Ties are part of the traditional business uniform. Since so much of business is sales of some sort (even if only selling yourself internally), it is logical to conform to societal and business norms in such an environment.

One can go overboard trying to follow Molloy's [link|http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0446385522/002-9111084-6142456|Dress for Success] (e.g. fabrics change), but the general principles still stand.

Who looks like a better fit in a traditional business environment?

[image|http://www.photospin.com/content/photos/full/0550039.jpg|0|Man in suit|201|123] [image|http://paulkatcher.com/images/car_salesman.jpg|0|Man with no tie|201|160]

;-)

With all that said, wearing a tie these days isn't as standard as it was in the days when IBM people wore white shirts and black ties. And few things look stranger than a junior underling in a company wearing a tie or a suit every day when no one else short of senior management wears a tie. But I'd say if more than about 20% (maybe even 10%) of your peers wear ties, then you should too. (The devil's in how you define "peers".)

Cheers,
Scott.