequences to showing poor business etiquette which emphasize how

important business etiquette and professionalism are in today’s business workplace.

o Showing poor business etiquette can result in receiving an official reprimand.

An official reprimand is something a company can use to document your poor

behavior and keep on record to see if you become a repeat offender.

o Another possible consequence is losing your job; if you receive multiple

reprimands for poor business etiquette or if you show poor business etiquette

to a major stakeholder you might find yourself looking for a new job.

o Relationships in today’s business world are essential; having good business

relationships can assist you in having good references for your resume or even

getting you a job offer in the future. If you repeatedly show poor business

etiquette, you might find it hard to keep positive relationships in the

workplace.