Crim 104: Professional Conduct and Ethical Standard

Lesson 1.2: Human Relations and Proper Decorum

or Polite Behavior, and Etiquette or Polite Conduct
in Government and Private Sector

Lesson Summary

This lesson discusses human relations and its characteristics, to include also the factors that
may affect human relations. It also tackles etiquette or polite behavior in dealing with clients
both in government or private sector.

Learning Outcomes

1. Know and understand what is human relations and its characteristics; and
2. Emulate the proper decorum/ etiquette in dealing with people.

Motivation Question

If you had been told that you committed a mistake, explain how you would respond and what
would be behavior in dealing with such?

Discussion

Human relations study how individuals relate with each other in social settings,
function directly, and how effective communication and sensitivity to other person's emotions
can be enhanced. According to Keith Davis, human relations are concerned with empowering
people in organizations to build cooperation that efficiently meets their goals and achieves its
goals.

In Scott's words, 'human relations is a method of successful encouragement for

individuals in a given condition to accomplish a combination of goals that will lead to greater
personal fulfillment and contribute to the achievement of company objectives.'

The main characteristics of human relations are as follows:

1. Human relations are an essential aspect in which individual attitudes and work
are incorporated to achieve respect and confidence in accomplishing the good of
society as a whole.

2. Members of the company are contributing their part to the happiness of individuals
and organizations.

3. Employee satisfaction can be financial, social and emotional.

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 Crim 104: Professional Conduct and Ethical Standard

4. Human relations within the organization enhance motivation through good working
conditions, skills training, prompt payment of salaries and incentives.

5. Human relations are an integrated methodology focused on various fields such as

psychology, sociology, economics and management.

6. Human relations are common; they are needed in business and non-business
entities, small and large institutions, and at all levels.

7. Human relations are an ongoing operation

8. Human relations are a goal-oriented and oriented approach.

Factors Affecting Human Relations:

Human relations in the organization are determined by:

Individual:

The individual is an integral part of an organization, and each person is

different. When empowering personnel, management should take due account of their
economic, social and psychological considerations.

Work Group:

The working group is the core of the approach to human relations. It has an
important part to play in assessing the behavior and output of current employees.

Work Environment:

It is crucial to establish a productive working environment where institutional

objectives are accomplished through employee satisfaction. In general, when
workers' desires are met, the working climate is perceived to be positive.

Leader:

The leader should ensure the maximum and efficient use of all
organizational resources to achieve organizational objectives. They need to be
able to adapt to different personalities and circumstances.

Why study human relations?

Studying and learning human relations will benefit us in our workplace and, as a result,
benefit us to achieve career success. The stronger our human relationships, the more likely
we are to develop both professionally and personally. Understanding how to get along with
everyone, resolving problems at work, handling relationships, communicating well, and
making sound decisions. (Schmitz, 2012)

Studying human relationships can help us better understand how to make career
success. It has been observed that it is very difficult to develop and apply the necessary
human skills required in today's workplace, described as a diverse workplace, focused on
teamwork. Employees must collaborate with employers, clients, and co-employees who differ
in age, beliefs and values, modes of communication, cultural background, gender and social
status.

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Vision: A globally competitive university for science, technology, and environmental conservation.
Mission: Development of a highly competitive human resource, cutting-edge scientific knowledge TP-IMD-02
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and innovative technologies for sustainable communities and environment.
No.
 Crim 104: Professional Conduct and Ethical Standard

Human Relations: Personality and Attitude Effects

Our character is described as a collection of characteristics that can explain or predict

an individual's actions in a variety of situations. In other terms, the character is a collection of
attributes representing the way we think and behave in a particular situation. Thus, our attitude
has a lot to do with how we relate to each other at work.

Our beliefs help to define our character. Our principles are the things we find most
valuable to us.

What about Our Attitudes?

Our behaviors are positive or negative to individuals, things or circumstances. Many

factors influence our behaviors, such as the setting we have been brought up in and our
personal experiences. Our characteristics and beliefs also play a significant role in our
attitudes.

The main thing to note about behaviors is that they can improve over time. However, we
generally need some positive experience to improve our attitudes drastically for the better.
Through our minds, we still have control of our attitude. If we continuously emit negative
emotions, we are likely to be a negative person.

What Is Self-Esteem, Self-Image, and Projection?

Self-esteem is the perception you possess about yourself and your understanding of
your worth as a human. Low (negative) self-esteem can cause a person to be negative,
unmotivated, and grumpy. Those of us with greater (positive) self-esteem like them, so they
anticipate others to like them as well. They don't measure themselves negatively, and they're
happy with who and what they are.

Self-confidence, on the other side, is your confidence in yourself and your potential.
Individuals with high self-esteem often have self-confidence, but this will not always be the
case. Self-esteem and self-confidence will contribute to better human relationships because
if an individual feels good about themselves, it is more likely that they will be more secure in
interacting and working as a team — the secret to success.

According to researchers George Hollenbeck and Douglas Hall, George Hollenbeck and
Douglas Hall, "Self-Confidence and Leader Performance" (technical report, Boston University
Executive Development Roundtable, 2004). self-confidence can come from a variety of
sources, such as:

Experience. If you have done something and succeeded, you may have the
confidence to be successful in the task again.

Experiences of others. If you observe someone else perform a task, you will recognize
that you can do a similar task.

Social comparison. When we see someone with similar skills capable of performing
a task, we will feel more positive about delivering the same work.

Social persuasion. A boost to self-confidence can come from the support of anyone
we trust.

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 Crim 104: Professional Conduct and Ethical Standard

Emotional arousal. A boost to self-confidence can come from the support of anyone
we trust. It applies to our inner emotions of being sufficient or insufficient for fulfilling a
particular mission. It may be the product of negative or constructive self-talk.

Self-efficiency is the ability that you have to carry out a particular role. Some may tend
to have lower self-confidence but could have self-efficacy in certain aspects of their lives.

Self-image is a little distinct from self-esteem in that it implies how a person feels he
or she is perceived differently. One's self-image is not always in line with what people think,
but you can imagine the effect that it can have on interpersonal relations at work. If someone's
self-image is that people think they're dumb, they may not try that hard because they think that
is what people think of them anyway. It can be an inefficient and unhealthful way of dealing
with everyone.

Proper Decorum/ Etiquette:

Some people claim that etiquette is no longer relevant, that the guidelines for good
conduct are old-fashioned and out-of-date. Nevertheless, good conduct and etiquette will
never be out of trend. Good manners, like many other social behaviors, are changing to fit the
times. Without good conduct, members of society would display much too much frustration
and disregard towards each other, which would lead to disrespect, deceit, theft, road rage,
fistfights, and a rash of many other unpleasant incidents.

Etiquette, a dynamic system of rules regulating good conduct and our social and
business relations, is continually changing and evolving as times change. It represents our
cultural values, the commonly accepted codes of ethics and the rules of the different
communities to which we belong.

It makes us display respect and empathy to others and keeps others happy that we are
with them. Without proper manners and labels, civilized society's customs would quickly
vanish, and we would behave more like animals and less like humans. Aggressive behavior
and a mentality of "every man for oneself" will take the reins.

Etiquette in Today's Society

Today's etiquette serves several important functions:

➢ Etiquette provides personal security. Understanding how to act correctly in a given

circumstance makes you quite relaxed.
➢ It protects the feelings of others. Proper etiquette means to make people happy and
to respect their emotions. It would help if you do not point out their faults or call
attention to their faults.
➢ Etiquette facilitates contact by knocking down barriers, not by erecting them.
➢ It makes communication clearer. Etiquette facilitates contact by putting down the
barrier, not by erecting them.
➢ It will boost your standing at the workplace. In every working environment, you are
considered to be more competent, more knowledgeable, and more intellectual if you
are acquainted with the correct code of conduct for the workplace.
➢ It makes an excellent initial impression. It is important for the first five to seven
seconds after you meet someone. Your first perception stays in the memory of the
other individual even after you're gone. If you use the correct mark, the first experience
will be a good one.

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Vision: A globally competitive university for science, technology, and environmental conservation.
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and innovative technologies for sustainable communities and environment.
No.
 Crim 104: Professional Conduct and Ethical Standard

Basic Examples of Good Manners and Etiquettes:

✓ Choose your words wisely. Do not hurry to say something about things which you do
not know a lot. Being a great listener is sometimes better than talking. You do not need
to have an opinion about it all.
✓ Think things out before you speak, particularly if you're an individual who may be bad
at choosing the best words. Do not start a sentence with 'ums' and 'ers' in between; it
sounds awkward, and you must try talking to yourself in front of a mirror. It works! It
improves your confidence to speak.
✓ Do not speak loudly. If you do, you will easily lose respect, as this could be seen as
overbearing and arrogant. It can also make some people frustrated and angry at you
before you can even have any interaction with them. They are going to consider you as
a 'big mouth' who cannot be trusted with anything sensitive. So, practice putting down
your tone if you happen to have a loud voice.
✓ Speak with respect to and of others. You could do this by preventing offensive
comments that could offend anyone else. The general principle is, if you do not want
someone to talk about you like that, do not talk to anyone about the same way.
✓ Always respect older people and listen to them and learn. It extends to all adults, not
just grandparents and parents. Using the words 'Thank You' and 'You are welcome'
demonstrates that you possess good manners. People that lack the ability do not use
such words.
✓ Do not swear to use filth language and curse words. It would be rude and disrespectful!
People who do this are generally really irresponsible and have no self-control or regard
for themselves or anybody!

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Vision: A globally competitive university for science, technology, and environmental conservation.
Mission: Development of a highly competitive human resource, cutting-edge scientific knowledge TP-IMD-02
V0 07-15-2020
and innovative technologies for sustainable communities and environment.
No.