Business Etiquette More Than Right Fork

by Pat Cataldo, Associate Dean For Executive Education

As the great modern management guru Peter Drucker once remarked, "Good manners are the lubricating oil of organizations." Of course, he also understood that business etiquette includes a wide range of social behaviors. In this time of the global marketplace and heated competition, business etiquette is a great deal more than using the correct fork for your salad and knowing when and where to place your napkin.

It should go without saying that treating people with respect is at the heart of any conversation about the proper behavior in critical business and personal situations. Add the complications of understanding the many nuances of cross-cultural relationships and you have a considerable topic for discussion.

Consider this apparent trifle: You invite a job candidate to dinner. Before she even tastes the food, she liberally salts it. Could this action be meaningful? Well it was to the great industrialist Henry Ford. When dining with job candidates, he carefully observed their salting habits. Besides being an insult to the chef, salting before tasting indicated to Ford that an individual was one who did not carefully evaluate a situation before taking action. Such a person was not hired.

Knowing the right thing to do when dealing with people is critical, often making the difference between success and failure. Business Etiquette 101 includes personal introductions, handshakes, meetings, handling business cards, dining, networking, correspondence, and more. There is plenty to learn about what to do—and not do—in a given situation.

At its core, business etiquette is about people—all people. Sure, it's important to know how to treat superiors or clients with respect. But how about doing the same for colleagues and subordinates? You never know when your kindness and consideration will be returned. Consistency is the first habit of the well mannered.

International dealings bring many additional details to think about: Language, culture, time of day in the country, food, and work customs are a few of them.

These specific questions about business etiquette might whet your appetite for more information.

• You are meeting with an important client. Your boss enters the room and you immediately stand and say, "Ms. Client, I'd like to introduce you to my boss, who is the president of our company." Is this the correct way to make the introduction?

• Following the introduction and a brief discussion, the president of the company reaches for a business card and presents it to the client. She takes the card, thanks him and offers her card as she places the boss' card in her purse. Is this correct?

• Your cell phone rings at a business meal. Do you answer it?

• You are on an international business trip and your hosts present a regional delicacy that you know you will not like. What do you do?

• A taxi arrives for you and an important client. You enter first. Was that the right way to handle it?

• In the middle of an important business dinner, the vice president you are entertaining specifically asks you to "Please pass the salt." Do you pass the salt or ask if he also wants the pepper?

Business etiquette has been the topic of many books and articles and there are consultants and companies that offer courses on the subject. That only goes to underscore the fact that behaving appropriately in business situations is very important to your ultimate success. You cannot build relationships—including international ones—unless you treat people well.

This article originally appeared in the Centre Daily Times.