The Guide to Business with Earthlings: Observations 8 and 9
| posted by Offyd GrinipuffsObservation 8
It is regarded by Earthlings as rather undignified to admit how seriously they take the issue of status. Nevertheless, all human males know that the individual’s position in the hierarchy is reflected in the size of his desk, the model of his company car, whether he has a secretary, or, in the case of IT professionals the number and sophistication of the electronic gadgets he possesses. In the case of females, most of the above applies (with the exception of the display of shiny devices) but they also indicate their status by their choice of clothes and accessories. In this they are rather like the inhabitants of the planet Groon who can gauge how important a fellow Groonak is by the number and colour of metal rings it wears round its horns.
Observation 9
It is strange that the current emphasis on the value of trust between customer and supplier, and between members of the same company, co-exists with an increasingly strict system of checks and counter-checks. Indeed, professional and personal relationships with people outside the individual’s immediate team seem to be marked by deep suspicion and the assumption that most fellow humans are prepared to rob you blind, if the contrary is not clearly proved. (Ironically our research shows that only a couple of generations ago a hand-shake was often enough to seal an agreement between business people, but at that time people doing business together were more likely to know each other on a personal level.) Bearing this in mind, the lip-service paid to the importance of trust in business relationships strikes us a surprising.
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