Workplace Readiness
Fashion Merchandising
Objective 7.01
Soft Skills
• ***A mix of necessary interpersonal skills
and business skills that a successful person
develops and nurtures.
Interpersonal Skills Are Soft Skills
• Ethics
• **Positive
Attitude
• **Integrity
• Empathy
• **Goal setting
• Teamwork
• Assertiveness
• **Professional
conduct/etiquette
• Problem solving
skills
Communication Skills Are Soft Skills
• Two types of
communication
skills:
– Verbal
communication
– Nonverbal
communication
Importance of Interpersonal Skills
• Developing and maintaining positive human
relations requires the use of soft skills.
• **Positive customer relations are the result
of courtesy, interest, helpfulness, tolerance.
– An employee is the face of the business or
company.
– The way a customer is treated determines
whether that customer will return.
– Repeat customers help a business become more
successful.
Importance of Interpersonal Skills
(cont.)
• Employer/Employee relations
– Happy employees=Happy customers=More profits
– Companies strive to keep employees satisfied,
motivated, and loyal by offering competitive wages,
attractive benefits packages, and other incentives.
– Benefits: Added compensation other than money that
an employer gives his/her employees.
– Other incentives: tuition reimbursement, special
bonuses, recognition, and awards.
Importance of Ethics
• **Ethics: Guidelines
for human behavior;
the study of moral
choices and values.
• **Morals: The part of human behavior that can
be evaluated in terms of right or wrong.
• Standards: Accepted levels of behavior to which
individual behavior is compared.
• **Virtues: Positive traits, such as loyalty,
respect, honesty, and compassion, found within a
person.
• **Utility principle: The idea that the right action
is best for everyone involved, not just for one
individual.(**such as after school activity)
• **Consequences: The results of an action.
(**getting fired for always being late)
Ethical Behavior
Recognizing the difference between right and
wrong, then choosing what is right.
• Ethical people can be trusted to make the right
decision, even when the decision does not benefit
them.
• Depends on an individual’s own belief system.
• Sources of ethical beliefs:
Higher authority, culture, intuition, reason
Ethics in the Workplace
• **The development of strong
work ethic relies on selfdiscipline, self-control, initiative,
and a productive work behavior.
Ethical Terms in the Workplace
• Business ethics: Applying principles of right and wrong
to workplace situations.
Taking personal pride in accomplishments on the job and
for the work itself.
This is an area of growing concern in today’s workplace.
• Code of ethics: **A systematic set of rules and
procedures used to guide the behavior of an individual, a
business, or a culture.
• Employee duties: **The obligation of an employee to
fulfill the job responsibilities and to give the employer a
fair day’s work for the pay earned.
• Employee rights: The entitlement of an
employee to equal opportunity, fair pay, and
safe working conditions.**
•
• Positive climate: **A work environment that
fosters positive productivity, quality work,
workplace values, commitment to excellence,
constructive criticism, encouragement for
growth, and continuing education.
 Positive work ethics can be encouraged by
managers practicing good principles of
supervision.**
Examples of Unethical Behavior
•Conflict of interest, such as an employer
pressuring an employee to do outside
business with another company owned by
the employer’s family
•Employee conflicts that cause either or
both employees to behave in an unethical
manner
•Immoral and/or illegal activity
Possible consequences of unethical
behavior
• Unethical behaviors may or may not also be
illegal.
• If news of unethical behavior reaches the
media and/or the outside public, then poor
public relations may result.
• Unethical behavior can result in decreased
profits for the business.
• Possible lawsuits can occur as a result of
unethical behavior.
•If the law is broken the penalty may
include jail time, as in the case involving
Martha Stewart.
•An employee who reports a business
associate or superior for illegal, immoral,
or unethical behavior may be identified
as a whistle blower**. (ex: child labor**)
The Value of Teamwork
• Teamwork: The good working relationship among
employees resulting from combined support,
leadership, and cooperation**.
– Agreement: **A specific commitment made by a person or
a group of people.
– Consensus: A collective agreement reached by the
members of a group.
• Employees are asked to work together as a team to
complete a task. The more effectively and efficiently
the team members work together, the more likely they
are to achieve the desired goal for the business.
Effective Communication in the Workplace
• Process of transmitting clearly understood
messages between all involved parties.
• Ability to communicate effectively is
extremely important to a person’s success
in the workplace.
• Communication of information is a
primary resource for every business.
Nonverbal Communication
•**Body language such as hand gestures,
facial expressions, eye contact, and other
body movements to convey messages
without using words.
•Personal appearance
Verbal Communication
The ability to convey messages with the use
of words.
•Reading
•Listening
•Speaking
•Writing
Verbal Communication--Reading
• Critical in the fashion
industry for reading
fashion periodicals,
journals, and reports
that focus on marketing,
forecasting, and trends
• Letters, memos, emails,
and requests must be
read and responses
communicated.
Listening
– Active listening: **Providing the speaker with
feedback (a nod, smile or response) that indicates the
message is being received and is understood**.
– Open-ended questioning: Asking questions that
require more than a yes or no response**.
– **Such as “What is a Fashion Cycle?” or “How do you set up and
effective display booth?”
Verbal Communication--Speaking
• How well one speaks may
prove to be a determining
factor in the degree of
his/her success in many
fashion careers.
• Speaking skills are equally
important in one-on-one
conversations or in
presentations to a group.
• One-on-one conversations with a customer might
take place face to face or over a telephone.
– Word choice and tone of voice should convey
friendliness, sincerity, and interest in the customer.
– Full attention should be paid to the customer.
– When taking a telephone message, be certain to record
the date and time of the call, who it is for, who is calling,
the return telephone number, and the message.
–Telephone orders must be recorded completely
and accurately. It is recommended that the
information be repeated to the caller to verify
that the details are correct.
–Remember to express appreciation to the
customer.
–While voice mail is a fast and effective way to
communicate with someone who is not able to
answer the telephone, the absence of face-toface contact makes telephone manners and
verbal skills very important.
• Speaking to groups may occur in formal or informal
situations.
– One might be speaking with more than one customer in the
retail store, making a presentation of a new line to a buyer, or
delivering a workshop or speech to a group such as fashion
educators or students.
– Tailor the presentation for the specific audience.
– Organize the presentation in a logical format.
– **Visual aids always enhance a presentation. Computer-aided
presentations are used frequently in business and industry.
– Speak correctly, slowly, clearly, and distinctly.
– Practice the presentation.
Writing
• Written documentation is important and is often
required in the workplace.
• Use of electronic media for written communication is
becoming commonplace.
• Attention to spelling, grammar, and sentence structure
is critical.
• If a document is handwritten, legibility is also critical.
• Examples: email, electronic calendaring, group news
mailboxes, on-line services, Internet conferencing,
business letters, memos, and reports
Barriers to Communication
• Noise, distractions, or interruptions in
service that interfere with sending or
receiving the message** or message has
stopped
• Language barriers
• Information overload