Jul 31, 2012 from Riet

I took the time to read all black and related red text, and have a few small additional comments in red. There is a difference between the British way of using a fork and the way the rest of Europe uses it. I am traveling to Denmark next week, and I definitely will observe the way they use their knives and forks over there.

(Page 6 in Learning Outcomes) Identify appropriate jewellery and accessories for business wear:     - For both men and women:        - Watches are classic, analogue style.        - Remove jewellery from visible body piercings (ex. eyebrow ring).        - Laptops are carried in carry-cases or tote bags, not backpacks.        - Briefcases should be quality leather in a functional style.        (Black is the most traditional colour for a briefcase)

- What about mobile phones? Simple styles? Or just leave them out?

(Page 59 in Learning Outcomes) Identify how to use the fork and knife when dining American vs. European styles     European Dining:        - The fork is held in the left hand with the prongs (tines) of the fork facing down.        - The knife is held in the right hand with the index finger along the back edge of        the knife with the blade facing the plate.        - The food is cut and speared or pushed onto the back of the fork with the knife.        The knife remains in the right hand while eating.

I think this is the British way (?) that the food is pushed on the back of the fork. The rest of Europe uses the fork in 2 ways: during cutting the tines of the fork are facing down, during eating both directions are used)

(Page 63 in Learning Outcomes)     Grains, Rice and Peas        - May be speared with a fork, prongs down or pushed onto the fork        with a knife, prongs up.        - When eating European style - if served with mashed vegetables such        as potatoes, the mashed vegetables are pushed onto the back of        the fork and the peas or grains may be stacked onto the other        vegetable or meat.        (or pushed onto the fork with a knife prongs up)

Aug 1, 2012 from Christina

Thank you Kimberly and Patrick for all further edits to the Learning Outcomes. Lynne for the White Paper; Riet and Deborah for suggestions on AICI Conference sponsorship and LinkedIn. Serena has also been working with Patrick on marketing. I appreciate our team.

I have reviewed the new (in red) inputs to Level 1 from the intranet file dated 13th July. My comments and questions are on the file attached (see side bar inserts).

Level 1,2,3 Learning Outcomes, Aug 13, 2012a(COAug)

Aug 3, 2012 from Deborah

Reit,

Great feedback and it showcases the cultural issues we all face. My understanding with Continental Style of dining is the fork remains tines down. If I understand you, are you are saying it is also correct to turn the fork tines up to eat? Does one simply roll the fork over in the left hand to position the tines up which then would be held as one would when eating American Style minus holding the knife?

As for mobile phones, I do think we should address this issue too as they are a primary business tool. Smart phones allow business professionals to stay connected at all times. Many individuals have even eliminated wearing wrist watches and use their mobile phones as their watch.

Excellent!

Aug 3, 2012 from Riet

Hello Deborah,

Thanks for your feedback. I will watch myself tomorrow, to see how I actually do it with my fork. It never switches to the other hand, so I think I (and other people as well) are just handy in turning it during eating from one position to another.

I have been looking on the internet what the etiquette experts say. In my own language no one ever talks about what to do with the fork, just that it is used left. Only American trainers and instructions talk about this. Is this what you learned or what you saw happening? It might depend on the country. I simply don't know yet.

I would say it is a detail we could leave out.

How is everyone of you eating? American Style or European style, and then if you eat European Style, how do you use your fork?

I think mobile phones are modern accessories, and come in many styles. Maybe we want to distinguish more of them, like the style of a pen ??

Aug 3, 2012 from Lynne

I also had some time today to go through the vast array of great information presented by Kimberly. As a Brit, I should respond to the fork tines up or down question. In the UK for formal and often for informal dining, the fork tines are down. It is polite to spear peas or stack them on the back of the fork, pushed by the knife and hope they don't roll off. In Europe many eat with the fork, US style.

Personally among friends and family in England, if I eat peas, rice etc. I would rest my knife down and eat with my fork US style as it makes much more sense. But if I were dining formally I would use the tines down method.

Christina's response (Aug14,2012): Eating with fork tines down is more formal and when teaching etiquette, we encourage this method when dining in a posh restaurant with guest. We also tell participants to be consistent once they adopt one or the other method.

Deborah's response (Aug23,2012): This is consistent with what I teach as well.

The final resting place of fork and knife in the UK is always 6 o'clock. Anything else is considered rather gauche. Items needing cutting are always cut with the knife not the fork. Meat and salad are always anchored with the fork and cut with the knife held delicately as each piece is put into the mouth at the end of the fork. Not as I have seen in the South US, stabbed in the center of a steak with a fork in a clutched hand and hacked into with a knife into a dozen little pieces!

Christina's response (Aug14,2012): When finished, I teach participants that the correct but more traditional way to place fork and knife is 6 o'clock position. However, I add that it has become more and more acceptable to place fork and knife at 4 - 10 o'clock position. The reason for this is a pragmatic one, so I am told by wait staff in 6-star hotel restaurants where hundreds to thousands of plates may need to be cleared at a large scale banquet... The 4-10 o'clock position is easier for wait staff to clear plates and less likely to cause accidents with forks and knifes falling when you stand up to leave the table or greet someone. It would be good if any of you can verify this information in your country and/or with your sources.

Deborah's response (Aug23,2012): The standard international method is the 4 - 10 o'clock for the reason you state. This is true for American or International styles.

Sherry is always an aperitif in the UK and not served with food.

Bread plate is always to the left side of the main course plate not upper left as in the sketches. I am assuming that the bread plate was there to save space at a banquet.

Christina's response (Aug14,2012): Correct and same here. One point I want to clarify...many Asian/s use the bread plate to place bones etc. and I think this influence comes from Chinese dining etiquette where the small plate next to a rice bowl is meant for bones. Correct me if I am wrong but my understanding is that bones should be placed on the side of one's main dinner plate, unless special plates/bowls are provided for bones and shells.

Deborah's response (Aug23,2012): Most place settings do set the bread plate on the upper left for space reasons. Either position on the left is correct. I do favor the upper left since this is most typical. Bones and such would be placed on the side of the main dinner plate if a side dish is not provided.

In Europe, especially France the salad course is generally served after the main course.

Other thoughts:

Does anyone know a seating plan for formal business meetings? Is it the same as dinner parties and formal dinners?

Christina's response (Aug14,2012): I believe it is the same. However, you will find that one side of the table tends to sit people from Company A while the other side sits people from the other company.

I liked the definition and distinction of Ms. and Mrs. In the case where a couple are unmarried committed partners, which is more common among young couples in N. Europe, is it polite to say in the introduction, "This is Ms. Jennifer Jones, the partner of Mr. Jeremy Smith"? I would personally, but I didn't know the modern etiquette.

Christina's response (Aug14,2012): Hmmm... I would replace the word "partner" with simple "friend" or "close friend".

In business introductions, I thought you said the most important person's name first. "Sir Richard, I would like to introduce you to......" In social I thought you said the woman's name first.

Christina's response (Aug14,2012): I believe this is correct.

I am learning a lot!

Aug 3, 2012 from Riet

Interesting discussion.

Anyway, if we are learning a lot in this area, (I am!) the materials are not to be included in a level I certification, I would think....

That way we can use the time to find out more, talk to people, look around when we are somewhere in an international or chic setting, and find out more.

Aug 7, 2012 from Deborah

This is great dialog! I too am learning a great deal. Thank you.

There is an international standard for business when it comes to etiquette, and then each culture has etiquette specific to them. The goal is to move towards a globally accepted set of skills so there is less confusion. Personally, I eat both American and Continental styles and select the style best suited for the situation. In formal or international settings I will eat Continental. No matter the style, one should execute the process properly and gracefully.

I do have a great deal of information on seating for business meetings. Are you asking regarding a business meal, or just a meeting?

I agree with you Lynne on the introductions. The confusion comes when we switch the wording to say 'introduce you to'. Then the order is changed.

Aug 22, 2012 from Deborah

Mobile Phones/Wrist Watch
An analog wrist watch instantly communicates professionalism and attention to time. A mobile phone/smart phone communicates a multi-functional message.

I do think we may want to consider adding information regarding mobile phones at this level due to the wide spread usage. Mobile phone use is a point of frustration for so many. Using a mobile phone that is dated communicates that you and your ideas may also be dated. If your phone is in a case, the case should communicate professionalism and business. Black is the most conservative.

European Dining
My suggestion would be to have tines down in formal and business settings. Fork in the left hand. The dominate hand holds the knife.

(Riet, did you notice how you turn your fork while dining? I am curious.)

Bread plate upper left (this is most commonly done due to table space).

Seating
What is our focus - business meetings, dinners, or social - and how indepth do we want to go at this level?

Patrick's response (Aug28,2012): Regarding seating for Level 1, since it is a "survival" level, it was thought that we would focus solely on business dining seating. Social dining and formal dining (ie state dinner) will be done in Level 2.

Thank you's
Nothing replaces a handwritten thank you note. I often do send an email thank you right away if we have been communicating via email, and then follow-up with a handwritten note.

Phone Etiquette
- State the purpose of your call
- Ask if it is a convenient time to talk.
- Stay on track

Dining
I agree we should identify business and social dining. If taught in seperate modules, I would place social dining first.

Introducing the not married
The most common-used word is "partner".

Aug 23, 2012 from Deborah

This is so fascinating and will be so useful to everyone! Like all of you, I am learning so much. Thank you! I have noted my thoughts [above in Lynne's comment, Aug3,2012]. Etiquette is culturally specific. I would recommend we present the international business standard at Level 1 and introduce cultural differences at other levels.

Aug 23, 2012 from Lilian

First of all I would like to congratulate you all for this excellent work, it's going to be of great help to those who take the test and will clarify many doubts.

I went through the latest edition [Aug20,2012 edition] and my comments are in orange:

Aug 24, 2012 from Riet

I just returned from my vacation in Denmark. During this trip I observed many people eating 'European Style' ;-) Only once I saw someone eating with the tines of the fork down all the time. All other switched the fork tines up and down during eating.

So do I do myself.

I will continue my "research" here and try to find out if we should continue to even talk about the direction of the tines.

We can add Denmark to the list of tipping guidelines: no tipping at all. They don't have a habit like that at all.

We are getting there!

Aug 24, 2012 from Christina

Hi Riet,

It was good of you to make these real life observations.

I would say that everything is getting less formal and rigid and this seems to be a global trend everywhere, with business casual as just one example.

As a group, do we need to decide on the stand we want to take in setting IITTI's reference standards for image? Should we adopt the more traditional etiquette guidelines or, do we agree that IITTI needs to adopt what is commonly referred to as "modern" etiquette evolved to adapt to social norms in keeping with the times? Introductions, for instance, just as with the proper use of cutlery has become less and less formal.

If we agree on our stand for IITTI, would it give us a reference that makes it easier or clearer to decide what standards IITTI adopts and advocates in our test questions?

Deborah's response (Aug24,2012): I love these real life observations and I believe they provide a great deal of insight. Since we are setting a standard for IITTI, I believe we need to set a standard for professionalism on a global basis. We certainly can address more casual environments, but I don't see that people struggle too much with those issues. Here in the US, Americans eat in many different fashions of 'American Style', but they are rarely 'correct'. We see this with business casual as well. I would imagine this is the case worldwide - at least this is what I have seen in my travels.

Love all the dialogue!

Riet's response (Aug24,2012): It seems that the question is: Who sets the standards?

At some point someone set the standard of temperature (we work with Celcius: 0 C = freezing water into ice; 100 C = water cooking) and distance, weight, content etc. as they are all economic standards. Who is setting the standards in a changing world?

I am currently a member of a LinkedIn group, where the conversation is on "official behaviour". Some people want to set the time back to ages ago, where the owner of the group (a professional, who worked for the high levels of the Dutch Army) often says that the habits have changed. Isn't this about good manners? About showing respect?

On the internet, with a search for eating peas, I actually found 2 ways of using the fork. Sometimes I read tines down, and sometimes using the fork as a spoon is a second option, depending on the food that is eaten. I will ask a couple of people who are traveling more as well.

Deborah's response (Aug24,2012): Excellent point. My experience has been with the Posts, Letitia Baldrige, Miss Manners, Roger Axtell and many others considered experts in the field. There has been a focused effort to gather all this information and create a standard for global business with a notation that there are nuances based on culture. When it comes to casual settings we defer to the local customs. Our challenge is to decide what we will be using as the 'standard' for IITTI. I love hearing all your thoughts.

Patrick's response (Aug31,2012): Regarding to Christina's very pertinent question on traditional vs "modern" etiquette.

Perhaps we should take the stand of siding with what most image consultants are teaching. If the majority of AICI's colleagues advocates a certain way, I would imagine that should be the "standard" and we should adapt it that way.

(Now, if within the AICI group, there turned out to be too many diverging ways, perhaps we should adapt what the most popular books on etiquette that are being used in the field. Are there such a book or books?)

Sep 4, 2012 from Patrick

We are getting there! I think our Level 1 of the Learning Outcomes is in good shape. There are 2 remaining items:

(1) Business dining or social dining first?

Current approach: Business dining is placed in Level 1 and social dining in Level 2.

Reason: Level 1 is defined to be a "keeping up" / "survival" / "fighting fire" level. It is for the most urgent needs in business, a stopgap measure so that people "wouldn't make a fool out of themselves", whereas Level 2 is defined to be a "fluency" level.

It was thought social dining can be categorized as more of a fluency quality rather than something as urgent as business dining.

The other way around where we start with social dining in Level 1, and business dining in Level 2 makes a lot of sense from a developmental point of view, but if we apply the acid test of:

Would social dining mistakes make a fool out of the person, or business dining?

It seems quite certain that it is business dining that is more unforgiving. Hence business dining is place in Level 1.

(Will talk about the second, and last, remaining item next time: fork prongs up or down?)

Lynne's response (Sep05,2012): Yes I agree with your designation and I like your term "more unforgiving".

As for tines up or down, I've come to the conclusion that eating with a knife and fork, tines down is a very British custom! If it's only one country we might not need to mention it.

Sep 7, 2012 from Patrick

This is the second, and last, item for Level 1. Home stretch!

(2) European dining fork

Prongs up or down during eating? A bit of history:

Riet noted that in real life, people are using the forks both up and down, not just down. Lynne noted that in formal situations, she would use the tines down method. Subsequent discussions initiated by Christina asked the philosophical question of whether the Standard should follow life, or if life should follow the Standard. Deborah, as a reference, highlighted the case that in the US, many fashions of "American Style" were rarely "correct".

It was then proposed that it might cause the least amount of confusion (and most amount of acceptance with AICI members) if we adapt to what the AICI FLC Exam is doing.

So, Kimberly started to look up about etiquette reference books for the FLC Exam. And it was found that Catherine Bell's book "Managing your Image Potential" is heavily referenced.

But Catherine Bell's book doesn't explicitly spell out whether prongs should be up or down for European dining (just like Riet has been saying that in her own language no one talked about prongs up or down). In other words, current FLC Exam has no definitive specification on prongs up or down!

So this is one area we at IITTI may have to pick a winner from two options:

    Option A. European dining prongs down.
    Option B. European dining prongs both up and down OK.

Resolution: From the discussions, Option A (prongs down) is the one our team most recommended.

In terms of resting and finishing positions, Kimberly has checked books by Emily Post, Catherine Bell, Washington School of Protocol (WSP), and Tifanny. Subsequently, Kimberly and I compiled what I called a "confusion" table about whether prongs should be up or down.

	Resting position	Finishing position
Unspecified style	Right angles, tines down (Catherine Bell "Managing your Image Potential" p197) Right angles, tines down ("Tiffany's Table Manners" p48)	10:20, tines up or down (recommend up for stability) (Catherine Bell p198) 10:20, tines up ("Emily Post's Etiquette" p236) 10:20, tines down ("Tiffany's Table Manners" p49)
U.S. Style	10:20, tines up but knife further north, separated from fork (WSP p16) (I don't teach this style. I will be curious to hear if our American team members do. If not I suggest sticking with the European style below, which I believe is more universal. Kimberly)	10:20, tines up (WSP p16)
European Style	Right angles, tines down (WSP p17)	10:20, tines down (WSP p17)

Note: The oddest is the resting position of the American Style specified by WSP.

Resolution:
    Resting position: right angles, tines down.
    Finishing position: 10:20, tines up.

Lynne's response (Sep07,2012): I agree with all of the final resolutions.

Deborah's response (Sep08,2012): I would recommend that we state the formal global business position of tines down. Option A.

Kimberly, I do teach American Style here in the US and as a point of interest outside the US. It is also known as the Zig Zag method as one only picks up the knife when cutting. I don't believe it needs to be included here based on our audience.

Patrick's response (Sep08,2012). Thanks for explaining the reason behind the Zig Zag Method of the American Style for resting position. I was wondering the reason behind this, but now thinking more about it after your explanation, it actually makes a lot of sense.

If the general consensus is to leave it out, we will do that then.

Christina's response (Sep08,2012): I agree. The added advantage of adopting Option A is that many people in Singapore (and this could be true in other cities in Asia) consider Option B less cultured, or less exposed to Western culture. This could be due to our colonial heritage coming mainly from British influence.

(Re Finishing position: Here's an interesting comment I learnt from a senior management at a top international hotel some years ago when I asked. He told me that tines up when diners finished is preferred also because this makes the job much easier for wait staff who sometimes have to clear hundreds if not over a thousand plates at big scale banquets.)

Lilian's response (Sep09,2012): Here in Chile we have much European and Spanish influence, so I went through many books and papers that I have from Spain and they explain that when eating in the European Style, it's always with tines of the fork down and when eating rice, or peas they can be smashed with the help of the knife and eat with the fork facing up, using it as a spoon or down for that moment, the only condition is not to raise the elbows.

Riet's response (Sep10,2012): It stays interesting.

I think we are comparing theory with theory, while in the meantime the "European Style" (the way people eat in Europe), is hardly taken into consideration. I have been discussing the fork (tines) issue with a business man during the weekend. His question was: what is important about that?

If Level I is about "not to be embarrassed" I think it is completely irrelevant. I never felt embarressed about the way I use my fork, nor will I be in the future. I felt more embarrassed that I did not know how to eat shrimps with my knife and fork.

So I agree with option A, if I can state that European Style is something else than how people in Europe eat. Apparently there is a third way of eating, which is the British way.

Otherwise I would prefer option B, because then there is also reality to the content.

Sorry, that I am stubborn here. But for me it does not make sense, if there is no reality to a theory. Why would we teach anyone something that is not used anymore. Also etiquette develops over time, just like everything else in the world.

Patrick's response (Sep11,2012). Great to hear your feedback from business people about whether tines up or down is important or not. I agree that it may not be an important issue by itself, but what I see the problem we will face down the road if we don't specify this is that some people will view our Learning Outcomes as being lacking in quality.

For our Learning Outcomes, how about appending something like this (red is new):

European Dining:     - The fork is held in the left hand with the prongs (tines) of the fork facing down. (Note: there are regional differences as to whether prongs should be down or up. While in the U.K. prongs down is considered most formal, in continental Europe, such as Spain or the Netherlands, prongs can be both down and up depending on the food at hand.)

What do you think?

P.S. My hypothesis as to why the difference in opinion between Option A and Option B:

From all the input from our team, I get a hunch that it may very well be a case where the country-of-origin of a culture may turn out to be more lax than importing countries. Case in point would be Malaysian Chinese practicing a more traditional form of funeral procession than back in China. While the main body of culture in China moves on, the overseas population clings to the origin form of the culture in fear of losing authenticity. The main body doesn't have this fear, and its culture continues to evolve. But the overseas enclaves cannot evolve for fear of deviating too much from the main body, and thus get "stuck" in a more ancient form of the culture.

The Americas and Asia, because of their colonial past, may be viewed as the overseas enclaves of traditions passed down from the European heritage. While many European countries adapted to a more diverse form (prongs up and down), the colonial countries (Canada, U.S, Singapore) adhere to the original form (prongs down).

This could be a good future research, wouldn't it?!

Riet's response (Sep12,2012):

Thank you Patrick. It is actually great to go in depth with our inquiry.

You give a great perspective of what might be in the background. I would like the addition of the red part very much. But I don't know if you all agree with this.

Patrick, what you write about a main body and outside enclaves, we see this with the people from Marocco living here (in the Netherlands). While the people in the main country adapted looser ways of living, the Maroc enclave in our country sticks to the old "rules". So yes, this could be the way etiquette rules differ. Great perspective. Thanks.

Lynne's response (Sep13,2012):

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your input on the dining etiquette. I am wondering if with all this reference to "old rules and casual rules" shouldn't we have two sub-sections to this category. In other words: formal dining and casual dining. That might help include and differentiate between all the options. I know that there would be a cross-over and country details but if I were learning all this newly it would help me simplify my options for international business purposes.

Patrick's response (Sep15,2012).

Thanks Riet for your consensus, and encouragement.

Lynne, sounds like a good plan to have two sub-sections to dining etiquette. So far, the Learning Outcomes has two sections:

    Level 1 -- Business dining
    Level 2 -- Social dining, and Formal dining

I will put the tines-up-and-down option under Level 2 with social dining. So the revised addendum to the Learning Outcomes are as follows (red is new):

Level 1 European Dining:     - The fork is held in the left hand with the prongs (tines) of the fork facing down. Level 2 European Dining:     - There are regional differences as to whether prongs should be down or up. While in the U.K. prongs down is considered most formal, in continental Europe, such as Spain or the Netherlands, prongs can be both down and up depending on the food at hand.

Sep16, 2012 from Patrick	Legend:
	Ratified as of Aug20,2012
	Ratified as of Sep15,2012

Etiquette Item	Discussions / Differences / Research	Ratified?
Mobile phones	- Include as accessories? What style? (Riet) - Some individuals just use a smart phone, eliminating wrist watch (Deborah) Should smart phone be an option for replacing wrist watch? Resolution: The Learning Outcomes is currently written without specifying whether smart phone can be a replacement of wrist watch. We will let people decide what accessories to wear. (Added on page 6 in the Sep15,2012 edition that the casing for mobile phone to be black as the most conservative.)
European Dining: fork	- Prongs face down at all time - Prongs face down during cut, either way during eating - Research (Riet): fork always in the left hand Should our standard be: European dining -- fork prongs can be up and down? (Stated that there are regional differences on page 59 of the Sep15,2012 edition as a Level 2 detail. Level 1 will stay focused on simplifying a user's options for international business purposes, as suggested by Lynne).
European Dining: resting position for fork and knife	- American Zig Zag method (Deborah) - Right-angle (Agreed to standardize based on the right-angle method. No changes needed in the Learning Outcomes.)
European Dining: finishing position for fork and knife	- UK always 6 o'clock (Lynne) - More and more acceptable at 4 - 10 o'clock (easier to clear plates and less likely to cause accident with standing up) (Christina) (The differences were already described in the Learning Outcomes, but we added an example country of the U.K. in the new Aug 20 edition on page 62.)
Cutting meat and salad	- from Lynne: always anchored with fork and cut with knife, never hold fork with clutched hand (Added to Learning Outcomes, p59 of the Aug 20 edition.)
Sherry	- Dry sherry served appetizer and soup, port or sweet sherry served during savoury - Always served as aperitif in UK, not with food (Lynne) (Added into document, page 77 about sherry as aperitif and not with food.)
Bread plate	- Left side or upper left - Left side, not upper left (Currently the document stated either way is ok.)
Salad serving sequence	- Can be served before or after main course depending on region - In Europe, epsecially France, salad is generally served after main course (Lynne) (Added the specifics of France into document, page 76.)
Seating plan for formal business meetings -- same as dinner parties and formal dinners?	- Comapany A sits on one side of table while the other company on the other side
Introduction of unmarried, committed partners	- Is it polite to introduce as, "This is Ms. Jennifer Jones, the partner of Mr. Jeremy Smith"? What is the modern etiquette? - Replace "partner" with simple "friend" or "close friend"?
In business introduction, you say the most important name first	(This is inline with what is in the Learning Outcomes, page 16.)
Introduce the woman's name first in social settings (from Lynne)	(Added to Learning Outcomes, page 16.)
Bones to be placed on the side of main plate?	(Yes, as specified on p58 of the Learning Outcomes.)
Pressed/ironed slacks? (from Christina)	On page 4 of Learning Outcomes, where to add "pressed/ironed slacks" for men? (Added after "...trousers")
Send "thank you" note via email?	On page 24 of Learning Outcomes, should we recommend sending hand-written "thank you" note or by email? (Added a statement to page 24, Sep15,2012 edition: "although sending via e-mail is increasingly common, hand-written note is still considered the most formal.)
Phone etiquette: sequence	On page 26 of Learning Outcomes, should the sequence be: - State the purpose of your call and stay on track. - Ask if it is a convenient time to talk. or - Ask if it is a convenient time to talk. - State the purpose of your call and stay on track. (General consensus is the first: state your purpose and then ask if it is convenient. No change needed to Learning Outcomes.)
Business dining first? Or social dining first?	On page 47, Christina said, "I am glad to see a clear differentiation (between business dining and social dining). Here's a question for all to consider -- what do you consider more important in building etiquette knowledge and skills...'business dining' first or 'social dining' first? One thought is for individuals to gain personal and interaction skills as a must-have first level. Comment please...I'm open to keeping it this way but want to open this up for a rethink." Deborah said, "If taught in seperate modules, I would place social dining first." (Current approach: Business dining is placed in Level 1 and social dining in Level 2. Reason: Level 1 is defined to be a "keeping up" / "survival" / "fighting fire" level. It is for the most urgent needs in business. Level 2 is defined to be a "fluency" level. It was thought social dining can be categorized as more of a fluency quality rather than something as urgent as business dining.)
Other editorial changes	Elaborations on details, typos, etc. as suggested in Christina's marked-up Learning Outcomes (done: please refer to the Aug20,2012 edition Learning Outcomes)
Addition to the dining section	Elaborations on details to the dining section. as suggested by Lilian (done: please refer to the Sep15,2012 edition Learning Outcomes)