There
are Practical Reasons to be courteous and fair. The world of
business has radically changed in the last ten years.
If business
people
are not
very
careful
to treat
their
clients
to the highest
respect they run the risk of pernicious and mean postings
on the Internet being made that can discourage future business. These
referrals sometimes
are saved in a data base for inquiring people to review for years to
come. Referral web sites such as Yelp.com allow members to post what
ever they want as
long it
is not
illegal or contains X-rated verbiage. This means a person that you offend
can write a recommendation on Yelp that says "Erik is the worst
tradesman I have ever encountered. He was unhelpful and would not help
me find
alternatives to my construction problems." The actual situation
was that the homeowner did not want to get a building permit and he wanted
the
tradesman to design his construction project for free. More and more
the public is lashing out at businesses they think are expensive, offensive
and not likeable. Some seem to enjoy the power thy hold over merchants
and take pleasure in tormenting them. If you respond without decorum
these people will per sue you for years with mean postings.
Protocol and decorum is an essential element
in running a business. Without protocol and decorum there will be unnecessary
friction, misunderstanding and emotions that get carried away. Following protocols
of a profession, and executing words with decorum, gives the business person
a powerful tactical advantage over their clients. Following strict protocols
and decorum's means that the business person cannot be easily maneuvered into
making a bad business decision. Some clients intentionally try to draw businesses
into a conflict from whereby they gain a legal advantage.
Protocols are established procedures one follows to execute a task.
Protocols are defined by custom, education, professional codes and statutory law. A protocol is not some of-the-wall rule. The protocol, "do business in a business like way" means that this approach to business is the most effective, trouble free and profitable way to conduct business as centuries of experience have proven. No one can make a business person acknowledge this rule but to ignore it runs counter to profitability and a conflict free business.
Decorum relates to how a person negotiates a sale and handles any ensuing problems.
Decorum signifies the emotional context in which business is conducted. Considerate, personable, cheerful, responsible, patience, and the like describe some of the elements of decorum. If one, for example, applies for a patent from the U.S. Patent Office the written rules specify that every applicant must conduct business acknowledging are applicable protocols and decorum's. This means that applicant here held to standards that require them to be patient. A violation of decorum would be to express outrage and emotion towards the case worker regarding how slow the patent application is being handled. In business, observance of decorum is necessary to maximize profits and minimize risks and conflicts. To execute business with decorum quite literally means to take the high ground in a transaction. Clients will use the lack of decorum to resist payment or ask for extra considerations. Decorum minimizes the risk of any unnecessary lawsuits that arise out of misunderstandings.
The mathematical nature of conflicts and the
need for protocol and decorum.
Initial Point of Conflict (IP):
An IP is established, for example,
in
the
workplace when an associate in a shared cubicle is chewing gum making popping
sounds that
are
distracting.
The insensitive person is asked to stop but over time they begin chewing the
gum again. The second IP instance is called IPRbecause
the the initial point of conflict is being reinforced and perpetuated. This increases
emotions among the coworkers and marks the beginning of an ongoing conflict.
So, conflicts have an initial point or source, but some conflicts escalate where
others simmer when an IPR repeatedly
evidences itself. Repeated reinforcements would be written as IPR1, IPR2, IPRinfinity.
A relationship that is defined by conflicts has individual points of conflict
and points that repeat themselves. As the reinforcements chewing gum moves towards
infinity emotions rise mathematically among coworkers. If nothing stops the offensive
action such as a boss emotions will escalate to a breaking point where tempers
and even violence can flare. Also there is the mathematical relationship between
the number of ordinary IP's and the evolution of an IPR.
This is why it is essential for small business owners to observe business protocols
and decorum's to reduce the possibility of an IPR emerging
in their relationship with their customer. An IPR is
like an infection that is difficult to stop once it has started. Since operating
a business is about maximizing profits minimizing conflicts is an important strategy.
It could be said with most business that there is a relationship between rapid
or enduring growth and a conflict free environment. Startup business in this
way who observe standard rules of protocol and decorum success faster than those
that do not.