Legacy Foundation Business and Leadership

Archive for February, 2010

INTRODUCTION:

“Your manners are always under examination, and by committees little suspected, awarding or denying you very high prizes when you least think of it”, Ralph Waldo Emerson.

When a person gets into employment for the first time he gets confused with the corporate culture and finds it very difficult to learn the corporate etiquette which is otherwise also known as business etiquette. There will be vast cultural gaps from the background from where the individual has come and that of the organization he enters. He finds it very difficult to get along with new cultures, customs, norms and rules. There would certainly be a gap. It takes certain time to get adjusted and adapted to the corporate culture and learn the etiquette.

Every one knows the meaning of etiquette. Etiquette is nothing but manners to be followed in a given cultural environment. Every culture has its own etiquette. But overall the etiquette is universal with certain characteristics and qualifications that run across all people like a common thread. Business etiquette is also an etiquette that has to be adopted in every business keeping ethics and integrity in view. It varies from culture to culture and from country to country and from industry to industry. All the differences are only superficial in nature with the commonalities of basic business etiquette being at the core level.

Etiquettes are of different types. It is desirable to focus on a few basic etiquettes which collectively constitute the corporate etiquette. They are Hand shake, Interview etiquette, Mobile etiquette, Telephone etiquette, Office etiquette, Dress code, Giving business card, Dining etiquette, Handling people, International business etiquette, Email etiquette, etc.,

HANDSHAKE:

When two men meet each other they shake their hands as a symbol and sign of meeting. There is a right manner in handshake. There has to be firm handshake that represents the confidence level of the persons. If a person presses down the palm of the other person and shakes his hand it indicates that the person is dominant in nature. On the other hand, if the person allows his own palm pressed downwards and lets the other person’s palm upwards it indicates the submissive style of the person. In the third scenario if both the persons keep their palms perpendicular to the ground and if both persons plays neutral neither being in the dominant level nor in the submissive level then it is the right method of handshake and it indicates win-win or assertive handshake. A person’s nature can be easily judged by the way he shakes his hand with others. It becomes the core part of any corporate culture.

INTERVIEW ETIQUETTE:

When going for an interview, the door is to be knocked, and after seeking the permission the person should enter the interview room. The person should greet the interview panel member like ‘Good morning Sir/Sirs’ depending upon the time of interview and wait for the permission to be seated. If there is a woman Interviewing Officer(IO) it is etiquette to greet her first followed by male members as it is part of the Indian culture to respect women.

After getting the permission to sit, the person should sit with straight posture at the back with his back touching the chair and without dragging the chair or dragging the feet. No attempts should be made either to lean forward or to lean too much backward or to sit in totally at an ease position. The person should sit straight and be alert by keeping both the legs together with both feet touching on the ground.

When the question is posed, the person should fully wait till the completion of the sentence by the IO and then reply. No attempts should be made to interrupt or interfere with the conversation of IO. After listening carefully the person should analyze, process with in his mind and then should reply appropriately with clear cut thoughts. In case if there are any differences of opinion, the same should be handled with tact and diplomacy. In case if there is a need to clarify anything, the same can be asked with a request to speak the same. After the completion of the interview, thank them and exit the room smartly without any unnecessary noise. Read the rest of this entry »

Most people mistake professional business consultancy as a troubleshooting exercise that a company undertakes to manage crisis. Even the business owners, especially the small and relatively inexperienced ones, have similar notions and avail of their services only in cases where management looses control. However, services offered by professional consultants need not be bound by such limitations. Business consultants, in fact, are third party experts who influence how businesses, as well as governments and institutions make decisions.

Business consultancy services must be availed to look at issues related to business in a broader perspective. Consultants, helped by their expertise in a particular field, as well as being from outside the company, can see things from a point of view which the owner or the top management may fail to see, because of their being deeply involved in the business. Here, business consultants would weigh the pros and cons of the strategy and the situation, often with a fresh perspective, and advice accordingly.

Often staying out of the main picture, business consultants provide resources, which the clients may not be in a position to provide for them. Usually, this resource is expertise, which may come by experience, knowledge, creativity or special skills. Time and workforce are other resources, which the client might not be able to spare, which can be provided by business consultants. Business consultants are either management consulting firms or Technical consulting firms, with expertise in their respective areas. Management consulting firms advise on various aspects of corporate operations such as marketing; finance; corporate strategy; assembly line or other manufacturing processes; information systems and networks, data processing; e-commerce; and human resources.

On the other hand, technical consulting firms provide technical advice relating to non-management activities, including compliance with various safety and health regulations, technology application, and scientific knowledge in fields like biology, chemistry, and physics. There are many large consulting firms which provide expertise in more than one area. Read the rest of this entry »

A franchise business opportunity is a specialised method of starting a business by paying a fixed fee to the franchisor. Many can be found on Franchise Select UK s website, including Finance Select UK, Clean Machine UK and Trash Express. Many international business chains expand their business by franchising their retail outlets to several other countries. Thus it provides a great opportunity for small scale businessmen to accomplish immense profit. Thus the franchises started by small scale businessmen get the same reputation as the international brand and the franchisor also gets benefit from this.

Franchising opportunities are increasing day by day, many medium and small scale businesses are allowing their business’s to be franchised. There are lots of different franchise business opportunities available. Some provide franchise by giving some rights, but they won’t give all the rights originally reserved for the mother company. Some franchising companies allow you to following their business practices while some don’t. These methods are followed by many international companies. With this method they will be able to show their presence in other countries.

The mother company gets an additional source of income in the form of royalties.Many franchising opportunities are attracted by small scale businessmen which includes food outlets, job training companies, cosmetic companies etc. The companies are adopting various methods for providing franchises quickly thus saving time and the resources required.

There should be a mutual understanding between the franchisor and franchisee for better and successful long term business. Marketing and advertising are always done by mother company, thus for a franchise the overall sales can be increased. Thus by trusting each other there will be better growth for the company.

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