Austria: First Name or Title?
From ExecutivePlanet.com
Addressing others with respect
It is most unlikely that an Austrian will ever address you by your first name unless you become extremely well acquainted outside the office and you should follow suit by using the courtesy titles Herr ['Mr'], Frau ['Mrs'] or Fräulein ['Miss'] followed by the surname until invited to do otherwise. The use of first names is a sign of intimacy and social or professional equality and you should not presume to undermine an elaborate system of mutual respect by suggesting to an elder or superior that you might adopt informal Anglo-Saxon practice. An Austrian businessman will introduce himself with his surname only and the appearance of his first name on his business card is not a signal to start using it.
By extension, if you speak German, you should use the polite form Sie and not the informal du.
There is no equivalent of 'Ms' in German; so, as in many other European languages, there is a growing tendency to use Frau as a mark of respect for a woman's professional standing regardless of her marital status and to restrict the use of Fräulein to girls and young women. Similarly it is old-fashioned and increasingly unacceptable to address waitresses as Fräulein, even though many older Austrians persist in the habit.
Moreover it is considered rude to refer to a third person even in their absence by his or her surname alone.
The protocol for letters, faxes, and even e-mails is also strictly formal.
Status and hierarchy are an important part of all Austrian culture. Austrians are very title-conscious. If someone holds academic or professional qualifications conferring the title of professor, doctor, or lawyer, for example, you should be sure to address that person using both the equivalent of 'Mr' etc. and the person's title plus his or her last name. Thus, the appropriate way to address an Austrian professor would be Herr Professor Schmidt. During subsequent conversations with Herr Professor Schmidt, you should maintain formality by continuing to use the title of professor preceded by Herr, but at this point you may drop his last name and simply address him as Herr Professor. Even those with just a university degree are likely to style themselves Herr or Frau Magister. The title Herr or Frau Ingenieur is so common in Austria that graduate Ingenieure stress their superiority by insisting on their full title of Herr or Frau Diplom-Ingenieur.
In Austrian business the titles Herr Doktor and Herr Diplom Ingenieur are especially widespread. Another common practice is to refer to senior managers by his or her job description, e.g. Frau Finanzdirektorin, Frau Geschäftsführerin, etc. or some honorific title such as Herr Kommerzialrat.
Occasionally you may encounter highly qualified and/or much honoured Austrians with several titles, in which case all should be used, at least at the outset and in writing, eg. Herr Professor Doktor Schmidt.The rules of precedence for such an array of titles may seem obscure to a foreigner but the correct order will be made clear on a business card, letterhead etc. It is not unknown to find oneself in the company of a professor with three doctorates, which can be something of a mouthful.
Even when Austrians are on first-name terms with someone in private, it is still standard practice to maintain the formal niceties at work [if only in front of other members of staff, both junior and senior].
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