Chief Of Organization

It is needless to mention that the chief of the organisation is not necessarily the proprietor. In concerns with limited liabilities jointly held by different shareholders, the Managing Director, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, or the Manager may be endowed with the highest executive powers. There are different gradations of the chief, however, and persons like the sales manager, the agent or the branch manager may all possess maximum authority within their jurisdictions. The main responsibility in respect of etiquette that would rest on the shoulders of these persons is that of dealing with the outside world—the customers, the clients, the authorities, the public in general—-in short, the maintenance of good public relations is their bounden duty.

A visitor enters an office and at once the atten­dant is all attention, helps him to take a seat and fetches an intermediary to cater to his needs. At another office, nobody is interested in him, nobody attends to him, a few of the employees he may get hold of may appear to be more interested in their own affairs than in anything else. The line of beha­viour in the first office has been handed down from above with strict instructions as to how to uphold the honour, prestige and efficiency of the concern in the eyes of the public. The quickness, competence, control and manners of the boss are apt to be reflect­ed in the attitude of those placed at the lower rungs of the ladder. If the chief is unmannerly, selfish, short-tempered, slothful or possibly inefficient, the people working under him may behave within the periphery of these undesirable traits.

The chief of the organisation has, therefore, to vindicate his claim as the main operative in the office. It is for him to lay down the rules of behaviour, to formulate and stick to them himself wholeheartedly and strictly. The chief who surmonises but does not himself follow his own preaching will be hardly taken seriously or obeyed willingly or properly. And this naturally leads to the question of his independence. He may rely on others for work but not for opinion. If he cannot encourage proper behaviour, the discipline of the office may be jeopardised. A superior should never be taken to task before his subordinates or the efficiency in general will suffer.