“No Sir!!! Please ……”
It all restarted with our recent client visit. The client pointed out the “Sir” culture in Aufait. It was followed as a practice in Aufait that subordinates addressing superiors with “Sir”. Probably it has something to do with the Keralites’ culture.
“sir” definitions
I did a quick research on “Sir”. Below are the findings.
what wikipedia says (ref)
Sir is an honorific used as a title (see Knight) and in several other modern contexts.
It was once used (without the person’s name) as a courtesy title among equals, but in common usage it is now usually reserved for one of superior rank or status, such as an educator or commanding officer, or in age (especially by a minor); as a form of address from a merchant to a customer; in formal correspondence (Dear Sir, Right Reverend Sir); or to a stranger (Sir, you’ve dropped your hat).
The equivalent for a woman when used as a term of address is “madam” or “ma’am”.
what etymology says (ref)
1297, title of honor of a knight or baronet (until 17c. also a title of priests), variant of sire, originally used only in unstressed position. Generalized as a respectful form of address by c.1350; used as a salutation at the beginning of letters from 1425.
what yahoo answers suggest(ref)
Speaking from a strict traditional etiquette standpoint:
Anyone MALE you want to treat with respect you call “sir.”"Miss” and “Ma’am” are non age-specific. “Miss” is for NON-married women and “Ma’am” is for MARRIED women.There is no difference between Madam and Ma’am. (Unless you’re in a whorehouse - then the Madame is the owner of the establishment.)”Mister” has become the catch-all term for men. 100 years ago MASTER = MISS and MISTER = MA’AM but no one uses Master anymore, particularly not in the USA.The only time it would be appropriate to address a single female as “Ma’am” would be if you are in some branch of the military and she is your superior officer. In that case, even though she’s female, “Sir” would also be appropriate.
our HR chips in
To put a full stop to this culture our HR introduced a new rule. Any staff addressing superior with “sir” has to pay a fine of Rs.10/- and it was brought into effect immediately.
the scoreboard after day one
The outcome of first day was really interesting. The highlight of the day was Nisha’s whirl wind knock. She did a “Yuvraj” and top scored with 80 not out(supported by some excessive appealing and controversial umpiring decisions) but missed out the century narrowly. Team members Jaichand, Ashik and Bijeesh contributed well with a score of 20 each.Final score for day one reads 190 for no loss in 8 hours. Looking for a better performance on coming days.
STATUTORY WARNING : CALLING ‘SIR’ (OR SIMILAR WORDS ‘ETTAN’ AND ‘IKKA’) IN AUFAIT MAY CAUSE LOSS OF MONEY FOR THE EMPLOYEES.MANAGEMENT WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY CONSEQUENCES THERE AFTER.
Aufait team this looks interesting to us. There no more Sir calls in Aufait right?