Thursday, May 23, 2013

Business Etiquette in Australia: Part 3

Business Etiquette in Australia: Part 3

What to Wear:

Australian business dress in conservative in places like Melbourne, and Sydney.
Men should:
  • Wear a dark colored business suit
Women should:
  • Wear a smart dress or a business suit
In some places-like Brisbane-depending on the job type men can wear shirts, ties, and Bermuda shorts.

Business Meals:

In Australia table manners are continental. You:
  • Hold your fork in your left hand, and your knife in your right hand while eating.
  • To indicate you have finished eating laying your fork and knife parallel on the plate with the handles facing to the right.
  • Keep your elbows off the table and your hand above the table while eating.
  • After a meal in Australia you never say "I'm stuffed", that means you're pregnant!

Australian's will often invite you for a "barbie" (barbecue).
  • Guests to a barbecue typically bring wine, or beer for their own consumption. Ocasionally a very informal barbecues suggest you bring your own meal.
  • Arrive on time if invited to dinner, no more than fifteen minutes late if invited for a barbecue.
  • Conctact the host/hostell ahead of time to see if they would like you to bring anything.
  • After the meal is served offer to help clean up.

Relationships:

Australian's place a high value on relationships.
With a relatively small population it's important to get along with each other:

  • You never know when your paths may cross again
  • This leads to a better negotiating style, because having everyone come away with positive feelings is good for future business dealings.

Australian Culture, Customs, and Etiquette. N.p., n.d. Web.


1 comment:

  1. In Italy it is very interesting that they call a barbeque a
    barbie" in America we would think they were talking about a barbie doll. Normally if you are invited to a BBQ you are just asked to bring your own beverages or a side dish like a salad, very weird that they are sometimes asked to bring their own meal to a informal barbeque.

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