Professional Behaviors

The Department of Management and Accountancy is preparing you for a professional career. Therefore, we expect professional behavior as part of your class participation and as preparation for your future.

Your employer will expect you to arrive on time and be present to complete your responsibilities.

• You are responsible for arriving on time for class. Any late arrival or early departure is a disruption.
• Do not enter the classroom when one of your classmates is giving a presentation.
• If you must leave early, let your professor know in advance and sit as close as you can to the door that day.
• Do not leave and reenter the classroom unless it is absolutely necessary.

If you are in a meeting at work, you will be expected to give your full attention to the meeting and your co-workers will not expect to be interrupted or distracted by your electronic devices.

• Turn off all electronic devices except computers, if appropriate, when entering a classroom. Set your mobile device to vibrate and leave it turned upside down on your desk.
• Do not use any electronic device for anything other than what is related to the class you are attending at the time you are attending it.
• Do not make/answer calls or text message during class (if it is necessary for you to take an emergency call, tell the instructor if there is a problem before class begins and leave the room to take the call).

In order to work as an effective team member, you will need to respect the people with whom you work.

• Address instructors with the title “Dr.” or “Professor”, appropriate to their qualifications.
• Demonstrate the kind of behavior toward your classmates that you expect to demonstrate to your co-workers.
• Complete the portion of any team assignment you have agreed to accomplish.
• Develop the skill of respectful disagreement and logical argument.

The workplace will have nonnegotiable deadlines.

• Assume that the due date and time for an assignment is as important as the due date/time for a workplace report.
• Assume that the date and time assigned for your presentation is as essential as a due date/time for a presentation to a client.

As an adult, you are responsible for the details that accompany your work products.

• Present homework assignments in the required format.
• Do not assume the instructor will provide staples, paper, folders, printing services or any other material required for your final work product.
• On the day of an exam, bring pencils, calculators, and everything you will appropriately need to complete the exam.

In the workplace, you are expected to edit written documents for correct word choice, grammar, sentence structure and spelling.

• Do not expect to be able to prepare a written assignment without allowing ample time for review and revision. You should put all written assignments through several drafts, writing and rewriting over a period of time, before you consider them prepared in a professional manner for submission to your instructor.

E-mail is a means of professional communication.

• Write e-mails to instructors and students in a professional format. Do not write in the same shorthand used in text messages. Language should be gracious and polite.
• Address the recipient by name.
• Use grammatically correct sentences.
• Check your spelling.
• Sign your complete name.
• Include the title and section of the course, if appropriate.

Improper dress is distracting in the workplace.

• When you are attending class and, most importantly, when you are giving a presentation, your attire should not be revealing or offensive. Dress appropriately.

The organizations for which you want to work will expect and promote ethical behavior.

• Ensure that your work is indeed YOUR work. Do not plagiarize from written or electronic sources. Do not use the work of others with the intent to present it as your own.

Even when you are in an entry-level position, colleagues and supervisors expect that your previous experience and education will influence your ability and potential to perform on the job. You will be responsible for your own learning.

• Take ownership of concepts learned in previous courses and be prepared to apply them to current coursework.
• Acknowledge that your effort to acquire your previous academic skills (e.g. your writing and math skills) will affect your performance in many of your courses.