风流校长张斌和唐小燕:Common Corporate Jargon 公司俚语（双语阅读）

Common Corporate Jargon

你可以通过“thinking outside the box”（创造性思考）来“hit the ground running”（积极着手）。不要用无创意的或平常的方式来思考。企业通常想通过“streamlining”（简化）他们的操作来“reinvent”（重新包装）他们的产品以提高效率，甚至是“cannibalise”（拆用配件），并从他们的产品中拿走市场份额。

通常人们会打听“return on investment”（投资回报）或是“bang for your buck”（货真价实），你需要给他们“a ballpark figure”（一个大概的数字）— 一个预估的价值或是美元数量。

同样流行的是“bean counters”（精打细算的人），想要“on the cheap”（廉价）或“at a low cost”（低成本）经商的会计人员的贬义说法 — 是没有你的“expense accounts”（费用账目）的！“The big enchilada”（重要人士）暗指一个重要的人或老板（但是从来没有公开过！）。也许你的公司是和独资所有人的“a one man show”（一场独角戏）。如果有人据说是下定决心做某事，他们会相信“the big enchilada”（重要人士）说的事情。

你可能会在办公室周围听到“Let’s get down to brass tacks”（让我们着手处理实质问题吧）。人们在谈论基本的企业惯例或原材料时会说：“We need to get back to brass tacks”（我们需要回到实质性问题上）。同样常见的是“best practice”（最佳实践），指的是程序和政策实现最有效！

员工中最大的抱怨是“a lot on my plate”（手上有很多事情）或是很多工作要做。不幸地是，有些人“cook the books”（造假账），进行欺炸或者做假的公司记录。保持“above board”（光明正大）总是最好的。只要“bite the bullet”（咬紧牙关）或“face the music”（直面困难），并承担你的义务，不管它是多么的糟糕！

“flavour of the month”（时下的风云人物）是最近人们追随的流行时尚或趋势。如果一个同事“blows hot and cold”（摇摆不定），他们会频繁地改变想法。如果“the big enchilada”（重要人士）采取“carrot and stick approach”（软硬兼施），他们会通过提供报酬鼓励员工采取行动。

也许一个“is flush”（富裕的）员工（有很多钱）也是“a flight risk”“一个有潜逃危险的人” — 正在考虑辞职的人！

Common Corporate Jargon

You can ‘hit the ground running’ by ‘thinking outside the box’. Don’t think in obvious or typical ways. Businesses often want to ‘reinvent’ their products by ‘streamlining’ their operations or even to ‘cannibalise’ and take market share away from their own products.

Often people ask about ‘return on investment’ or ‘bang for your buck’. You need to give them ‘a ballpark figure’ – an estimated value or dollar amount.

Also popular is ‘bean counters’, the derogatory term for accountants who want to do business ‘on the cheap’ or at a low cost’ – No ‘expense accounts’ for you! ‘The big enchilada’ implies an important person or boss (but never to their face!). Perhaps your company is ‘a one man show’ with a single proprietor. If someone is said to be ‘drinking the Kool-Aid’, they trust in things offered by ‘the big enchilada’.

You may hear the phrase ‘Let’s get down to brass tacks’ around the office. People are talking about fundamental business practices or raw materials: ‘We need to get back to brass tacks’. Also common is ‘best practice’ which refers to procedures and policies that have shown to be the most effective!

The biggest complaint among employees is having ‘a lot on my plate’ or lots of work. Unfortunately, some people ‘cook the books’, making fraudulent or false company records. It is always best stay ‘above board’. Just ‘bite the bullet’ or ‘face the music’ and accept your responsibility, no matter how bad it may be!

The ‘flavour of the month’ is the most recent fad or trend that people are following. If a colleague ‘blows hot and cold’, they frequently change their mind. If ‘the big enchilada’ follows the ‘carrot and stick approach’, they encourage employees to take action by offering reward.

Perhaps an employee who ‘is flush’ (has lots of money) is also ‘a flight risk’ – one who is thinking of quitting!