The real PITA: Professional Acronyms
Did you realise it’s nearly EOW? It seems acronyms such as End Of the Week are now fully accepted office jargon.
How lazy and thoughtless is it to write and talk in acronyms? English doesn’t seem to be the same language as it was or am I becoming a dinosaur? Abbreviating what is said and written seems to be more and more the norm. Why does ‘text speak’ have to be part of communication?
- Image by tuchodi via Flickr
Working with companies and individuals, focusing on recruitment and selection, I am constantly amazed at the number of abbreviations included in advertisements, job specifications and CVs. Not knowing what they are becomes instantly annoying. If you want to attract candidates, make an impact, have a presence in both formal and informal situations or apply for an opening you need to be able to not only understand what is being said but be able to add and contribute to the dialogue practically and on paper.
Of course HR itself is an acronym for Human Resources [what happened to personnel?] and we are often subject to the TLA and called HCM and within this sector we have more than our fair share of ‘specials’ from professional qualifications, role descriptions and specialist procedures. Using my institute’s credentials alongside my name validates my commitment to personal and professional development of myself and the HR profession as a whole. But do you recognise what MCIPD means? We encourage good management with SWOT analysis and SMART objectives, suggest that interviews and discussions are WASP run. Where will it end?
Suzanne Peck, chairman of Communicators in Business (CiB) agrees. “Business jargon is a good disguise for a bad message,” she said.
“Jargon is deliberately vague and the danger is that if it is overused, it becomes a habit and sends the signal that ‘this is an exclusive club and if you don’t understand the discussion, you can’t play’.”
CiB lays the blame largely at the door of business consultants and the US. “The first time you hear some of these words, you do think they are quite clever, but they soon become an excuse for lazy communications,” she added.
Office Angels say that the top five most commonly used and least understood acronyms are:
YOYO – You’re On Your own
EOD – End of Discussion
KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid
CWOT – Complete Waste Of Time
BTDT – Been There Done That
So here are a few that I have come across which strike a chord with me:
B2B – Business to Business (companies that sell to other companies, like Oracle)
B2C – Business to Consumer (companies that sell to individuals, like GAP)
BCC – Blind carbon copy
CAD – Computer Aided Design (tools and software used by engineers and architects to design)
CEO – Chief Executive Officer (the big boss)
CFO – Chief Financial Officer (head of the finance)
CMO – Chief Marketing Officer (head of marketing)
COO – Chief Operating Officer (head of operations)
CRM – Customer Relationship Management (a system to capture, analyze and store customer information in order to manage clients efficiently)
CTO – Chief Technology Officer (responsible for the tech side)
DDA – Disability Discrimination Act
DPA – Data Protection Act
ER – Employee Relations
ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning
ERP – Enterprise Resources Planning (a system that integrates all the data from an organization into a single location)
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
FIFO – First In, First Out (used both in computer programs and accounting; it determines that what comes first is handled first)
GOQ – Genuine Occupational Qualification (relevant for sex and race discrimination acts)
ICT – Information and Communications Technology (term used to encompass the fields related to IT and electronic communications)
KISS – Keep it short and simple
KSAO – Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Other Characteristics
LIFO – Last In, First Out (used both in computer programs and accounting; it determines that what comes last is handled first)
LWOP – Leave Without Pay
MIS – Management Information Systems
NDA – Non-Disclosure Agreement (a contract between two parties to secure the confidentiality of information)
P&L – Profit and Loss (also called Income Statement, is an accounting report used to outline how revenues are transformed into profits)
POS – Point of Sale (a checkout point in retail stores, or the hardware behind it)
RFP – Request For Proposal (an invitation for suppliers to bid on a specific task or service)
ROI – Return On Investment (ratio of money earned relative to total money invested)
ROS – Return On Sales (ratio of money earned relative to total sales)
SOHO – Small Office/Home Office (refers to small or home office environments)
TQM – Total Quality Management (a management strategy to raise the awareness of the whole organization towards quality)
VC – Venture Capital (a form of financing where the owners give up part of the ownership)
Let me know what others you would add, I WLTM like minded souls. QED
Lynn Tulip Chartered MCIPD, PgDip Guidance & Assessment
HR & Career Management Consultant
http://assessment4potential.tel/
About Sarah ArrowSarah Arrow is the managing editor of Birds on the Blog, in real life she is the communications director of a same day courier service. She is an enthusiastic UK based pro-blogger and co- author of the soon to be published Zero to Blogger
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16 Responses to The real PITA: Professional Acronyms
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Fantastic blog Lynn! I was horrified to discover I know most of those acronyms, and even more horrified to recognise that I frequently use many of them.
Some of it is laziness, but often it’s a time saving device if used with other people who are familiar with the same acronyms (eg it’s quicker to say “DDA” than “the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, amended in 2005″). I can see how they could be used to exclude people not familiar with them ‘tho. Must check I don’t do that.
Twitter: evenbreak
Fantastic blog Lynn! I was horrified to discover I know most of those acronyms, and even more horrified to recognise that I frequently use many of them.
Some of it is laziness, but often it’s a time saving device if used with other people who are familiar with the same acronyms (eg it’s quicker to say “DDA” than “the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, amended in 2005″). I can see how they could be used to exclude people not familiar with them ‘tho. Must check I don’t do that.
Twitter: evenbreak
I do quite a lot of voluntary work within the NHS (National Health Service!) and when it comes to initials and acronyms, they make the business world look like beginners. I’ve been doing this now for over three years and I still need to carry an NHS jargon dictionary around with me. I suspect that we’d find it’s very similar across most public sector activities.
Perhaps job specifications these days should state that prospective candidates must speak fluent NHS, Westminster, Whitehall, Education, etc…
Twitter: SuzeStMWrites
I do quite a lot of voluntary work within the NHS (National Health Service!) and when it comes to initials and acronyms, they make the business world look like beginners. I’ve been doing this now for over three years and I still need to carry an NHS jargon dictionary around with me. I suspect that we’d find it’s very similar across most public sector activities.
Perhaps job specifications these days should state that prospective candidates must speak fluent NHS, Westminster, Whitehall, Education, etc…
Twitter: SuzeStMWrites
Is it just the public sector that has loads of these? or all industries? and would CVs look better with a column for Jargon spoken?
I now speak fluent courier…
I think I’ve probably spoken double dutch when the need has arisen… so can probably accommodate courier-speak
…
Twitter: Linda_Mattacks
Is it just the public sector that has loads of these? or all industries? and would CVs look better with a column for Jargon spoken?
I now speak fluent courier…
I think I’ve probably spoken double dutch when the need has arisen… so can probably accommodate courier-speak
…
Twitter: Linda_Mattacks
Hi Lynn
SMEs: Small and Medium sized Enterprises
Its from the DTI: Department of Trade and Industry
And rough figures from this source state that percentages of business in the UK break down as:
70% – Sole traders – 0 employees
25% – Micros – 1 – 9 employees
4% – Small businesses – 10 – 49 employees
0.2% – Medium – 50 – 249 employees
0.8% – Large – 250+ employees
Now this SME combination has always flummoxed me because:
a) Although its bandied about all over the place, together they account for less than 5% of businesses – so why so much media attention unless they have a disproportionate effect on the economy?
b) I could probably see more potential similarities in medium and large companies than I ever could in small and medium ones – any thoughts?
Twitter: Linda_Mattacks
Hi Lynn
SMEs: Small and Medium sized Enterprises
Its from the DTI: Department of Trade and Industry
And rough figures from this source state that percentages of business in the UK break down as:
70% – Sole traders – 0 employees
25% – Micros – 1 – 9 employees
4% – Small businesses – 10 – 49 employees
0.2% – Medium – 50 – 249 employees
0.8% – Large – 250+ employees
Now this SME combination has always flummoxed me because:
a) Although its bandied about all over the place, together they account for less than 5% of businesses – so why so much media attention unless they have a disproportionate effect on the economy?
b) I could probably see more potential similarities in medium and large companies than I ever could in small and medium ones – any thoughts?
Twitter: Linda_Mattacks
That reminded me of the commedy THIN BLUE LINE!
I dislike acronyms with a passion! It is as you say a very lazy of communication! But on the other hand if something is a mouthful and difficult to pronounce acronyms come in handy.
Did you hear one of the presenters on Radio 4 this morning trying to pronounce a name of a dinosaur.
My other pet hate are emails written in text message language
Twitter: ethnicsupplies
That reminded me of the commedy THIN BLUE LINE!
I dislike acronyms with a passion! It is as you say a very lazy of communication! But on the other hand if something is a mouthful and difficult to pronounce acronyms come in handy.
Did you hear one of the presenters on Radio 4 this morning trying to pronounce a name of a dinosaur.
My other pet hate are emails written in text message language
Twitter: ethnicsupplies
Yes, Ethnicsupplies, I too loathe the completely unnecessary increase in the use of text speak in emails. I can’t even bear text speak in texts. My brother in law says it is to save a text going on to a second message page, but as I’ve never had a text more than two lines long from him, I don’t believe that for a moment.
My 14 year old niece and friends tells me it is “computer speak” – ie, they think it is cool. My great fear is that they will all grow up illiterate because they have no idea how to use English correctly.
Yes, Ethnicsupplies, I too loathe the completely unnecessary increase in the use of text speak in emails. I can’t even bear text speak in texts. My brother in law says it is to save a text going on to a second message page, but as I’ve never had a text more than two lines long from him, I don’t believe that for a moment.
My 14 year old niece and friends tells me it is “computer speak” – ie, they think it is cool. My great fear is that they will all grow up illiterate because they have no idea how to use English correctly.
Oh, and in my days as a trainer, I used to break the rules all the time. We had a practice management system where all menus broke down in a similar way, and in the training course the trainees were supposed to practise eg setting up a contact, processing time and expenses, deleting a project etc by following various exercises.
I didn’t bother with going through each (almost identical) task in turn. I simply wrote RTFS on the screen and forced them to think for themselves.
It worked, and they were all much better at using the software as a result.
PS For those who don’t know, the sanitised version of RTFS = Read The Flipping Screen.
Oh, and in my days as a trainer, I used to break the rules all the time. We had a practice management system where all menus broke down in a similar way, and in the training course the trainees were supposed to practise eg setting up a contact, processing time and expenses, deleting a project etc by following various exercises.
I didn’t bother with going through each (almost identical) task in turn. I simply wrote RTFS on the screen and forced them to think for themselves.
It worked, and they were all much better at using the software as a result.
PS For those who don’t know, the sanitised version of RTFS = Read The Flipping Screen.