5On Values and Responsibility

Why Manners Matter at Work

For those of you who never bothered to pay attention to your mother, perhaps you’ll listen to Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, instead.

This cheeky thought has crept into my head a couple of times in the last few weeks as I’ve read a run of stories about etiquette (or lack thereof) in the workplace. Most recently, there was the case study posted on the BusinessWeek website about a worker who had to deal with a boorish boss.

And just a couple of weeks ago, I saw that officials in Anaheim, Calif.—home to Disneyland—were set to hold classes for cabbies, hotel employees, and other service workers in town to ensure they act as knowledgeable and enthusiastic hosts for tourists, ...

Get What Would Drucker Do Now?: Solutions to Today’s Toughest Challenges from the Father of Modern Management now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.