From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection
When in Rome, do as American
tourists do everywhere –
American proverb
Sometimes etiquette is easily
explained to the non-native in a clear set of rules that any decent member of
the culture follows. For example, in Japan it is considered impolite to show
the soles of one’s shoes toward another person. However, sometimes the rules
are not clear, and the polite person has to improvise to figure out the most
polite thing to do. An example of this might be when the elder President Bush
ducked below the table before vomiting at a state dinner. No book about culture
or etiquette would have prepared him for that one, although now all American
presidents place a strategically sited bowl beneath their chair at official
events.
That said, the following is a
simple explanation of the basic points of American Business Etiquette. This is
a tool aimed at helping you do as Americans do when working with them on their
own soil, in a secret detention camp, over the telephone or even by email.
