9.3 波兰商务礼仪在线视频

Hello everyone

We have learned the country profile

and core values of Poland

Now let’s move on to the fun part

The intercultural business etiquette

In this part we

are going to talk about

the following etiquette

that you should pay strong attention to

while communicating with

Polish business men and women

table manners

business dress code

language matters

face-to-face communication

gift giving

personal titles

and punctuality

Table manner

Dining etiquette for discussing business

Business lunch or dinner

depending on how good

your relationship is

with your Polish colleagues

is generally not the time

to make business decisions

You need to take your cues

from your Polish colleagues

Dining etiquette for toasting

The most common toast is to your health

Another popular toast is stola

which means a hundred years old

and implies that

you should live to be a hundred years old

During the toast

never break eye contact

from the moment

the glass leaves the table

until you put it back in its place

There can be many different toasts

throughout the meal

at some point during the meal

you will be asked to toast

as a small group

especially if you are toasting in person

or as the chief guest

Dining etiquette for eating

Don’t start eating

until everyone has received their own

plate of food

and the host invites you to start

The ritual of passing the dishes

when eating

is to pass all the dishes to your left

Business dress code

In Poland

business and work attire

tends to be quite formal

At business meetings

most managers wear formal attire

meaning men wear dark suits

with jackets and ties

and women wear suits with trousers or skirts

During normal office hours

the dress code

may be a little less formal

but you should still maintain

a smart appearance

In the workplace

first impressions

are always very important

Large companies

set a dress code for their employees

to show respect

for their business partners

customers and the public

However

some companies have instituted

casual Fridays where employees

can choose to dress more comfortably

Small and medium-sized companies

often don’t have a formal policy

but will expect you

to dress according to your position

and work environment

Language matters

Poland is a multicultural

and multilingual country

Polish is the official language

but due to its proximity

to many other countries

most Poles speak more than one language

Russian German and English

are the most dominant foreign languages

while business is usually conducted

in English

and the first language of the participants

is not Polish

If one wishes to maintain

long-term business contacts

with Polish companies

it is worthwhile to learn

as much Polish as possible

for the sake of convenience

as many service providers

do not operate in English

Many young Polish businessmen

know English and other languages

but expats would be more independent

if they could learn to conduct

basic transactions in Polish

On the positive side

Poles tend to be patient with

and appreciate the efforts of foreigners

to learn Polish

Face-to-face communication

Poles maintain direct eye contact

and need about an arm’s length

of personal space to be comfortable

They usually get their thoughts

out there and get right to the point

On first meeting

they don’t really joke

joking is reserved

for more social situations

Poles don’t normally speak

in a loud voice

but they are confident

and decisive nonetheless

For eye contact

it is definitely not advisable

to insist on looking into the distance

as this will make you look less reliable

but you don’t have to look into the eyes

of every person you meet

As for the tone and directness of speech

you should just be polite

If you are a woman you may find that

men don’t speak to you as directly

as other men do

Some men will feel

obligated to shower you with

compliments before during

and after a business conversation

They may also avoid swearing

in front of you because you are a lady

Gift giving

In Poland gifts are expected

at the time of initial business meetings

and at business arrangements

such as the signing of contracts

Small gifts

such as corporate gifts

without a company logo or brand

or souvenirs representing the country

you are visiting are acceptable

Other suitable gift options

may include high quality chocolates

cigars flowers perfumes and wines

from your home country

which are not available

or difficult to buy in Poland

It’s normal to bring some flowers

candy or booze

if invited to a business partner’s home

Flowers or wine

are the most common choices

but candy is another

Flowers should be in odd numbers

and avoid culturally significant flowers

such as yellow chrysanthemums

for use at funerals

Personal titles

In initial business contacts

Poles may use each other’s titles

or surnames

but after two or three meetings

first names are welcome

You can refer to each other

by professional or academic titles

plus surnames

or by Mr and Mrs plus surnames

When addressing a manager or executive

one should not drop sir or ma’am

and use their title instead

as it is considered rude

For example

Director Pan is an appropriate way

to address the director of a company

Never address yourself

by just your last name

as it is inappropriate

and will be considered extremely rude

and disrespectful

In the workplace

the use of academic titles

such as master’s doctoral or professor

is not common

except in academia

or the health care industry

Punctuality

In general

Poles are considered to be quite punctual

However people in high positions

may be late to meetings

to show their status and importance

within the company

In a business meeting

it’s best to be on time

although being 15 minutes late

can be excused

In social settings

the rules are more lax

and if you are invited to a party

expect to be about 15 minutes late

Ok that is the end of this lecture

Please stay tuned

and watch the following lecture videos