Is this clash still valid?
In Britain, a formal boss adresses his secretery, called Kate Smith, as Miss/Mrs Smith.
In some formal settings this takes place but I wouldn't say it is universal. It is somewhat generational and just depends on the place of work and who is around. Some bosses will address their subordinates by their first name while they in turn are expected to address the boss as Mr. (Surname) or Ms/Mrs (Surname). This protocol establishes and maintains a power relationship of who is in charge and who follows. In the presence of clients or visitors the boss may or may not use the first names of subordinates. Sometimes both. For example, you may hear a boss say something like "Mr. Pawian, thank you for stopping by, my secretary Miss Smith will show you out. And then within a moment he will pick up the phone and say "Kate, please show Mr. Pawian the way out."
Of course, when the boss isn't around, the staff will refer to him or her by their first name amongst each other (and usually accompanied by or substituted with a term of abuse).
It also depends on how large an organization is and how long people have been around. When people get promoted over others but stay in the same office or building most will still call each other by their first names. But it is more common today for people to dispense with formalities. Bosses are trained now to develop trust with their staff so they will insist on everyone including themselves addressing each other on a first name basis only. Sometimes in these settings when people get in trouble or can no longer stand working with each other they often revert to using Mr. (Surname) or Ms/Mrs (Surname) to establish distance and demonstrate that they don't want to play the fake social game of "we are a team and love each other very much here at work so lets call each other by our first names."
I heard that in parts of America (particularly the South) some blacks will address others in the workplace as "Miss Kate" (even if she is married) or "Mr. Steve". It doesn't necessarily correspond to situations when a person has a long or difficult surname to pronounce. The usage appears to be an attempt to combine informality with a subtle showing of respect and is usually reserved for a direct supervisor or an older colleague or well known customer. However, some blacks do not approve of other blacks using this convention since they regarded it as self-subordinating and from a bygone era.
