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........throughout the English speaking world, this form of English is spoken in boardrooms globally and universally understood by no-one. Or at least, while each word may be comprehensible, whole sentences convey little.
I think anyone who's ever worked in an office will recognize most of these.
Thinking outside of the box
Paradigm shift
Pushing the envelope
Being pro-active
Streamlining
Downsizing
Ball park figures
Touching base
Price hikes
Mission statement
Best practice
Trailblazer
Value added
Syndicate a decision
Up- and-comer
High-flier
Team-player
Get-up-and -go
I once spent an hour and a half in a meeting, listening to some wankers try to define the meaning of the new buzzword "value-added" and how they could apply it to their business.
What are your views- Is management speak a revolution or just an evolution of the English language?
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Hehe, in one of my jobs I worked with a guy who consistently said "I just wanted to touch base with you..." Something about the phrase irritated me, especially because he said it so often.
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I pretty much agree. "Ball park figure" is an old figure of speech meaning an 'estimate'. However the other words are all relatively recent. I don't recall hearing "Pro-active" before the mid-1990's. It sounds very double-speakish; very Orwellian and I first heard it used by one of my bosses who said she wanted me to be "pro-active" about looking for another employer (Fortunately, I got a transfer just in time so that settled that problem).
I think that most of these words will probably be obsolete or near-obsolete thirty years from now. They could be replaced by a new battery of words just as bad, but hopefully labor will have rebounded by that time and management will be a little less important in our culture.
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<<Thinking outside of the box
Being pro-active>>
I hear these 2 terms uttered so often by upper management that I'm ready to kill the next one who says it. Grrrr!
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I think we can all unterstand what "price hikes" are -- without ever having spent any time in the company boardroom (at least while the board was in session).
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I hear "reach out" a lot where I work, used to describe contacting either another manager or a lead for employment.
"Well, we'll reach out to him and get his team on this."
"Yes, I received your résumé. The hiring manager should be reaching out to you in the near future."
...it irks me.
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Kudos to Rick for creating an interesting thread, by the way.
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The overuse of buzzwords by a manager is a sign of low intelligence.
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And that manager probably can't spell very well.
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A lot of jobs seem to ask or "can do" people, I'm still waiting to see the job ad asking for "can't do" people. Also "championing a cause" seems to be a popular expression.
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Team player = ass kisser!
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