CONTENT/TEACHING OUTLINE

Unit G: Workplace Readiness

COMPETENCY:

7.00

Develop professional and interpersonal skills needed for

success in the fashion industry.

OBJECTIVE:

7.01

Recognize soft skills necessary in the workplace.

A. Define soft skills.

1. Soft skills: A mix of necessary interpersonal skills and business skills
that a successful person develops and nurtures.
2. Interpersonal Skills
a. Ethics
b. Integrity
c. Goal-setting
d. Assertiveness
e. Professional conduct/etiquette
f. Positive attitude
g. Empathy
h. Teamwork
i. Problem solving skills
j. Others
3. Communication Skills
a. Nonverbal
b. Verbal
B. Clarify the importance of interpersonal skills.
1. Developing and maintaining positive human relations requires the use of
many soft skills.
2. Customer relations. An employee is the face of the business or
company. The way in which a customer is treated in a fashion retail
store determines whether that customer will return. Repeat customers
enable a business to become more successful.
a. Positive customer relations are the result of courtesy, interest,
helpfulness, and tolerance.
b. Many companies offer free services to ensure positive customer
relations. Examples: delivery, gift wrapping, coffee/drinks and
cookies for shoppers
c. Employer/Employee relations. Happy employees = Happy
customers = More profits. Many companies strive to keep their
employees satisfied, motivated, and loyal by offering competitive
wages, attractive benefits packages, and other incentives.
(1) Benefits: Added compensation other than money that an
employer gives his/her employees. Examples: paid vacation,
insurance, retirement
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(2) Other incentives might include tuition reimbursement, special

bonuses, special recognition, performance awards, and internal
promotion programs.
C. Explain the importance of ethics.
1. Ethics: Guidelines for human behavior; the study of moral choices and
values.
a. Morals: The part of human behavior that can be evaluated in terms
of right or wrong.
b. Standards: Accepted levels of behavior to which individual behavior
is compared.
c. Consequences: The results of an action.
d. Virtues: Positive traits, such as loyalty, respect, honesty, and
compassion, found within a person.
e. Utility principle: The idea that the right action is the one that is best
for everyone involved, not just for one individual. Example: The
golden rule Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
2. Ethical behavior: Recognizing the difference between right and wrong,
then choosing what is right.
a. Ethical people can be trusted to make the right decision, even when
the decision does not benefit them.
b. Ethics deals with principles that apply to everyone, but these
principles become personal and individual and vary depending on an
individuals own belief system.
c. Sources of ethical beliefs
(1) Higher authority. One might obtain his/her belief system from
his/her spiritual being, parents, or government.
(2) Culture. A belief system might be based on values and beliefs of
the individuals nation of origin or residence.
(3) Intuition. One might live by principles based on his/her
conscience.
(4) Reason. One might use logical thinking as a tool for making
ethical decisions.
3. Ethics in the workplace. The development of a strong work ethic relies
on self-discipline, self-control, initiative, and a productive work behavior.
a. Business ethics: Applying principles of right and wrong to workplace
situations. Business ethics includes taking personal pride in
accomplishments on the job and for the work itself. This is an area
of growing concern in todays workplace.
b. Code of ethics: A systematic set of rules and procedures used to
guide the behavior of an individual, a business, or a culture.
c. Employee duties: The obligations of an employee to fulfill the job
responsibilities and to give the employer a fair days work for the pay
earned.

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d. Employee rights: The entitlement of an employee to equal

opportunity, fair pay, and safe working conditions. Employee rights
are protected by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act.
e. 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.
4. Examples of unethical behaviors
a. Conflict of interest, such as an employer pressuring an employee to
do outside business with another company owned by the employers
family
b. Employee conflicts that cause either or both employees to behave in
an unethical manner
c. Immoral and/or illegal activity
5. Possible consequences of unethical behavior
a. Unethical behaviors may or may not also be illegal.
b. If news of unethical behavior reaches the media and/or the outside
public, then poor public relations may result.
c. Unethical behavior can result in decreased profits for the business.
d. Possible lawsuits can occur as a result of unethical behavior.
e. If the law is broken the penalty may include jail time, as in the case
involving Martha Stewart.
f. An employee who reports a business associate or superior for illegal,
immoral, or unethical behavior may be identified as a whistle blower.
D. Describe the value of teamwork.
1. Teamwork: The good working relationship among employees resulting
from combined support, leadership, and cooperation.
a. Agreement: A specific commitment made by a person or a group of
people.
b. Consensus: A collective agreement reached by the members of a
group.
2. 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.
E. Explain effective communication in the workplace.
1. Importance of effective communication
a. Effective communication is the process of transmitting clearly
understood messages between all involved parties.
b. The ability to communicate effectively is extremely important to a
persons success in the workplace.
c. Communication of information is a primary resource for every
business.
2. Nonverbal Communication: The ability to convey messages without
using words.
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a. Body language such as hand gestures, facial expressions, eye

contact, and other body movements
b. Personal appearance
3. Verbal Communication: The ability to convey messages with the use of
words.
a. Reading
(1) Critical in the fashion industry for reading fashion periodicals,
journals, and reports that focus on marketing, forecasting, and
trends
(2) Letters, memos, emails, and requests must be read and
responses communicated.
b. Listening. For communication to take place the receiver must listen
to and understand the message being sent in order to respond.
(1) Active listening: Providing the speaker with feedback that
indicates the message is being received and is understood.
Examples: a nod, smile, or verbal response
(2) Open-ended questioning: Asking questions that require more
than a yes or no response.
(a) Allows more information to be retrieved from the
customer/speaker
(b) Shows genuine interest
(c) Helps build stronger human relations by encouraging
credibility and trust
c. 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.
(1) One-on-one conversations with a customer might take place face
to face or over a telephone.
(a) Word choice and tone of voice should convey friendliness,
sincerity, and interest in the customer.
(b) Full attention should be paid to the customer.
(c) When taking a telephone message, be certain to record the
date and time of the call, who is it for, who is calling, the
return telephone number, and the message.
(d) 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.
(e) Remember to express appreciation to the customer.
(f) 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-to-face contact makes telephone manners
and verbal skills very important.
(2) 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
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delivering a workshop or speech to a group such as fashion

educators or students.
(a) Tailor the presentation for the specific audience.
(b) Organize the presentation in a logical format.
(c) Visual aids always enhance a presentation. Computer-aided
presentations are used frequently in business and industry.
(d) Speak correctly, slowly, clearly, and distinctly.
(e) Practice the presentation.
d. Writing
(1) Written documentation is important and is often required in the
workplace. (Example: an agreement or contract with models for
a fashion show)
(2) Use of electronic media for written communication is becoming
commonplace.
(3) Attention to spelling, grammar, and sentence structure is critical.
(4) If a document is handwritten, legibility is also critical.
(5) Examples: email, electronic calendaring, group news mailboxes,
on-line services, Internet conferencing, business letters, memos
(interoffice communications), and reports
4. Barriers to communication that can interfere with or stop the message
a. Noise, distractions, or interruptions in service that interfere with
sending or receiving the message. Examples: Internet server goes
down and delays an urgent email message; limited or no cell phone
service when there is a need to make a call
b. Language barriers. Examples: working with someone from another
culture with no translator available to help with communication;
words that mean different things to different people even if the
language is the same
c. Information overload. Example: too much information given too
quickly for the receiver to comprehend

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