European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 17, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Seniors from de Paul University practice handshakes at an Quot etiquette dinner Quot by craving for values manners by Lena William the new York times of Are standing in the Back of a crowded. R elevator the elevator stops at your floor and you say a excuse me a but the people toward the front of the car Don t Budge. Do you shriek 1 Quot getting off and Elbow Yoiiro Way to the front or meekly. Ride to the next floor Quot a a a a Quot. A. A. A co worker has the phone to his ear and his eyes on a the computer screen. Should you hover Over the desk and thumb through the morning paper or just plunge a a right into conversation a a your child needs a set of no. 2-pencils for school and a the stationery store has none. Why not take a Batch from office supplies. . Quot. . The situations illustrate How the atmosphere in the a workplace has. Changed from one of formality to one of Laisson Taire. . Do Abraham Zaleznik a psychoanalyst and the Matsushita professor emeritus of leadership at the. Harvard business school traces the changes to the. 1960s when traditional values and manners came under fire. A. . A. Corporate with the idea that letting it All hang out was a Means of achieving Harmony in the office a Zaleznik said. A Quot then came the computer culture and a new wave of. Authority in which corporations were encouraged to be less hierarchical and More egalitarian which was a supposed to increase participation in the organization by producing a higher Comfort level by eliminating or minimizing symbols of authority a he said. \. A the results were More informal workplaces where. Everyone from the chairman Down was on a first name basis where employees shared everything from the workload to lunch where jeans with jackets and ties were As commonplace As three piece suits but somehow familiarity began to Breed contempt. Employers and employees alike Are reluctant to walkabout office problems or to criticize colleagues both sides complain things have gotten out of hand a ,. A among the most commonly voiced gripes about both managers and employees were these starting the Day with a request or a demand rather than with a Good. Morning viewing an open door As an invitation to walk in and sit Down routinely leaving desks or offices without a. Informing anyone of whereabouts dropping trash on the floor and leaving it for the maintenance Crew to clean up and. Believing that paychecks Are compensation enough. And that there is no need for pleases and thank yous for jobs done or services requested Letitia Baldrige. One of americans leading arbiters of. Manners found bad manners and oafish Ness so widespread in Large corporations in the Early 1980s that she wrote Quot Letitia Baldrige a Complete guide to a executive manners Rawson associates 1985 ,.Quot there were a lot of self help books telling you How to get Rich a she recalled in a recent Telephone. Interview. From her Washington office. A there was nothing to Tell you How to behave on your Way there a Baldrige said she gels Quot Calls All the time now four or five Calls a Day from corporations requesting seminars -. Employees Are dying for Valb Sif manners. This is the Antithesis to the greed of the 1980s, a reaction to it. The / recession and the persian Gulf War have helped us think. About these human a a a Quot. A in her seminars she encourages employers to speak out on issues of manners or include tips in the company newsletter a. A. She also advises employers to Reward employees for a doing something kind or Nice for fellow employees or for helping someone out. A Quot a Quot a Quot. A still the subject of manners is Given Only cursory study by most professional business schools and colleges., an exception is the Katharine Gibbs school mow celebrating its 80th year. A. a. A. A. Teaching professional etiquette is ,. Necessary Quot but it just does t happen a said or Jim. Patten the school . a Quot Quot we still have a dress code not Only for clothing but. A hair makeup nails and perfume a he said. Quot in terms of Quot business etiquette we address this in numerous courses in office procedure professional development business language and speech.�?�. A. Earlier this month 92 Depaul University students received a lesson in corporate etiquette when the school gave an etiquette dinner at the Drake hotel in Chicago to help students prepare for business meals. we chose the menu with difficulty in mind to give students experience in situations they May not have a. Considered a said Jane a Mcgrath de Pauj a director of. Career planning and placement. Like How to dispose of fish Bones the dinner s main course Quot Competition for a jobs is fierce and the Little things can make the students. A standout a. V. A the students were advised to avoid discussing argument provoking subjects such As religion during business socials not move around the room while holding a cigarette or a Cigar and to be polite even to /. Someone who annoyed them. So what should a person do on elevator How do you approach a colleague who appears to be. Busy is it Ever proper to take extra office supplies Here is some advice j. Regarding elevator etiquette. Baldrige advises a everyone at the very front of a crowded car should a automatically get off when the doors open even if the Yare not at their destination floor. Quot the people behind cannot possibly emerge with ease if the people in front do not exit to give them enough a a room to a a Baldrige notes that if someone comes to your desk and you Are on the Telephone or engrossed in your work trying to meet a deadline you should make a Quick nod of acknowledgement and say something like Quot glad to a see you be with you in a minute a or wave the visitor into a seat by your desk. On the other hand the visitor should stick a note of the desk or Telephone saying Quot please Call me a but Don t pressure people.�?�. A. A when it comes to taking Home some office supplies the experts agree avoid the. Temptation and just say a no thank you a a. A / a Quot. Quot readers action Lin who sets Price for Auto parts a could you please explain to to Ihn pricing policy for the Auto parts stores the reason for my a inquiry is the difference Iri prices Between the Giessen car care Center and the Frankfurt Auto parts store a. Several months ago i called both stores to Price Sizo-16 tires. In Gresson they were $142 50. The same Price i paid for Thorn Back in 1989. However in Frankfurt the same size tires Cost $210 apiece who pockets the difference in prices a a few Days later i again called both stores to buy four struts All the same size. Giessen s Price was $49 41 plus $16 25 Tor the kit for one. The Price in Frankfurt was $96 apiece. Another time i was in the Frankfurt Auto store looking for an Oil filter for a 1990 Honda cry i was told by one clerk that they would have to order it and it would Cost. $20 50. Well i bought the same Oil filter in Giessen for the whopping Price of $2 45. I m surprised the Consumers in Frankfurt Haven t. Caught on to the pricing in the Frankfurt store i have. A bling against the Auto parts stores besides almost a being ripped off in had nothing but excellent service from the Auto parts store in Giessen and would recommend it to anyone in Frankfurt a Wayne Frorup Giessen Germany they should Cost. . A. . The Oil filter is also a Giessen depot stocked item. But a it was out of Stock for a period of time and Frankfurt most Likely quoted you the special order Cost of obtaining it through a european source. At the same time ther a a Giessen Auto parts store still had some of the depot stocked Oil filters thus they were Able to offer it to you for a substantially cheaper Price. ,. A master sgt. Dayton p. Strickland customer relations he cafes Europe replies Here s All i can Tell you without More specifics prices for 16-Inch tires Range from $132 50 to $260, depending on the size profile Speed rating and Brand. In our Giessen depot to Stock some Gabriel struts that sell for $41 95 for older Model cars while other struts Are available at various prices through our special order program since Honda cry does not have struts in a Uncertain whal Type you were looking for or How much to write us it readers action line is the readers a court of last resort. A striving to answer some of the questions about life overseas in a military environment or questions about policies and guidelines when other avenues for answers Are not readily available if you ave a question and Don t know where to turn for the answer write to readers action line co the stars and stripes. Apo 09211-4211. All letters must be signed and preference will be Given to those seeking information of general interest to our readers Page 16 the stars and stripes monday june 17, 1991
