 Hi, my name is Angela Kegler and I'm going to be the instructor for the following course. You may be wondering to yourself, what does she know about this course? Well, allow me to share with you that I do have a PhD in organizational development and I have several years experience leading organizations. So that gives me the unique opportunity to share with you that I have both the academic experience having sat in your shoes in classes watching instruction on the content that you're about to learn. On the other hand, I've also led organizations, which gives me the practice or the practical experience of seeing this firsthand in organizations. With that scholar practitioner experience, I'd like to deliver the content to you so that you can take this and turn it into something that you can use in your workplace. I hope you enjoy the class and you learn a tremendous amount. Happy learning. Business etiquette refers to the standards or guidelines that determine what constitutes good manners and professional behavior in the workplace. The basic rules of business etiquette might not be spelled out explicitly, but they determine what people around you expect and consider appropriate given your position in an organization. Business etiquette isn't static. Expectations about how business people should dress and behave change with the times as prevailing social norms and conditions change. The industry individuals work in generally affects the way they're expected to dress, speak, and behave. The rules of business etiquette also differ from one organization to another. Applying the rules of business etiquette in a manner appropriate to your position will enable you to present yourself as a polished, professional, and polite manner. Over time, this can help you to develop a good reputation and advance your career. Professionalism is something that's defined by certain standards or expectations. What's considered to be professional in one workplace culture or in an industry, organization, or division may be considered completely unprofessional in another. This is because your professionalism is judged on existing social norms for appropriate communication, image, competence, and demeanor in given contexts. Being professional requires that you be mindful of your surroundings and how your behavior may impact others. It involves considering others and how your words and actions affect them, and then you'll have to adjust your behavior accordingly. Good manners are as important within working environments as they are outside of them, saying please and thank you goes a long way, although there's more to it than that. Manners are just as important in today's fast paced age as they ever were. Most individuals never mean to offend others, but bad manners can ruin work relationships and create unhealthy environments. To be professional and avoid damaging working relationships, you should endeavor to understand and respect others' needs. You also need to meet their expectations about what constitutes appropriate behavior. 90% of unhappy customers don't complain. Think about nine out of ten customers who are unhappy with the service they received don't take the time to show you. But 91% of them will never do business with your organization again. An average unhappy customer tells nine other people, but 13% of unhappy customers tell 20. Imagine your own circle of influence. If one person was unhappy and told 20 of your other circle of influence individuals, imagine how difficult it would be to rally those 20 back to do business with you. The costs of poor etiquette are significant. And so to understand how to ensure that your customers are happy, it's important to find out how to practice good etiquette. There are lots of articles, journals, periodicals out there that talk about the costs of poor etiquette. And there's a tremendous amount of research that talks about poor etiquette. Understanding that good manners are just simply cost effective. And business etiquette is about building strong relationships. Rudeness is a relationship killer. You can look at guides such as the Complete Guide to Executive Manors or the Etiquette Advantage in Business just as a few to understand and learn more about tips and tricks on how to practice great etiquette.