The Agency for Cultural Affairs answers a common question about speaking to people outside the company. An employee may refer to a superior simply as Tanaka, or as buchō no Tanaka, the manager, Tanaka. To say Tanaka buchō, Manager Tanaka, is inappropriate, because it does not treat the manager as a member of one’s own side. In a formal setting, the employee can also say heisha no buchō, our company’s manager.
Verbs change in the same way. Inside the company, an employee says that the president osshatte imashita, using a respectful verb for “said.” To people outside, the employee says that the president mōshite orimashita, using a humble verb.