(See related pages)
|
|
|
A big note of "thanks" to Dr. Folsom of the University of South Carolina - Aiken for developing the Business Jargon exercises. Language Used in American and Global Business Have you ever corresponded or had an in depth conversation with someone from another country about business? If you have, you probably struggled to make yourself understood. In the U.S., we tend to use an abundance of business jargon, non-standard English terms, phrases, or acronyms that quickly convey an idea or concept. Jargon works if the people we are communicating with know the meaning of these terms. Business jargon is colorful, useful, but also dangerous. It excludes people who are not familiar with the terms or phrases. It is also sometimes used by people to make themselves or their ideas sound important. In a recent survey of office workers in Britain, 35 percent said they deliberately use business jargon to show they are in control and therefore more credible! For example, consider the business buzzword generator below. Take the three underlined terms below, strategic, partnering alliance. Doesn't this sound important? But what does it mean? Take one term from each column and create your own business jargon. Could you explain the buzzword phrases you generated? Do this several times and say the phrase you create out loud. You will be amazed how important-sounding the business buzzwords you create will seem to be; yet they are meaningless or at best confusing.
Throughout your study of management, be aware of the prevalence of jargon in business. In each Part below, we created sentences with jargon commonly used in American business. Change each underlined term or phrase into standard English that your global business customer or associate would be more likely to understand. Then click on the term or phrase to see its meaning. |