PROFESSIONAL PRACTICES

ASSIGNMENT II

By
Sammarth Tuli
(MFM/16/41)

Under the guidance of

Dr. Sanjeev Sadashiv Malage
Associate Professor, MFM

in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree

of

M.F.M. (MASTER OF FASHION MANAGEMENT)

(An ISO 9001:2008 certified institute)

Table Of Contents
Sr No. Chapter Page
1. Declaration 2
2. Acknowledgement 3
3. Executive Summary 4
4. Ethics: 7
Theories Encompassing time
5. Student Code Of Conduct 12
6. Conflict Management 15
7. Professional Etiqutettes: Definition 18
8. Professional Etiqutettes: General 20
Guidelines
9. References 22

Declaration

1
I, Sammarth Tuli , declare that I am hereby the sole author of the submitted Ethics:
Untold and Conflict Management and my involvement in the same has been carried
out as per Scope of Work for this report. I confirm that there are no circumstances
that have compromised my objectivity in carrying out this work.

Sincerely,
Sammarth Tuli
17th November, 2016

2
 Acknowledgement

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Sanjeev Sadashiv Malage, Associate

Professor, M.F.M, NIFT Bengaluru for providing me an opportunity to work on this
project and understand more about Ethics as a subject.

I would also like to thank Mr. Farzand KS and Ms. Meghna Singh for their valuable
opinions and inputs that helped me improve upon this report.

3
Executive Summary

The following report gives a brief insight into Ethics a subject, it

highlights the importance of ethics in society as a whole and giving
valuable insight with respective to applicable examples, which are
relatable to the theories of ethics, which too have been described
extensively. Thereafter the importance of a code of conduct has
been mentioned, following which certain guidelines, which the
author has followed throughout his life haven given as well as
additional conducts, which maybe applied to an organization.

The second part relates to the authors personal experience with

respect to conflict management, the specific examples with which
conflict has been explained is with regards to an organization,
conflict amongst colleagues and finally interpersonal conflict. The
examples above provide an insight into how I, as part of society deal
with conflict in contrasting way

Lastly, etiquettes as a sub topic under ethics has been touched

upon, professional etiquettes in an organization has been described
detailing the advantages and disadvantages of maintaining proper
etiquettes in the workplace, based on that, the author has provided
a certain set of guidelines that may be followed in a workplace.

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Part A

Ethics: Definition

In my opinion, ethics is the exercise

of attempting to balance mutually
incompatible but otherwise moral,
legal or acceptable outcomes.

There are several different types of

"right and wrong" - religion, law,
economics, etiquette, and so on. In
many cases, what is "right" in one
system is somehow "wrong" in the
other. To take a simple example, it
is clearly right to enforce the law.
It is also clearly right to foreclose
on a house when the person in
possession defaults on the
mortgage. However, is it right to
foreclose on hundreds or thousands
of homes when this will have an
adverse effect not only on those people, but on society as a whole? That is largely an
ethical question and has no easy answer. If it has an answer at all.

Broadly speaking ethics has 3 defining characters, they are:

It must be Justifiable - A believing B to be honorable while B is secretly

stealing him blind means his trust is unjustified by the facts. Upon finding out,
A knows that the outward ethics of B is shameful.

It must be Mutual - If the only one benefiting from the ethical propositions is
A, and if B comes to realize it, B may reasonably say that the communications
and transactions are not benefiting him and so he will not be bound to the
ethics.

It must be Sociable - A may justifiably trust the communications and

transactions. A may realize that he and B are, in fact, on a level playing field.
But if the relationship is not sociable, A will be looking over his shoulder and
B will be looking over his. Both aiming to gain an advantage.

In my view, ethics is about building trust between the players in the field. The natural
fields for humans are our societies. To the extent that the rules governing
communications and transactions are justified, mutual and sociable, ethical behavior

5
will tend to be supported and will likely be self-reinforcing.

I was thinking of adding another factor: rationality or workability. But these tend to be
emergent and malleable over time and with changes in populations and technologies.
So while they are important to the functioning of a society, I think they are more on
the order of tools and are somewhat independent of ethics.

Some examples of the above-mentioned facts are :

A former politician takes a large amount of money

from a businessman to promote the businessman's
business in front of the former politicians colleagues
(many of whom are current politicians). There is
nothing illegal about this, but somehow many people
would feel it was wrong.

Here's another one. Your hosting a fancy dinner party

and you invite someone who has never been to one before. You serve chicken
drumsticks as part of the main course and your guest picks one up in their
hand. What do you do? There is no good answer - your guest has breached
the rule of a fancy dinner party, but to call them out on it would also be a
terrible breach of etiquette.

6
Ethics: Theories encompassing time

While the above examples provide a simple

view of what ethics is, there are a few classical
theories of ethics one must use when
formulating a code of conduct not just for
students but for businesses, households, or any
organization in general, the following models
therefore are primarily used:

I. Descriptor Theory: This is a basic model of language building, inventiveness,

and world-concept building. So far as I know, it underlies the current model of
anthropology. It takes place through an association between the primitive
concept of self, such as how you feel when you get out of bed, or how you feel
when you go to a rest-stop, and actions fueled by primitive desires like thirst
and vengeance. When the actions that take place through descriptor theory are
formalized into people, objects, organizations, and superstitions, then we get
things like science and religion, knowledge and symbolism

II. Functional-Purpose Theory (Teleology): The principle of cause and effect is

under-written by theories of purpose, which may be more eternal. Whether the
cause is natural or supernatural, the purpose or function of a thing is the
simple explanation of what the thing means for us in our practical or
meaningful existence. This is the primary theory that leads up to Newtons
invention of the most rudimentary laws of physics.

III. Basic Realization Theory :(Transcendentalism) This is a theory originating

with early Indian cosmologists that experience as we find it is very basic, but
higher forms of existence and purpose are possible. Therefore, the life that we
have as we know it is a rather basic form of existence, and the difference
between our existence and the higher existence is explained by the existence
of illusions. For, if higher potential is possible in the imagination, there is no
reason that it would not ultimately be the case. But, since it cannot be
observed in this world, it is clear that there is something (illusion) separating
the many worlds.

IV. Psychology (Ideal Materialism): In this model, which embraces a beginning

point in aesthetics, human purpose, and the rationalization of experience, the
phenomena of experience (at least as we know them) are a result of actions in
the mind. If there is something wrong with experience, then there is something
wrong with us. Matter, if it is imperfect, is still blameless, and there is nothing
to stop us from idealizing the materials we find before us. If there is something
wrong with idealizing, then this does not place a limit on human happiness,
but rather changes the character of the appropriate experience. The result

7
 might be something either psychic or scientific, and the duality between them
is essentially a practical one.

V. Conceptualism: Conceptualists reject the inherent descriptiveness of the

world in favor of a deference to design principles. Designs may be good, or at
least appear good, but that does not mean that the world itself has been
perfectly designed. However, it may be that designs can contribute to a good
world. And it may be practical concerns, which prevent the world from
appearing as if it were obviously perfectly constructed.

VI. Cosmology: Finding an alliance between Basic Realization and

Conceptualism, Coherent Cosmologists believe that if we are not in the right
cosmos, then it is something wrong with us. In any case, the cosmos was
designed a certain way, and the differences between one universe and another
still reflect the unified vision of God or nature. If there is something wrong
with the cosmos, then that is something interesting to study, and how we study
the cosmos and what it means reflects in the understanding of the most
meaningful purposes for humanity. What we understand about the world
influences who we are, and the limit (or limitlessness) of our potential.

VII. Mathematical Science: Studying the most objective properties of the world
yields the best understanding of nature, and reflects the deepest possible
understanding of the intelligence found in the universe. This is the
understanding of science. Mere theories, and endless unfounded variations do
nothing to describe the world, as it should be understood, or at least how it
could be accurately represented.

VIII. Coherent Knowledge: Citing a problem with maths ability to relate with
every type of thing, such as organics, human knowledge, the supernatural, and
the linguistic, theories advanced by myself advocate the use of specialized
knowledge applications to convey the linguistic version of the truths of nature.
The application allows radical correspondence between language, nature,
science, and religion concepts, by using a bounded Cartesian coordinate
system relating all properties between extremes, but excluding zero. Critique:
Critics of coherency are likely to cite its imperfection, its inadequacy or non-
empirical-ness, or its lack of scientific rigor.

IX. Irrational Romanticism: Romantics say that rational claims are not the limit
of known experience. Effectively, rational concepts place a limit on what can
be known, and thus, they do not convey the secrets of how life really works.
Understanding life requires moving beyond all rational concepts, to discover
the poetic, artistic, or in some other way mad concept of whatever happens to
concern us. Madness is not only a concept of the meaning of nature, but a
concept of the meaning of numbers. It has a capacity to explain anything
which is beyond reason. And it has properties that work for the exceptional
reason. Critique: If irrationality has some legitimacy, doesnt rationality have
even more legitimacy? By the time we formalize an irrational system, havent
we got a rational system out of it? Perhaps irrationality is only a matter of
definition, whereas rationality involves substantial concepts which can be seen
without requiring our emotion

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 X. Justice: Treating madmen like normal people has its limitations. If a large
population is mad, the result is chaos. If no justice is instilled, civilization is
corrupt, and collapses. Therefore, with or without any concept of how nature
or civilization work, there must be some form of justice instilled to prevent
utter chaos. Critique: Elites argue that justice is not supposed to be evenly
distributed.

XI. Solipsism: Radical solipsists argue that experience is one thing, whether it is
rational or irrational, or some other thing. What defines experience is
something apart from---although chained to----our faculty of knowledge. We
should abandon the idea that these things mean anything to those beyond us.
Instead, what is meaningful is what is meaningful for us individually. Critique:
Functionality seems to depend on accepting the reality of other human beings.
Otherwise, there is no alternative to Utopia, which has not been seen as a
functional society (it means No Place).

XII. Spiritualism: Rejecting every type of negativity, spiritualists find purpose in

the worlds activities through the connection to the supernatural. Critique:
Some believe that the views developed by religion are not literally true.

XIII. Humanism: Humanism adopts a more literal view than religion, in which
practical human motivations should guide all inquiries, logic, and forms of
understanding. Although it seems to gamble on human development for its
primary motivation, it could be argued that human development concerns
everything humans are concerned with, and in this way it is a very broad
concern. Critique: Humanism may ultimately be too generic and un-creative to
effect real change.

XIV. Theology: The study of divinity has potential to teach what other disciplines
could not teach. It seems, on the surface at least, to concern things which are
of more fundamental importance than human reality. Critique: Theologians are
people who are not concerned with the practical implications of their work,
but only the cloistered, spiritualized variations of arguments made by key
figures who are frequently long dead. In this sense, theology does not concern
a living tradition, but only tautologies.

XV. Socialism and Technocracy: Rejecting theology as impractical, socialists and

technocrats focus on the practical implications of society, human problems,
and sometimes, where possible, human significance. It doesnt make much
difference whether humans are defined as animals, gods, humans, or post-
human. What matters is how society functions, and the realizable goals and
ideal conditions of social functioning. Such a system would widely accept the
personal merits of people who are alive, and sometimes undergo shifts to re-
envision old systems that seem outdated. If the system works well, then the
strategic shifts occur without much damage. However, this is not a Utopia, and
small amounts of damage may allow the society to remain responsive to larger
crises. Critique: Some argue that a disillusioned society is not really
functional, and that we may as well turn back to some form of religion.

9
 XVI. Post-Humanism: The natural development of practical humanism, post-
humanism involves a society in which people become in a practical sense
more-than-human. This can have a wide range of implications, but it is
suspected that in some ways, barring a major crisis, post-human society will
be more functional, entertaining, and intelligent than previously, in ways that
are hard for previous generations to imagine. Critique: Post-humanism is still
potentially not understanding of the state of nature, and its own influence on
the outcome of universal development.

XVII. Metaphysics: It is argued by metaphysicians that understanding our place in

nature involves a significant degree of comprehension, and it goes well
beyond any common understanding of religion or science. Such a view is not
only practical, but also knowledgeable, and not only knowledgeable, but
functional, and not only functional, but meaningful. Not everyone knows how
to acquire such a system, but the beginning point is a process of self-
examination. Critique: Many argue that practical existence is always more
important, and it is usually simply sensual pleasure which leads to fulfillment.

XVIII. Hedonism: Hedonists argue that pleasure is all that is necessary for the good
life. Frequently, disillusioned people will turn to entertainment as a priority, to
defend them from the difficulties of life. Entertainment is an oasis, which at
least appears to have a priority of serving human interest and defending the
righteousness of the human. Critique: Pleasure sometimes leads to bad
consequences. Entertainment is still subject to human ugliness, stupidity, and
death.

XIX. Epicureanism and Aestheticism and the Immortal Quest Epicureans reject
some pleasures as un-sustainable or dangerous, and advocate the life of a
secluded hermit over social indulgences. Similarly, Aesthetes favor some
pleasures over others, believing the high-minded life is preferable to the
lower life of pigs and slobs. Raising a critique of all of the bad things in life,
it is sometimes concluded that the one good thing is to pursue immortality.
Critique: It is said that Epicureans and artists are hypocrites or nihilists, and
some indulgence would usually lead to more. Pleasure is the only answer to
pleasure, in other words. It is argued that immortality is not achievable, and
not everyone is good enough.

XX. Asceticism and Enlightenment: Abandoning pleasure---or at least pleasure as

others understand it altogether might lead to a better life. At least, it might lead
to a life without the greatest harms, like Hell or venereal disease, or Gods
anger. Sometimes advanced ascetics see asceticism as an alternate path to
transcendence, which accepts human death, but sees another path to great
spiritual accomplishment. Critique: It is argued that asceticism is
unsustainable and un-enjoyable. It looks good from the outside, but it actually
is miserable. As soon as someone could enjoy the ascetic life, they could have
a lot of fun doing something else. If enlightened people arent immortal, where
does that leave the rest of us? So, maybe theyre doing something wrong.

XXI. Fascination (Childs Mind): Some, including some scientists, and also
Buddhists, have advocated some amount of returning to childs mind, or the

10
 fascination and imagination of the early experiences of youth. This would
serve the purpose of avoiding disillusionment, depression, and over-thinking
that might result from continually developing adult thoughts, or becoming
obsessed with advanced ideas.

XXII. Resourcefulness / Evolution: Some have argued that flimsy answers like
childs mind dont do enough for experience. They argue some sort of resource
adaptation is required, or some form of evolution into a new frame of mind, or
a new practical ability to handle problems. Critique: How to do this? It might
not be easy, so it might be a bad idea.

XXIII. Genius: Rejecting many other ideas as run-of-the-mill, some see genius as the
ultimate evolution currently available. In this view, the mind trumps or over-
performs any other attempt to be spiritual or scientific. What can be done well
by following rules can be done even better just by thinking about it. In this
view, the ultimate hedonism, the ultimate religion, the ultimate science, is for
the moment all about the experience and understanding of the mind / or human
cognition. Critique: Not everyone can be a genius even if they choose to be,
someone might say. And if they are a genius, that doesnt mean they dont
have flaws. Just because someone is a genius doesnt mean theyre perfect.
And, there are many people who arent geniuses. And its supposedly
impossible to perform better than anyone. So, it cant be about competition.

XXIV. Radical Acceptance of Passivity: Noticing the failures of many traditions,

some spiritual teachers have argued for radical acceptance of the passive
condition of life. Accepting life allows you to do anything you are capable of.
It is also a way to psychologically adapt, and it has none of the drawbacks of
something that is a mere theory. Critique: Many have found this adaptation
hard to implement. And some have criticized it for being morally permissive.

The above theories provide a general overview of how ethics has evolved over the
years, and based on these theories, I have devised a student code of conduct, which I
believe conforms to me as an individual, and should be followed by others around me.

Student Code Of Conduct

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Many Colleges across India encourage student incorporate a certain code of conduct,
which they themselves may have inscribed in the student handbooks, or it is simply
implied from the perspective of the students. A students ethical code of conduct
should mirror the overall mission and vision of the college they are representing as
well as a themselves as civilized people living in a an educated society. A well-written
student code of conduct should be simple and cover basic expectations that each
student should meet. It should entail the essential elements that if followed will lead
to student success. In other words, it should serve as the blueprint that allows every
student to succeed.

A well thought out student code of conduct is simple in nature including only the most
critical expectations. The needs and limiting factors in each college are different. As
such, colleges must develop and adopt a student code of conduct that is tailored to
their specific needs.

Developing an authentic and meaningful student code of conduct should become a

nation-wide effort that involves professors, parents, students, and community
members. Every stakeholder should have input as to what should be included in the
student code of conduct.

Student Code of Conduct:

The student code of conduct should be evaluated every year and changed whenever it
is necessary to fit the ever-shifting needs of our dynamic environment .As such there
are a certain code of conducts which I, as a student of NIFT adhere too. These have
not only allowed me to gain a broader perspective in the environment I am operating
in, but are also a sort of guidelines, which I, Sammarth Tuli live by. These following
guidelines have allowed me to become a better student and an even better person.
They are

A will to learn: As a student, my primary motive is garnering education from

my professors and accessing the knowledge around me using cognitive sense,
thus I make sure to avoid distractions that interfere with or are counter-
intuitive to that mission., granted I may not always follow this to the nail, I do
sometimes slack off, particularly of weekends. However, I make sure to
bounce back the following day and get rick back on my mission for
knowledge.

Organization is the key: Often a times, students as they progress through

school, they loose sight of the importance of basic materials such as a pen to
write, a notebook as a base and certain tools such as a calculator, as a result we
are often unprepared for classes. We muss ready and are in the assigned place
with appropriate materials, ready to work at the designated time that class
begins.

Keep it Personal: As students we must never harm another student whether

verbally or physically. As civilized people, this can severely impact our image
and our reputation in society. Moreover, this might also instill a negative
perception in the mind of our educators, who if witness this may form a

12
 certain bias in their minds. Therefore keeping our hands, feet, and objects to
ourselves is a must and we must never intentionally harm another student.

Loss/Damage to School or Personal Property: As students we must pay

heed to college and personal property. Students should be held responsible for
any damage done to other people's property and must be charged replacement
or repair irrespective of the damage being minor or severe. Students should
also respect the property and rights of the people who live in the neighborhood
of the school or those people we come in contact with through our many off-
site activities, such as Cluster activities or outbound activities.

Acceptable Use of Internet Technology: School computers and internet

resources, used carefully and wisely, can provide important avenues of
learning for us as students Inappropriate uses of Internet communications
including the sending of threatening or harassing comments or cyber bullying
are unacceptable, and any incidents should be addressed as a very serious
issue. We as students must do the following when it comes to IT: Engaging in
appropriate curricular behavior when using the district network. Publishing
their own personal information if related to curricular activities and
parent/guardian consent is given, Not publishing other people's personal
information. For example, name, location, phone number, images, video,
work, username, or other personal information

Range of Interventions: Regardless of the nature or location of unacceptable

behavior, or the staff member involved, the following is a range of
interventions and consequences that may be used in NIFT, please note the
following suggestions may apply to NIFT, however some of them are my own
which I think should be followed.

o On-the-spot conference or redirection

o Follow-up meeting between the student(s) and staff member(s)

o Contact with parent or guardian

o Restitution, including a logical remedy for the problem (e.g. paying for
damage willfully caused) and supporting anyone who is a victim or
who suffers as a result of the student's actions

o Restorative Justice conference/facilitation

o Supportive intervention and/or service to school

o Additional time for the student with the teacher, at the office or at
tutorial/learning support

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 o Referral to counseling, administration, and/or community support
services

o Suspension, including in-school or out of school

o Referral to district student review committee

o Police involvement

Dress Code: Being primarily a fashion college, I feel that the dress code
followed should allow a higher level of leniency with respect to Day-to-Day
attire, but I do agree that during presentations or during guest lectures, we
must adhere to formal wear in order to appear presentable and show a manner
of professionalism. A college is a place of education. Students and their
parents are expected to support a learning environment where attire is
appropriate. Articles of clothing that promote alcohol, drugs, inappropriate
language or racism, or that are too revealing are not permitted. Students
wearing such clothing should be asked to go home and change if they do not
have suitable clothing at college

14
Conflict Management

The best way

to solve a
conflict
between two
persons who
report to you is
to tell each one
of them that
you respect
both of them
equally, and
that you will
not accept that
one of them
wins and the other loses. Your only acceptable outcome is that both win, with your
support (or, in a rare situation, that both lose, i.e. both leave the organization). Then
you tell them to go and solve the problem on their own. In reality, you will be closely
involved, but you need to make them know that it is their task, not yours. Some cases
stemming from my own personal life are highlighted below:

Conflict within a workplace: At my time as an intern at abinbev, my team and I were

preparing to roll out the release of our Fifa campaigns across the NCR region,
wherein I was assigned the role of a coordinator amongst a team of 8 interns, all
interns were to take ownership of their work on a weekly basis. My role as a
marketing trainee was to manage the cyber hub region in gurgaon about the new
product releases and activation projects, which involved coordinating with dozens of
people from, Operations, various Product areas, logistical department, and and
ultimately our customers which were the local bars operating around that region.
Now this was around the time of the world cup season, and an issue had come up
wherein our logistical team were not able to supply the 350 product per bar target and
instead had only managed 200, as a result our clients which were the bar franchise
owners were losing patience and some even threatened to remove our beers from their
bars. Now this was the semifinals week wherein the hosts were playing against
Germany. and we wanted to give our clients the courtesy of a heads up. After a lot of
back and forth with the the senior people in Product, Customer Service, and

15
Marketing; I drafted the announcement to the bars, emphasized the positive aspects of
the our other products, explained the delay, and layed out the timeline for the full
range I also had to work with my team to quickly put together talking points for the
Account Managers and had devised a strategy wherein the deliverables were supplied
according to the traffic that each bar
generated, I conveyed this to the
managers and able to get thumbs up
from all of the stakeholders within
24 hours a minor miracle that
required a lot of persistence. Though
some bars were disappointed with
the limited deliverables, many more
were pleased with timely and clear
communications. Although we were
not able to to satisfy all our clients,
the ones who were decided to put up special hoardings associated with our brand and
as a result our sales for that week were temporarily boosted by 20%. The one key
learning that I had had garnered was the ability to handle crisis situations, i.e how to
turn a transform a bad situation into one that will ultimately turn out to be an
advantage towards the end.

Conflict with Colleagues: Another example I would like to illustrate is one from my
final year internship at Benett Coleman. My internstip had me working in a team of 4
interns including me and our task was to mange their Green Drive project, which was
basically planting around 100,000 saplings across the capital. Being the only final
year student amongst a pool of 4 other interns, Now as the senior most intern in the
team I was occasionally tasked as being the undisputed leader. Now because of the
scale of the project, we were often
overworked and this sometimes lead to
frustration amongst the members.. At
the same time, more mistakes were
being made because attention was so
scattered. As the senior most members,
it was my job to get performance back
on track. So, I decided to hold alternate
day after hours meeting of the full
team to discuss strategies, on how best
to complete the work on time and re
delegate the work which would still
prove to be efficient I communicated
my appreciation for all of their hard
work during a challenging time for the team and asked for their assistance in
identifying ways for us all to be more efficient including me! I made it clear that this
was a brainstorming meeting to come up with options that no idea was stupid and
that it was a safe environment for making suggestions. We spent an hour capturing
ideas on a white board, then voted on the five with the most potential. I then assigned
each person to do more research on how we might implement one of the ideas.

First of all, the team responded very positively to this approach. They loved the idea
of being empowered to help find a solution. Instead of complaining, they channeled

16
their energy in a more productive way once they knew that they would be heard. One
idea was to eliminate the middleman that was in touch with government stakeholders
with permission from our coordinator of course, in order to speed up the process. This
freed up approximately two hours on a daily basis because the client mangers
department was in another building another was to train Shreya, our Social Media
Specialist. to take on some of the tasks that were the burdening marketing team, in
order to really get know the ins and outs of the projects, so a higher contribution could
be made by her. This resulted in the project being completed on time, the morale went
up and I was offered to do another project, immediately following that one.

Inter-personal Conflict: I did not always have good physique, any change in you r
body requires hard work and persistence, as such I would like to tell a true story of
how I, Sammarth
overweight at a 93 kilos
at the age of 15 lost close
to 50+ pounds through a
span of two months.

Flashback to 2008, I
thought that there was no
way I could possibly lose
weight. That I was just
doomed to be as un-fit as
I was. I was wrong.
Through sheer will and a
desperate need, and also
with a little help from my
parents, I was able to
combat the various temptations of food, while I initially dieted for the first, month
weight loss had stalled and I felt miserable from the lack of Food. Thereafter I spoke
to my brother, who then recommended that I take up a sport such as basketball. After
weeks of a strict diet and hours and hours of playing basketball in the Delhi heat, I
had finally roped down my weight to 73 kg. Now I agree that this was probably not
the healthiest way for me to do it, but I was 15 and not incredibly smart, and thought I
was doing it the right way. I didn't have any adverse health effects from my dieting,
but I burned off tons of weight.

I felt much more free and much more confident in my own skin than when I started. It
was the hardest thing I had ever done in my life, and I had done some very hard things
before this. However, losing weight, and keeping it off is far easier once you've done
the work the first time.

17
Part B

Professional etiquettes: Definition

Professional behavior in the business

environment is often based on the
customs and ethics of individuals or
businesses. While traditional social
guidelines are usually evident in
business, individuals must also be
aware of the proper business etiquette
needed when traveling to different
parts of the world. Most companies
expect their employees to treat
potential business clients or consumers how the employee would want to be treated in
the same situation. I would like to elaborate of some facets with regards to
professional etiquettes:

Fact: Traditional business etiquette usually encompasses the behavioral aspect of

businessmen in social situations. Companies often use lunch or dinner meetings,
casual gatherings or other informal environments to conduct business. While these
informal methods take business discussions into a more open and friendly
environment, individuals are expected to use proper business etiquette when
greeting, talking and approaching delicate business topics. Informal business
environments may offer businessmen more chances for offending other
individuals for unprofessional behavior.
Types: Business etiquette has evolved into a variety of different business
situations. Information and business technology, email, text or other electronic
communication methods have increased the need for proper business etiquette.
These electronic communication methods are typically seen as informal and carry
the possibility of being misunderstood by receivers. Proper business etiquette

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 includes addressing businessmen with the correct title and not using the common
shorthand forms of various words or phrases.
Features: Business etiquette usually includes training businessmen on how to
properly interact with individuals from different areas or countries. In the United
States, the business environment includes individuals from four major regions: the
Northeast, the Southeast, Midwest and West. Each of these regions usually has a
different attitude regarding proper business etiquette. Businessmen from foreign
countries also have different attitudes and behavior regarding business etiquette,
usually requiring etiquette training for domestic businessmen
Considerations: Companies may hire an individual or consultants to help them
properly train managers and employees on proper business etiquette. These
consultants may be able to train individuals regarding specific business etiquette
for different countries or the various regions of the United States. The type of
business etiquette must also be decided when using consultants; these individuals
typically offer services relating to written, oral or other types of business etiquette.
Benefits: Executive managers or leaders in a company can use business etiquette
training to improve their business' company culture. A company culture is the
intangible environment used by companies to reinforce proper business values,
ethics and etiquette. Employees can use the company culture for understanding
how to act or react in various business situations. The company culture may also
be bolstered when executive managers and leaders use proper etiquette for
manners during business functions in which employees will be involved.

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Professional Etiquettes: General Guidelines

Although the work culture depends a lot on the geography, and the type of jobs one
performs, as a student not having any paid work experience, I have worked in quite a
few internship s with organizations such as Times of India, Budweiser Bain
Consultancy. Certain habits/ guidelines if I may were observed by me while my tenure
as an intern, some of which are highlighted below:

Speaking on the phone: Personal calls are not meant to be taken inside your
workplace, nor is anyone interested to listen to your conversations. Please step
out of your office and take personal calls.

Meetings: Be on time for meetings and respect other people's time. If you
are chairing a meeting, always have an agenda prepared for the meeting.
Email the agenda at least a day before the meeting, so everyone comes
prepared. Have a specific time designated for each point of discussion
and remember to send out the meeting minutes after the meeting. If you
are the presenter and connected to the projector, have all the files open.
Spend at least 10 minutes before the meeting trying to be on speed on all
the points of discussion with your colleagues, subordinates.

Discussions within the office: Try not to discuss any personal issues.
Political discussions are ok, until they are constructive. Avoid discussions
related to salary or bonuses. Topics related to religion are big no no. Have
healthy debates but tone down as soon as you think things are starting to
heat. Be nice, be respectful to other people's opinions

Never ever back bitch about your colleagues: No, no, no. Never do it.
One, it makes you look bad infront of your colleagues and two, you never

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 know where those words will travel in the future. Words really travel at
the speed of the sound.

Language: Do not start talking with your colleagues in a second

language which some people on the table do not understand. It is
considered rude

No blame game: If you are working in a team, do not play a blame game
or pass the ball in someone else's court. As a team, always collectively
take responsibility of the work that you do. This is equally applicable to
team managers too

Demeaning your or someone else'e work: Do not say you hate your job
to your colleagues, even if you do it. Also do not say that the guy from
some other department does nothing but boot licking or the girl from HR
got a promotion because she is hot. It makes you look shallow in front of
your colleagues.

Maintain good relations with your colleagues (specially your boss),

even after moving on. A simple hello email in six months, a phone call
is sufficient to have a good relation. Industries often go by word of
mouth, so you really never know how a bad relation can affect you in the
future. Plus think, if a potential employer needs a recommendation, you
should have someone to write it for you.

Stop sending emails at odd times: Unless you are working with teams
in a different time zone where it would still be working hours, avoid
emailing people late at night. It is really not of much use. It makes others
feel that you really do not have a personal life. And seriously, no one in
your time zone is going to read it at that time. You can always save them
as drafts and send them in the morning, if it is really urgent, but as far as
possible, avoid this practice.

If you are sick (contagious) please stay at home: Having an infection and
still coming to work doesn't make you a handworker, but someone who is
selfish and careless. Expecting a sick employee to work doesnt make you a
leader but a mean boss. Stay at home when you have an infection and let it run
it's course. Kindly use those medical leaves, a situation such as this once
happened during my tenure as an intern as Times of India, A colleague of mine
once came to work with severe Typhoid, when asked she said its harder to be
at home than at work. Once one of my bosses asked me to "Learn" from one
of my co worker as she has come to work in spite of heavy flu. She was even
awarded "employee of the month" for putting work first., while this sort of
behavior does earn praise, it can be harmful for the enviornemrn the employee
in operating in.

Share the credit of the work: Yes! This is very important. If you have done
some teamwork or even if just a small group work, share the credit with
everyone. All are responsible. Not just you. Dont try to get all the limelight.

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 You might succeed once, but seeing this taking all the credit behavior your
colleagues will start despising you. They avoid working with you. Share the
credit. Thank the ones who worked. Start observing the difference. They will
like you. You had just shown them teamwork, not individual work. Everyone
will shine in the limelight.

Don't be greedy.

References
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy "Ethics"

Random House Unabridged Dictionary: Entry on Axiology.

Kidder, Rushworth (2003). How Good People Make Tough Choices: Resolving
the Diliemmas of Ethical Living. New York: Harper Collins. p. 63. ISBN 0-688-
17590-2.

a b Paul, Richard; Elder, Linda (2006). The Miniature Guide to Understanding

the Foundations of Ethical Reasoning. United States: Foundation for Critical
Thinking Free Press. p. np. ISBN 0-944583-17-2.

John Deigh in Robert Audi (ed), The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, 1995.
"Definition of ethic by Merriam Webster". Merriam Webster. Retrieved October
4, 2015.

Williams, Bernard. Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy. p. 2.

Williams, Bernard. Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy. p. 1.

David Tanguay (January 24, 2014). "Buddha and Socrates share Common
ground". Soul of Wit. Archived from the original on July 22, 2014. Retrieved
July 22, 2014.
Jump up ^ An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon. 1889.

"What is ethics?". BBC. Archived from the original on October 28, 2013.
Retrieved July 22, 2014.

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Miller, C. (2009). The Conditions of Moral Realism. The Journal of Philosophical
Research, 34, 123-155.

Cavalier, Robert. "Meta-ethics, Normative Ethics, and Applied Ethics". Online

Guide to Ethics and Moral Philosophy. Archived from the original on November
12, 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2014.

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