On February 9, 2009, The College of IST held its first International Etiquette Dinner.  While IST usually holds a traditional Etiquette dinner at least once a year, this was first one that had an international spin.  Sponsored by Johnson and Johnson, the dinner provided participants with information regarding the different dining procedures and standards of etiquette that exist around the world.

The event began with two presentations, which were both given by representatives from Johnson and Johnson.  Kevin Ruffe, Vice President of IT Innovation Implementation, gave the first presentation.  He highlighted some of the current projects that J&J has been working on, including their iPhone application “Careconnector.”  The second presentation, given by Jane Connell, Vice President of IT Strategic Sourcing, focused on globalization.  Connell highlighted the importance of understanding the true concept of “inclusion.”  Inclusion not only incorporates the concept of diversity, but also addresses the challenges that are associated with interacting with different cultures.  Both presentations offered numerous insights regarding issues that many IST students are likely to encounter.

After the presentations, the etiquette dinner commenced.  Facilitated by Rick Capozzi, the dinner addressed many international and domestic dining practices.  During the dinner, Rick described key practices and techniques, and then allowed the diners to practice.  The first task was learning how to hold and use chopsticks.  Here, the challenge was to eat the whole meal, which included soup, salad, a main dish, and dessert, using only the chopsticks.  While this was experience beneficial, including dishes from other cultures would have provided a broader range of experiences for the diners.  Fortunately, Rick did touch on some of these other practices as the dinner continued.  For example:

The “b” and “d.”  Forming the number three with each hand creates the letters b and d.  This can help diners to identify the drink and bread plate belongs to them.  Bread is on the left and drinks are on the right.  Diners should take care when using this technique in other countries.

No eating with the left hand in India.  In India, the left hand is considered unholy and dirty.

It is normal (and expected) to slurp your soup in Japan.

Once you have finished your meal, utensils should be laid on the plate facing the 11 and 4 o’clock positions.

When passing food around the table, the person closest to the dish should fake left and pass right.  You should offer the dish to the person to the left (but not let go of it), and then pass it to the right.

Overall, the dinner provided a vast amount of useful information regarding global dining etiquette.  Rick did a great job of pointing out the various “little things” that diners should always be aware of.  The violation of one of these social norms could potentially be a deal breaker during a business dinner.  Hopefully, IST will continue to hold internationally themed dinners in the future.