INTEGRATED PROGRAMME IN MANAGEMENT (IPM)

AY2021-22 BATCH: 2019-24 TERM: VII

TITLE OF THE COURSE: CORPORATE ETIQUETTE AND IMAGE MANAGEMENT

CREDITS: - 4

Faculty
Telephone
Name of the Faculty Block/ Email
Number
Room No.
Shweta Kushal C202 [email protected] +91-731-2439572

CONSULTATION TIME FOR STUDENTS

Name of the Faculty Timing
Through appointment
Shweta Kushal
on email

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Corporate etiquette is a set of written and unwritten codes that are followed in organisational
environments for the smooth operation of business transactions.

In today’s rapidly changing business environment, corporate etiquette has also had to evolve rapidly
to keep pace, and newer and often more complex norms have developed over time. In addition,
globalization and digitization of business have added to the myriad rules, codes and norms that any
successful manager must be mindful of in his or her workplace.

In today's corporate environment, various situations arise in which managers are expected to adhere
to these understood codes. These situations range from first introductions to business dinners to
online communication across teams, multicultural teams and interactions with international clients.
A primary grasp on the requirements of each of these occasions becomes mandatory for managers.

A successful manager and leader must be able to manage their own image. In today’s ‘always on’
world, a single video, ad film, or even a tweet can severely impact reputations and imagery. This
makes it even more imperative for managers of all levels to have a basic understanding of managing
their own image.

This course has been designed in accordance with these requirements. This is a skills-based course
in which participants will learn different attributes of corporate etiquette such as that are essential in
today's business environment. In the latter half of the course, the focus will be on understanding,
decoding and managing a consistent personal brand.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Participants will understand and learn codes of personal etiquette, its importance and the codes
for:
  Business appropriate grooming and dressing and maintaining appropriate behaviours in
all situations – online as well as in person
 The various rules of office communication, including telephonic and email manners and
manoeuvring around office politics
 The importance of cultural, social and gender sensitive behaviour for in an office
environment

Participants will also learn the fundamentals of corporate image management:

 Understanding the components of a consistent self image

 Fundamentals of personal branding and the various skills required to build a personal
brand
Learning Outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes and Associated Measures

At the end of the course student is expected to accomplish the following learning outcomes (CLO).
Alignment of CLO with the Programme Level Goals & Objectives and Assessment of the learning
outcomes of the course is presented below.

Course Learning Outcome Program Level Goals/ Outcome Assessment Tool(s)

Understanding and Individual
learning codes of Demonstrates Language Skills (LG 1) Submission
behaviour in varied
situations, be it 1.2 Demonstrates effective articulation
organizational, social or and expression
cultural

PEDAGOGY/TEACHING METHOD:
The teaching methodology will include lectures as well as interactive sessions that will enable a
better understanding of the various ideas and concepts discussed through the lectures.

TEXT BOOK FOR THE COURSE:

1. Sabath, A.M. (2010). Business Etiquette: 101 Ways to Conduct Business with Charm and
Savvy. New Jersey: Career Press.

EVALUATION
Individual Component Group Component Weightage
A Class Participation 20
B Individual Assignments
40
(2)
C Group Presentation 40
Total 100%

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
IIM Indore believes in Academic honesty.
Academic dishonesty or misconduct is cheating that relates to an academic activity. It is a violation
of trust between the Institute and its stakeholders. Plagiarism, fabrication, deception, cheating and
sabotage are examples of unacceptable academic conduct. Please consult the Programme manual
for the section on academic dishonesty.
SCHEDULE OF SESSIONS
Module I: Basics of corporate etiquette
Module Objectives:
1. Understanding the importance of corporate etiquette, its role and changing nature in an
evolving business landscape
2. Learning the ground rules of professional etiquette: Business attire, and online
communication and social media presence

Session 1 Introduction to corporate etiquette

Objective: Understand the meaning and importance of corporate etiquette, its nature and
role in a fast-changing business environment.
- Industry examples and cases that introduce basic concepts of corporate
etiquette
- Outlining situations where corporate etiquette is critical

Reading: 1. Bernstein, A. (2014). “Behave yourself!” Harvard Business Review.

April 2014.
Session 2 Corporate etiquette essentials: Online presence and communication

Objective: Learn professional online communication codes, and how to maintain a

business appropriate online presence
- Changing nature of business communication – media and methods
- Ensuring that social media presence remains professional
- Email communication in a professional manner

Reading: 1. Burkus, D. (2016). Some companies are banning email and getting
more done. Harvard Business Review, June. Reprint H02KX7.
2. BenMark, G., and Venkatachari, D. (2016). Messaging apps are
changing how companies talk with customers. Harvard Business
Review, Sep. Reprint H035BB

Session 3 & 4 Corporate etiquette essentials: Business appropriate attire

Objective Learn what it means to be well-groomed for different occasions

Reading 1. Sabath, A.M. (2010). Business Dress 101: Handling Attire Problems in
the Workplace. Chapter 2

Module II: First impressions and Interview Etiquette

Module Objective: Learning the etiquette for making initial contact and during a job interview
 Session 5 Interview techniques

Objective: Etiquette and techniques for reaching out to employers and Interviews:
Preliminary telephonic interview, Wardrobe and demeanour, Body Language
and non-verbal communication during an interview, Post-interview etiquette

Reading: 1. Sabath, A.M. (2010). Opening Moves. Chapter 1.

2. Hewlett, S.A. (2011). Dress for the Job You Want? Harvard Business
Review. Reprint H006TD
3. Price, E. (2014). Corporate Life: Business Etiquette through the
Organization. US Black Engineer and Information Technology, 38(3),
pp. 18-19

Module III: Office Communications & Protocol

Module Objective: Learn how to effectively conduct oneself in myriad office situations, including
business meetings and various social occasions

Session 6 Basics of business communication

Objective: Learning the basics of communicating with different people, within and across
organizations
- Managing communication in a professional manner, online as well as
face to face, over video and conference calls etc.

Reading: 1. Sabath, A.M. (2010). Chapter 5 and 6.

2. Porter, J. (2017) How to Give Feedback People Can Actually Use.
Harvard Business Review, Oct. Reprint H03ZK7.
3. Post, P. (2000). Turn off that Cellphone. Harvard Management
Communication Letter. Reprint No. C0005C.

Session 7 Navigating hierarchies and politics at work

Objective: Learning how to deal with different situations that arise in the workplace, and
navigating them effectively
- Maintaining healthy relationships with co-workers across levels and
teams
- Workplace friendships and how to maintain healthy relationships

Reading: 1. Sabath, A. M. (2010). Ch. 7

2. Martin, J., and Martin, J. (2003) In praise of boundaries: A
Conversation with Miss Manners. Harvard Business review, Dec.
Reprint R0312B.
Session 8 Business socializing: Codes and etiquette for social situations arising in
professional lives
Objective: Learning the proper code of conduct for various social situations, including
business dinners, office parties and various formal and informal gatherings

Reading: 1. Sabath, A. M. (2010). Ch. 8

Module IV: Social and cultural etiquette in the business world

Module Objective: Understanding and navigating the many social and cultural issues that arise in
the workplace effectively and sensitively
Sessions 9 Social dynamics in the modern workplace

Objective: To understand the importance of socially sensitive behaviours for smooth

operations in an office environment

Reading: 1. Bender, L., Walia, G., Kambhampaty, K., Nygard, K., & Nygard, T.
(2012). Social sensitivity correlations with the effectiveness of team
process performance: an empirical study. ICER’12, Sept. 9-11
Auckland, New Zealand. 10.1145/2361276.2361285.
2. Instructor Notes
Session 10 & Gender dynamics in the modern workplace 1
11

Objective: Understanding the evolving dynamics of gender in the workplace, and codes
for appropriate and gender sensitive behaviour in all situations
- Understanding the importance and methods of keeping communication
gender sensitive, especially in the wake of #metoo and other
movements
Reading:
1. “Managing #Metoo”: 8-Part Series, Harvard Business Review: The Big
Idea. January 2018. https://hbr.org/cover-story/2018/01/now-what
Session 12 The multicultural workplace 1

Objective: Understanding the dynamics of multicultural workplaces and teams

Reading: 1. Earley, C., & Mosakowski, E. (2016). Cultural Intelligence. In HBR’s

10 Must Reads on Managing Across Cultures. Reprint R0410J, pp. 1-
16.
2. Crockett, R. O. (March, 2011). Listening Is Critical in Today’s
Multicultural Workplace. Harvard Business Review. Reprint H006YX
Session 13 The multicultural workplace 2

Objective: Learning how to effectively function as part of a multicultural workplace and

team

Reading: 1. Meyer, E. (April, 2012). Managing Confrontation in Multicultural

Teams. Harvard Business Review. Reprint H008LI
2. Brett, J., Behfar, K., and Kern, M. C. (2007). Managing Multicultural
Teams. Harvard Business Review. Reprint R0611D
3. Donaldson, T. (2016). Values in Tension: Ethics Away From Home. In
HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Managing Across Cultures. Reprint 96502,
pp. 85-102.

Module V: Image management

Module Objective: Understanding the concepts and basics of image management

 Session 14 Fundamentals of image

Objective: Understanding the basics of constructing a consistent self-image and its

various aspects such as appearance, behaviour, communication and others

Reading: 1. Instructor Notes

Session 15 Constructing an image and maintaining consistency

Objective: Learning the construction of an image and its consistency across platforms

1. Instructor Notes
Reading:
Session16 What is Personal Branding?

Objective Understanding the manner in which a personal brand is created

Reading: 1. Marwick, A. (2013). SELF-BRANDING: The (Safe for Work) Self.

In Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity, and Branding in the Social
Media Age (pp. 163-204). New Haven; London: Yale University Press.
Session 17 and Basic tools and methods for students to enhance their personal brand
18

Objective Learning the methods and skills employed to create and maintain a personal
brand

Reading: 1. Kushal, S., Nargundkar, R. (2020). “Employer-Oriented Personal

Branding: Methods and Skills for Indian Business School Students”.
Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning. DOI
(10.1108/HESWBL-08-2019-0102).
2. Classroom Exercise

Module VI: Application of principles

Module Objective: Learning to apply the principles taught in class

Session 19-20 Group exercises and presentation

Objective: Ensuring that learning goes beyond theoretical knowledge, this module will
ensure that groups apply the ideas and concepts to a situation/case study

Case study + case/live business example for students to respond to and resolve, will be
presentation decided based on academic relevance and current events and global business
dynamics

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