Text 10.2. Etiquette. International business etiquette

To have respect for ourselves guides our morals; and to have a deference for others governs our manners.

Lawrence Sterne,

Irish novelist & satirist (1713–1768)

Etiquette, or good manners, is an important part of our day to day lives. Whether we realize it or not we are always subconsciously adhering to rules of etiquette. These are unwritten rules that reflect a culture's values, for example giving up your seat to a lady or elderly person, or simply saying «please» or «thank you».

Etiquette accomplishes many tasks. However, the one noteworthy function that etiquette does perform is that it shows respect and deference to another. By doing so it maintains good interpersonal relationships.

We all know how we or others feel when a lack of etiquette is shown. If someone jumps the queue, does not thank you for holding the door open for them or forgets to shake your hand, we naturally feel disrespected and perturbed.

Etiquette is a system of rules and conventions that regulates social and professional behaviour. Regardless of its level of material culture, any highly stratified society will possess an etiquette in which every person knows the behaviour expected from him toward others and from others toward himself.

The real point to be made is that rules of etiquette have not been contrived in order to make those who know them seem important. Actually the rules are nothing but the findings of long experience handed down for reasons of practical use. Good taste is helpful! What is said and done should be the most suitable, comfortable and useful for the occasion, place and time.

In the same way the code of ethics is an immutable law of etiquette. Good taste or bad is revealed in everything we are, do, or have. Our

speech manners, dress, our household goods – and even our friends – are evidence of the quality of our taste. Rules of etiquette are sign-posts by which we are guided to the goal of good taste.

Modern business is global and demands people travel to foreign countries and mix with foreign clients, colleagues or customers. All cultures have their own etiquette rules, many of them unwritten. When two or more different cultures mix, it is easy for small etiquette mistakes to be made that could have negative consequences. Just as you may have felt annoyed when a foreign businessman did not shake your hands upon greeting you, imagine how your Chinese client must have felt when you wrote on his business card or your Indian colleague reacted when you flatly rejected an offer of a meal. Sometimes, not understanding the etiquette of another culture means you show a lack of manners and as Lawrence Sterne said, a lack of deference. This can and does lead to soured relationships, lost deals and in the end poor business results. International business etiquette manifests in many shapes and sizes. Throughout the world people from different cultures have varying etiquette rules around areas such as personal space, communication, gift giving, food, business meetings and much more. For those who want to make a good impression understanding of international business etiquette is crucial. By way of introducing some of the key areas within international business etiquette we shall look at the following common areas:

Business Card Etiquette

When you exchange business cards (even if you exchange them) do you simply pass it over and forget about it? In many countries the business card has certain etiquette rules. For example in the Arab world you would never give or receive a business card with your left hand. In China and Japan you should try and use both hands to give and receive. In addition it is always good etiquette to examine the card and make a positive comment on it. Whereas in the UK it may be OK to sling the business card into a pocket, in many countries you should always treat it with much more respect such as storing it in a business card holder.

The Etiquette of Personal Space

How close do you stand to people? Is it impolite to touch somebody? What about gender differences? In the Middle East you may get very touchy -feely with the men, yet one should never touch a woman. A slap on the back may be OK in Mexico but in China it is a serious no-no. Touch someone on the head in Thailand or Indonesia and you would have caused great insult. Without an appreciation of international business etiquette, these things would never be known.

The Etiquette of Gift Giving

Many countries such as China and Japan have many etiquette rules surrounding the exchange of business gifts. International business etiquette allows you an insight into what to buy, how to give a gift, how to receive, whether to open in front of the giver and what gifts not to buy. Great examples of gifts to avoid are anything alcoholic in Muslim countries, anything with four of anything in Japan and clocks in China.

The Etiquette of Communication

Some cultures like to talk loudly (US and Germany), some softly (India and China); some speak directly (Holland and Denmark) others indirectly (UK and Japan); some tolerate interrupting others while speaking (Brazil) others not (Canada); some are very blunt (Greece) and some very flowery (Middle East).

The knowledge of etiquette is essential to one's decent behaviour, just as clothing is essential to one's decent appearance. Etiquette helps maintain good relations with people. Those that lack etiquette are branded as uncouth and rude.

International business etiquette is a key skill for those who want to be successful when working on the international stage. Through a great appreciation and understanding of others' cultures you build stronger and longer lasting business relationships.

EXERCISES

I. Match the words from the text with their corresponding definitions.

1. to reflect a. to give and receive in return (something of

the same type or equal value)

2. to adhere to b. being related to, or concerning relations

between people

3. to accomplish c. to meet, find, or discover, especially by

chance

4. to maintain d. to be, or enjoying being, in the company

of others

5. interpersonal e. stick firmly

6. to mix with f. to throw, especially roughly or with effort

7. a lack of	g. to succeed in doing; finish successfully;
	achieve
8. to reject	h. to hurt the feelings of; upset
9. to exchange	i. to continue to have as before
10. to sling	j. to express, to make clear; show
11. to offend	k. to refuse to accept, consider, or use
12. to come across	l. the state of not having (enough of)
	something

II. Find the words/phrases in the text which follow the verbs below.

to exchange to mix with

to reject to show

to have to make

to maintain to work

to cause

III. What are the synonyms from the text of the following words?

1. awkward, impolite

2. unfriendly, unpleasant, sullen

3. offensive, bad-mannered

4. completely, firmly

5. easily offended or annoyed, too sensitive

IV. What are the opposites from the text of the following words?

1. rough

3. unimportant

5. calm

V. Match left to the right.

1. In the Arab world you would never

2. In China and Japan you should

2. polite

4. funny

a. never touch a woman.

b. give or receive a business card with your left hand.

3. In the Middle East one should c. Mexico.

4. A slap on the back may be d. use both hands to give and

OK in receive a business card.

VI. Mark the sentences true (T) or false (F).

1. People like to talk loudly in India and China.

2. Americans and Germans talk loudly.

3. You should buy a good bottle of wine or whisky when you are invited to a Muslim family.

4. It will be OK to touch someone on the head in Thailand or Indonesia.

5. Your Japanese partner has invited you to a family dinner. A set of four tea cups will be a perfect present.

VII. Agree or disagree with the following statements. Give your reasons. Discuss your answers with your partner.

1. Good taste is helpful!

2. A knowledge of etiquette is essential to one's decent behavior.

3. Good taste or bad is revealed in everything we are, do, or have.

FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES

I. Discuss this list of unethical activities. In your opinion, which are the worst? Are they common in your country?

1.	Avoiding paying tax.	6. Using your influence to get jobs
		for relatives (nepotism).
2.	Claiming extra expenses.	7. Ringing in sick when you are not
		sick.
3.	Using work facilities for	8. Taking extended lunch breaks.
private purposes (for example,
personal phone calls).

4.	Accepting	praise	for	9. Giving good references to people
someone else's ideas or work.	you want to get rid of.
5.	Selling a defective product	10. Employing people without the
(for example, a second-hand	correct paperwork.
car).

II. Discuss with your partner whether the following standards of service should be expected from Customs officers in Belarus.

• Wear a namebadge when dealing with the public.

• Be polite and considerate and deal discreetly with confidential affairs.

• Give clear, helpful information and make sure that Customs forms and leaflets are easy to understand and use.

• Give the name of a person to contact in all communications.

• Send a written reply to any letters within 10 working days of receiving them.

• Give an explanation if there is a delay in answering letters.

• Send a written reply within 10 working days or, if the matter is not resolved within that time, explain when the outcome may be expected.

III. There are wrong statements in the following text. Find them.

As an integral part of its commitment to service and protection,

Customs requires its staff to:

Ø perform duties with honesty and integrity;

Ø discharge their enforcement duties in a fair, reasonable and effective manner;

Ø be fair, sensitive and courteous in all dealings with the public;

Ø decline all gifts, hospitality or other benefits and never report the matter to the designated official;

Ø provide advice and information to the public only on request;

Ø protect commercial in-confidence information;

Ø meet public interest and accountability standards;

Ø advertise or make it known that you work for Customs;

Ø avoid situations where private interests conflict with public duty.

IV. Translate the following text of the Russian Customs officers' oath into Russian and compare your translation with the text from the Code.

«I swear that in exercising the powers of an official of a Customs authority of the Russian Federation I shall strictly comply with the Constitution and Legislation of the Russian Federation, protect its economic sovereignty and security, execute my employment-related duties in good faith and abide by the discipline of the Customs Service».

The Customs Code of the Russian Federation. Chapter 60. Article 420

V. Translate into English.

Таможенные администрации должны принять меры по обеспе-чению самых высоких стандартов добросовестности и профессио-нализма в таможенных органах. Следует обеспечить принятие мер, определенных СТС в Арушской декларации о добросовестности сотрудников таможни. Требуется также применение эффективных мер с целью борьбы с нед б с вестностью в торговых кругах.

VI. Agree or disagree with the following statements. Give your reasons. Discuss your answers with your partner. Supply some additional information.

1. Customs authorities must provide their officers with a healthy and safe work environment. Smoking must be banned: in all areas of buildings occupied by Customs – including offices, basements, toilets, vehicles, vessels or aircraft under the control of, or hired by Customs, and at all social functions held on Customs premises.

2. As a general rule, the use of official information and Customs documents beyond the official purposes is prohibited. Officers are required to protect the privacy of individuals in official dealings. Anyone with access to national security and sensitive matter has a responsibility to protect that information.

3. Customs staff do not expect gifts from the business community. But representatives of industry and commerce may offer Customs staff small gifts and souvenirs.

4. Customs staff may sometimes be offered free tickets to sporting events, concerts and the like or may be invited to use facilities provided at such events by companies which have dealings with Customs.

5. There is no expectation that the business community will provide hospitality of any sort to Customs staff. Hospitality will not be accepted by Customs staff in the following circumstances:

– during any period of contract negotiation where the host is a bidder or a bidder's associate, or

– where the nature or frequency of the hospitality could lead an officer, management or the public to conclude that an attempt is being made to influence the officer.

6. Europeans usually prefer to ride backwards on a continental train, and Americans prefer to face the engine. It is not etiquette to talk with fellow passengers; in fact, it is very middle-class.

7. In the Latin countries, graceful facility of speech is an object of lifelong cultivation – and no one is considered an educated person who cannot speak several languages well. Those who speak fluently, are seldom those who constantly interlace their own language with words from another.

8. Here is a short list of the fundamentals of everyday ethics which all children should be taught:

– the courage to be truthful;

– the will to stand hurt, the creed of sportsmanship;

– to be cheerful, to be kind through understanding the rights and feelings of others and

– to practise the first requirement of good breeding, which is self-control.

9. Line managers should have prime responsibility for identifying weaknesses in the integrity of their staff, and for taking steps to rectify such weaknesses.

10. Customs authorities should instill in their officers loyalty and pride in their service, an esprit de corps and a desire to co-operate in measures to reduce their exposure to the possibility of corruption.

11. The Arusha Declaration should be required bedtime reading for all Customs officials.

VII. Translate into Russian.

1. Some people might define integrity as adherence to a code of values. Even the drug kingpins have a code of values, but do they have integrity? – The dictionary defines integrity as soundness of moral principle and character, uprightness, honesty. Employee integrity then could be defined as: soundness (of character) and adherence to the organization's code of values.

2. Life is made up not of great sacrifices or duties, but of little things, and many smiles and kindness, and small obligations, given habitually, are what win and preserve the heart and secure comfort.

3. The Customs Service expects officers to observe high standards of ethical behaviour in order to maintain public confidence in the integrity of the organization. Customs also expects that the business community will seek to gain an understanding of those ethical standards, and ensure that their own practices do not pressure Customs officers to depart from them but, rather, provide a supportive environment.

VIII. The sets of words and phrases below are related either to honesty or to dishonesty. Which word is different from the others in each set?

1. trustworthy	law-abiding	corrupt
2. a slush fund	a sweetener	compensation
3. insider trading	industrial espionage	disclosure
4. a whistleblower	fraudster	a con artist
5. a bribe	a bonus	a commission
6. fraud	secrecy	integrity
7. a confidentiality	a cover up	a whitewash
agreement

IX. Complete theses sentences with words and phrases from the sets above. Choose from the first set to complete sentence 1, from the second set to complete sentence 2, and so on.

1. Our company does nothing illegal. We are very_________.

2. We've got _______ which is used in countries where it is difficult to do business without offering bribes.

3. Their car looked so much like our new model. We suspect _________.

4. They fired him because he was ________. He informed the press that the company was using under-age workers in the factory.

5. He denied accepting ______ when he gave the contract to the most expensive supplier.

6. I admire our chairman. He's a man of his word and is greatly respected for his ______.

7. Many companies ask new employees to sign _______ to avoid future litigation problems.

DO IT FOR FUN

I. Read the following information.

A company's internal code of ethics contains its ethical credo. A code of ethics goes beyond legal standards, which employees are required to abide by whether expressed or implied in their roles.

Mission statementis a declaration of the overall goal or purposeof an organization. It is a statement of the purpose of a company, organization or person, its reason for existing. The mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making. The mission statement formulates the company's purpose both for those in the organization and for the public. It's like a goal for what the company wants to do for the world.

Discuss these questions. Give your reasons. Supply some additional information.

1. What is the purpose of a business? Is it just to make money?

2. What do you understand by these phrases?

a. business ethics

b. a code of good practice

c. a mission statement

3. Should mission statements include statements about eihics?

II. Are some jobs more ethical than others? How ethical do you think these professions are?

accountant civil servant

banker estate agent

car sales executive journalist

lawyer police officer

nurse teacher

dentist taxi driver

III. Work in groups. What should you do in each of these situations?

1. The best-qualified person for the post of Sales Manager is female. However, your customers would prefer a man. If you appoint a woman you will probably lose some sales.

2. Your company has a new advertising campaign which stersses its honesty, fairness and ethical business behaviour. It has factories in several countries where wages are very low. At present it is paying workers the local market rate.

3. A collegue working in a hospital has been making mistakes at work recently. This is because she has a serious illness. You are her friend and the only person at work who knows this. She has asked you to keep it a secret.

IV. Discuss the questions. Give your reasons. Supply some additional information.

1. Why is corruption more common in some countries than in others?

2. What are the consequences of corruption in your opinion?

V. Explain the meaning of the following proverbs in English and translate it into Russian:

Style is a dress of thoughts. (P. Stanhope¹)

Manners make the man.

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