As a writer, my intention is that readers will always understand my work, even if they don’t agree with it. I have, therefore, never been a great fan of "management speak" or business jargon. It causes confusion and misunderstanding among those outside the charmed circle of initiates.
A few days ago, I read a newspaper report about an investigation in my other home, Jersey, into the death of an inpatient in one of the island's medical centres. A sufferer from severe anxiety and depression, he was found dead in his room. An inquest was held to establish the cause and circumstances of his death and also, according to the report, "to see if any lessons needed to be learnt".
There were plenty of lessons learnt, although they need not concern us here. I was struck, though, by words used by a local health professional that were quoted in the report: “Staff also now hold safety huddles on the ward three times a day. This ensures that any factor that could impact patient safety … is shared, discussed and documented.”
“Impact patient safety”? Presumably that means any factors that could have, in particular, a negative effect. Why not say so? A quick look at the dictionary tells me that impact is generally a noun, with use of the word as a verb being mainly confined to American English. As a verb, in my view, it is not so specific in terms of its meaning.
I was more perturbed, though, by the term "safety huddles". Did this mean people coming together in huddles for their safety? Or to discuss safety issues? In a medical facility at a time when social distancing is mandatory, because of the Covid-19 virus? As a friend commented on social media: “Safety Huddles in the middle of a pandemic? I hate this cavalier attitude to life, Mr H.”
In fact, as my friend knew, and I discovered, thanks to an internet search, the term is a jargonistic alternative for “safety briefing”. That is easily understood by everyone. Hence my reply: “Why use jargon, instead of terms that ordinary people can understand? Plain simple English, please!”
Surely there must have been another way of putting it
Such use of "management speak" has been spreading for years, despite the efforts of organisations like the Plain English Campaign. Nor is this a problem confined merely to business life. Similar issues can be found in the language used across the world by governments, lawyers and in many professions.
The sentence that follows is taken from a 30-year old British government legal document: "References in these regulations to a regulation are references to a regulation in these regulations and references to a schedule are references to a schedule to these regulations."
If read carefully, perhaps more than once, it is possible to understand it but surely there must have been another way of putting it?
Back to management speak. According to an article on the Plain English Campaign, it believes that many people in big companies or organisations opt to make use of management speak to try to conceal the fact that they have not done their job properly. “Some people think that it is easy to bluff their way through by using long, impressive-sounding words and phrases, even if they don't know what they mean, which is telling in itself.”
I have certainly had some experience of that. A few years ago, an organisation with which I was involved was instructed to bring in some management consultants to give us some advice. The consultants, we discovered, had virtually no knowledge of the field in which we worked, but they wandered around, spoke to a few people and collected some of our internal documents.
In due course, they put together a lengthy report, full of the latest jargon. A colleague and I delved into it, trying to determine whether it contained anything of value. We scratched our heads, read it two or three times and tried to make some sense of it. Eventually, we realised that the consultants were presenting to us the same ideas and suggestions we had given them, but wrapped up and rewritten in management jargon, so that it sounded different. They had nothing to offer and had learnt nothing. So we paid their bill, and put the report on a shelf.
Is it too late, I wonder, to try to revive the idea that the simpler the language, the more easily it is understood? There are certainly a few commonly used phrases that could benefit from such an approach.
These days, for example, we often hear of how women are being "empowered". Empowered to do what? To manage? To take decisions? To have the authority either to act or to delegate responsibility for acting? "Empowerment" can cover all of those.
I have no idea if other languages have their own versions of management speak, though I suspect most do. It throws up smokescreens and obscures reality. Perhaps it is, indeed, too late to turn back the tide, but I am happy to continue complaining about it, even if, to mix my metaphors, I am a voice crying in the wilderness.
Peter Hellyer is a UAE cultural historian and columnist for The National
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Scores
Day 2
New Zealand 153 & 56-1
Pakistan 227
New Zealand trail by 18 runs with nine wickets remaining
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Women:
55kg brown-black belt: Amal Amjahid (BEL) bt Amanda Monteiro (BRA) via choke
62kg brown-black belt: Bianca Basilio (BRA) bt Ffion Davies (GBR) via referee’s decision (0-0, 2-2 adv)
70kg brown-black belt: Ana Carolina Vieira (BRA) bt Jessica Swanson (USA), 9-0
90kg brown-black belt: Angelica Galvao (USA) bt Marta Szarecka (POL) 8-2
Men:
62kg black belt: Joao Miyao (BRA) bt Wan Ki-chae (KOR), 7-2
69kg black belt: Paulo Miyao (BRA) bt Gianni Grippo (USA), 2-2 (1-0 adv)
77kg black belt: Espen Mathiesen (NOR) bt Jake Mackenzie (CAN)
85kg black belt: Isaque Braz (BRA) bt Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE), 2-0
94kg black belt: Felipe Pena (BRA) bt Adam Wardzinski (POL), 4-0
110kg black belt final: Erberth Santos (BRA) bt Lucio Rodrigues (GBR) via rear naked choke
UAE v IRELAND
All matches start at 10am, and will be played in Abu Dhabi
1st ODI, Friday, January 8
2nd ODI, Sunday, January 10
3rd ODI, Tuesday, January 12
4th ODI, Thursday, January 14
How Sputnik V works
RESULTS
5pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner Thabet Al Reef, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Blue Diamond, Pat Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6.30pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Shoja’A Muscat, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner Heros De Lagarde, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m
Winner Good Tidings, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
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Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Neymar's bio
Total club appearances 411
Total goals scored 241
Appearances for Barca 186
Goals scored for Barca 105
Scoreline
Saudi Arabia 1-0 Japan
Saudi Arabia Al Muwallad 63’
The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
Shooting Ghosts: A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War by Thomas J. Brennan and Finbarr O’Reilly
23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
How to come clean about financial infidelity
- Be honest and transparent: It is always better to own up than be found out. Tell your partner everything they want to know. Show remorse. Inform them of the extent of the situation so they know what they are dealing with.
- Work on yourself: Be honest with yourself and your partner and figure out why you did it. Don’t be ashamed to ask for professional help.
- Give it time: Like any breach of trust, it requires time to rebuild. So be consistent, communicate often and be patient with your partner and yourself.
- Discuss your financial situation regularly: Ensure your spouse is involved in financial matters and decisions. Your ability to consistently follow through with what you say you are going to do when it comes to money can make all the difference in your partner’s willingness to trust you again.
- Work on a plan to resolve the problem together: If there is a lot of debt, for example, create a budget and financial plan together and ensure your partner is fully informed, involved and supported.
Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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