SouthernProfiles Grace Under Pressure
Bring Your Manners to the (Business) Dinner Table
You
can find plenty of warnings and admoni-
tions against mixing business with pleasure. But combining
business with meals also can be a cocktail that leaves people with a hangover – figuratively and literally, if you aren’t careful. So warns Ellen Durnin, dean of the School of Business, who recently coordinated a business etiquette dinner to give students an opportunity to practice good manners and prudence before going out into the working world. The program included a talk by Karen Hinds, a consultant who is CEO of Workplace Success Group LLC. “You want to create a positive impression during a business meal – whether it’s breakfast, lunch or dinner,” Durnin says. “While eating is certainly part of a business meal, your primary objective is usually business-related. It is better to leave the encounter with a half-empty stomach than create a half-baked impression.” In fact, Durnin says eating something before a business meal can be a good strategy to help keep your focus on the business part of the meeting. This is especially important if the meeting is a job interview and you are the interviewee, or if you are meeting with a potential client. “You can always eat until your heart’s content after the meeting, either at home or at another restaurant,” Durnin says. Durnin recommends the following do’s and don’ts to make a good impression at a business meeting that involves food. • Arrive on time. (It sounds simple, but you would be amazed at how many people fail this first test.) • Be prepared for the lunch or dinner meeting, just as you would for any other type of meeting. • Demonstrate good table manners. (Your napkin should be on your lap; don’t reach across the table; and break off only as much bread as you can eat at one time.) • Use silverware appropriately and place cutlery on the plate (never on the tablecloth) once it has been used.
• Focus mealtime conversation on non-controversial topics, especially avoiding politics and religion. • If you issued the invitation, be sure to pay the bill. • Remember B-M-W for identifying your place setting: from left to right – bread, meal, water. (This avoids the inevitable, “is that my bread plate or yours?”) • Avoid ordering difficult-toeat, messy or sticky foods. This includes pasta, cherry tomatoes, meat on the bone, and crispy desserts, such as a Napoleon, which will shatter upon contact. • Select a meal from the Students practice proper etiquette at the business dinner table. menu that is in the middle price range of options. • Do not order an alcoholic beverage, even if your dinner Durnin suggests moving on with the conversation at the partner does so. Many firms look down on drinking at a table. “The other person does not want to focus on their business meeting, and you may be subjected to a “test” stained clothing for the rest of the meeting, but will apprecito see if you order an alcoholic drink. don't do so. ate you returning to the conversation at hand.” One of the nightmare scenarios, of course, is spilling food or drink on yourself, or worse yet, on someone else. While adhering to the suggestions offered by Durnin can minimize the chances of such a situation, accidents can still happen. What can a person do if food or drink is spilled on one of your tablemates? “Your response should be quick and sincere,” Durnin says. “Do NOT attempt to wipe the offending substance from their clothes. Instead, say, ‘I apologize. Please send your dry cleaning bill to me.’”
She also suggests following up with a message to their office the next business day to request the bill. This shows that the offer from the previous day was not an empty gesture. Finally, she recommends that if you were the guest at the meal, follow up with a thank-you note (email is fine), mentioning one of the topics of discussion that interested you. This will remind your tablemate of the good conversation you had, and hopefully motivate them to want to get to know you better.
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A New Focus on Cybersecurity In
Lisa Lancor, graduate coordinator of the Computer Science Department, is excited about the new opportunities offered to students in cybersecurity and software development.
an effort to better meet the needs
of students and the demands of the chang-
ing Connecticut workforce, the Computer Science Department has restructured its Master of Science degree program. The department has replaced the two previous tracks with those having more relevance in today’s ever-evolving technological landscape — network and information security (cybersecurity), and software development. “Previously, the M.S. program was designed primarily for students who had earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science,” says Lisa Lancor, graduate coordinator for the department. “But we had been getting increased interest from individuals who had bachelor’s degrees in other disciplines and wanted to move into the computer field. We have students who majored in music, political science and other disciplines not closely related to computer science. So, we revamped the program to make it more flexible.” Among the changes enacted is the establishment of a single prerequisite course, instead of three such courses. The new prerequisite is a 4-credit course on computer programming and data structures. Students then take 12 core credits, as well as 18 credits in either of the two tracks. Students are then required to pass a capstone, typically a 6-credit thesis. One of the new courses offered for those engaged in the cybersecurity track is “Ethical Hacking and Penetration Testing.” In this course, students learn how to test whether networks are secure and how to enhance that security. “There is a huge need for individuals who have an expertise in this area,” Lancor says. “The number of companies and organizations whose websites are hacked is growing all
the time. These companies want to hire individuals who can detect and fix these security issues, but there really is a shortage of such people.” Lancor says that many companies actually hire individuals to try to break into their network system (without causing any damage). The idea is that if they can hack into it, the system needs to be upgraded and fixed. If it can’t be hacked,
it indicates the system is probably secure, at least at that time. She notes that cyber attacks are occurring more frequently these days and the hackers are becoming more sophisticated at cybercrime. “As cyber attacks become more sophisticated, demand will increase for workers with security skills.” Lancor points to U.S. Department of Labor projections that indicate employment of network and computer systems administrators (which includes security specialists) is expected to increase by 23 percent from 2008 to 2018. Similarly, the department projects that the number of computer software engineers and computer programmers will rise by 21 percent in that same time period. She also says that in addition to individual hackers, foreign governments hostile to the United States are more inclined these days to try to wreak havoc with U.S. networks. In fact, The U.S. Department of Defense has increased its allocation for cyber operations by 20 percent in its 2014 budget. Many experts are predicting that future wars and hostilities among nations will include cyber warfare.
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SouthernLife • MAY 2013
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