2008年ESL之商务英语 08 A Management Dispute

 

 

08 A Management Dispute

GLOSSARY

management dispute – a disagreement among a company’s leaders about howthe company should be run* The company is having a big management dispute over whether it should openoffices in other countries.

subsidiary – a company that is owned by a larger company* Does that company have any subsidiaries in the Southern United States?

business philosophy – a broad idea about how a business should be run andhow a company should be managed* Andy’s business philosophy is based on the idea that employees should beactive participants in corporate decision-making.

to settle – to solve; to resolve; to bring an end to a problem; to reach agreementon something* The two drunk men tried to settle their argument with a fight.

hostility – feelings of anger, aggression, and unfriendliness* Ileana shows so much hostility toward her son-in-law that he never wants tocome visit.

departure – the act of leaving a company, either because one was fired orbecause one no longer wants to work there* The vice-president’s departure left everyone feeling nervous about how thecompany was going to continue without him.

bad press – negative publicity; negative stories about a company or person inthe media, such as newspapers, magazines, or television* The shipping company received a lot of bad press when oil leaked from its shipinto the ocean.

confidentiality agreement – a legal contract, usually between an employer andan employee, in which an individual agrees not to share secret information* You have to sign a confidentiality agreement before you can begin working at anuclear power plant.

disgruntled – upset and unhappy; displeased with something* The students are disgruntled because the professor didn’t give them anyadvance notice about the exam today.

to get caught in the crossfire – to become involved in a situation where two ormore people are arguing or fighting about something that often doesn’t really concern oneself* Small children often get caught in the crossfire when their parents argue.

to keep a low profile – to remain quiet and do one’s job without drawingattention to oneself; to not be the center of attention* Wally is always trying to get people’s attention, but his brother prefers to keep alow profile, staying quiet and not doing anything that other people would take aninterest in.

to blow over – to pass; for a problem to end quietly so that people can move onas if it had never happened* The couple had a huge fight last weekend. Do you think they’ll break up, or willit blow over?

mediator – a person whose job is to end a fight or argument between two ormore people or organizations and help them find a satisfactory solution* The two homeowners hired a mediator to help them decide who should pay forthe damage caused when one neighbor’s tree fell during the storm.

incompatible – so different that they cannot function well together; impossible towork together; unable to exist in the same place and time* They decided to get a divorce, because their interests had becomeincompatible.

to meet in the middle – to compromise; to reach an agreement where eachperson gives up something that he or she originally wanted* Olaf wanted to buy a four-bedroom home, but his wife wanted only a twobedroom home.  They met in the middle and bought a three-bedroom home.

a snowball’s chance in hell – an expression used to show that something is very unlikely; an expression used to show that something probably will nothappen, just like a snowball could not exist in hell because the hot temperatures would melt it* Houses are so expensive!  There’s a snowball’s chance in hell that I’ll ever beable to buy a home.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS1.  What would happen if Jeannie were to “get caught in the crossfire”?

a)  She would be unable to work as normal because of the dispute.

b)  She would need to change her business philosophy.

c)  She would have more bad press and confidentiality agreements.

2.  What will happen if the two mangers “meet in the middle”?

a)  They’ll have a meeting somewhere between the two locations.

b)  They’ll agree on the company’s future direction and business philosophy.

c)  They’ll keep a low profile until things blow over.

______________WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to settleThe verb “to settle,” in this podcast, means to solve or bring an end to a problem:

“Have you ever settled an argument by playing cards?”  The verb “to settle” alsomeans for a group of people to begin living in an area where there aren’t any other people: “In what year did European Americans begin settling in California?” The phrase “to settle down” means to start living a calm, normal life, often gettingmarried and buying a home: “I don’t think Jamie is ready to settle down and getmarried yet.  She needs a few more years to enjoy being single.”  The phrase “tosettle down” can also mean to calm down and become quiet: “Children, pleasesettle down so that we can listen to the story.”

to blow overIn this podcast, the phrase “to blow over” means for a problem to end quietly sothat people can move on as if it had never happened: “I think their argument willblow over in a couple of days.”  The phrase “to blow (something) up” means tomake something explode: “The planes dropped bombs to blow up the military base.”  The phrase “to blow up at (someone)” means to become very angry withsomeone very quickly: “Nancy blew up at her husband for coming home late, andthen apologized later.”  Finally, the phrase “to blow (something) off” means todecide not to do something that one was scheduled to do: “We were supposed togo to the conference last week, but we decided to blow it off and rest for a fewdays instead.”

CULTURE NOTEBusinesses are often “prone” (likely) to have “conflicts” (arguments anddisagreements).  Managers try to settle those conflicts “on their own” (withoutoutside help), but if they are unable to do so, they often hire business mediators. These are professionals who are trained and experienced in settling conflicts. Mediators listen to both parties’ “concerns” (worries) and try to help them find a“compromise” (a solution that both parties are comfortable with, even though itisn’t what either party wanted originally).

As in this podcast, many conflicts are caused by differences of opinion regardingthe direction that a business should take.  Mediators are “unbiased” (without anopinion) on these issues, so they are able to listen to each party’s “perspective”

(point of view) without “judging” (deciding whether something is good or bad)them.  This makes it easier for everyone to find a fair compromise.

Mediators are also used when there are “mergers and acquisitions” (whencompanies buy each other), which often result in conflict between the old staffand the new staff.  “Family-owned businesses,” where a single family owns andoperates a business, often use mediators.  In these businesses, the conflicts that“arise” (appear) are based not only on different business philosophies, but alsofamily relationships.

Mediators are also “called in” (asked to come to a place and participate in asituation) by “human resources” (a division that selects and hires employees andtries to keep them happy at work).  For example, if there is a conflict between anemployee and his or her “supervisor” (the person to whom an employee reports),and if the company cannot settle it internally, it may ask a professional business mediator for guidance.

______________Comprehension Questions Correct Answers:  1 – a; 2 – b

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPTWelcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 360: AManagement Dispute.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 360.  I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

To take full advantage – to get the most out of this podcast episode, go to ourwebsite eslpod.com and download a Learning Guide for this episode.  TheLearning Guide is an 8 to 10 page PDF file that contains all of the vocabulary,definitions, sample sentences, additional definitions, cultural notes, and acomplete transcript of this entire episode – every word we say.  That’s ateslpod.com.

This episode is called “A Management Dispute.”  A “dispute” is a disagreement. We’re going to listen to a dialogue between Jeannie and Salih about a problem attheir company – at their work regarding the “management,” or the people whoare the bosses.  Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Jeannie:  Have you heard about the new management dispute?

Salih:  No, what’s happening?

Jeannie:  Well, the CEO is having problems with the head of one of thesubsidiaries.

Salih:  Which one?

Jeannie:  Lance Publishing.  Apparently, the head, Bill Riker, is saying that heand the CEO differ too much in their business philosophy and they can’t agree ona future direction for the company.

Salih:  I really hope they can settle their dispute soon.  It doesn’t do anybody anygood to have so much hostility in the office.

Jeannie:  I hope so, too.  This company can’t afford to have another high-leveldeparture.  We’ve lost so many good people already this past year.

Salih:  We’ve had a lot of bad press, that’s for sure.  It doesn’t matter that ouremployment contracts have confidentiality agreements.  When somebody is disgruntled, they talk, and they talk loudly and to whomever will listen. Jeannie:  You’ve got that right.  I just hope none of us gets caught in thecrossfire.  I deal with people at Lance Publishing every week.

Salih:  I’m with you.  I’m keeping a low profile and hoping that the whole thing willblow over soon.  What the CEO and the head of Lance Publishing need is a goodmediator who can find some way for two incompatible personalities to meet in themiddle.

Jeannie:  What do you think the chances are of that happening?

Salih:  Quite frankly, knowing the people involved, I think it has a snowball’s chance in hell!

[end of dialogue]

Jeannie begins our conversation by saying to Salih, “Have you heard about thenew management dispute,” the new disagreement among the leaders of ourcompany.  Salih said, “No, what’s happening?”  Jeannie says, “Well, the CEO(the chief executive officer, one of the highest people in the company) is havingproblems with the head of one of the subsidiaries.”  The “head” would be theleader, the boss.  A “subsidiary” is a company that is owned by a largercompany.  So, one company buys another company, that smaller company is called the “subsidiary.”

Salih asks, “Which one,” meaning which subsidiary.  Jeannie says, “LancePublishing.  Apparently, the head, Bill Riker, is saying that he and the CEO differtoo much in their business philosophy.”  “To differ” means to disagree: “We differabout who will win the election this year” – we have different opinions.  “Business philosophy,” here, just means your idea about how a business should operate,how it should be managed, how it should be run.

Salih says, “I really hope they can settle their dispute soon.”  “To settle” means tosolve, in this case, to resolve, to bring an end to a problem.  There are severalmeanings of that word, “settle.”  Take a look at our Learning Guide for someadditional explanations.  Salih says, “It doesn’t do anybody any good to have somuch hostility in the office.”  “Hostility” is feelings of anger, when you areunfriendly to another person.  There is an adjective “hostile” (hostile), it means you are angry, or you don’t like another person and you’re unfriendly to them. Salih wants less hostility in the office.

Jeannie says, “I hope so, too.  This company can’t afford to have another highlevel departure.”  “Departure” comes from the verb “to depart,” which means toleave.  When you go to an airport in the United States, you will see a sign thatsays “arrivals,” and another sign that says “departures.”  Departures are theplanes that are leaving; arrivals are those that are coming to, or arriving to theairport.  What Jeannie is talking about here is that one of the bosses will leave;they will depart.  Jeannie doesn’t want another “high-level,” or important persondeparting from the company, she says, “We’ve lost so many good people already this year.”

Salih says, “We’ve had a lot of bad press, that’s for sure.”  “Press” refers to, inthis case, publicity, what other people are saying or writing about you in thenewspaper, in a magazine, on television, or on the radio.  That’s generally calledthe “press.”  So, “bad press” is bad publicity, bad stories, or negative news aboutyour company.

Salih says, “It doesn’t matter that our employment contracts have confidentiality agreements.”  The “employment contracts” are the agreements that they signwhen they become employees of the company.  A “confidentiality agreement” is a legal contract that is between an employer, the company, and an employee,the person working for the company, in which the employee agrees that he orshe will not give any secret information that they learn while working at thecompany to someone else.  So they’re saying I won’t tell anyone about yoursecrets.  We have many secrets here at the Center for Educational Development;I can’t tell you because I signed a confidentiality agreement.  I’m just kidding, wehave no secrets here – trust me!

Salih says, “When somebody is disgruntled, they talk, and they talk loudly and towhomever will listen.”  Salih is saying that although all of the employees sign aconfidentiality agreement, when someone is “disgruntled,” meaning whensomeone is upset or unhappy, they will talk to other people even though they arenot supposed to.  They’ll “talk loudly,” so other people can hear them, “and towhomever will listen,” to anyone who will listen to their story.

Jeannie says, “You’ve got that right,” which is a slightly informal way of sayingyou are correct.  “I just hope none of us gets caught in the crossfire.”  “To getcaught in the crossfire” means to become involved in a situation where there aretwo or more people arguing or fighting about something that doesn’t really concern you.  You are not someone who is directly involved, but because you are somehow in between these two people, you are involved in their argument eventhough you don’t want to be.  That’s “to be caught,” or “to get caught in thecrossfire.”  “I deal with people at Lance Publishing every week,” Jeannie says. So she’s afraid that she will get caught in the crossfire.

Salih says, “I’m with you.”  Again, a slightly informal way of saying I agree withyou.  “I’m with you.  I’m keeping a low profile and hoping that the whole thing willblow over soon.”  The expression “to keep a low profile” (profile) means to remainquiet and do your job without “drawing,” or attracting, attention to yourself.  Inother words, you don’t want people to notice you.  You want “to keep a lowprofile,” don’t do anything that would make other people know that you are thereor notice what you are doing.  Salih wants to keep a low profile because hehopes that the whole thing – this situation – “will blow over soon.”  “To blow over”

is a two-word phrasal verb meaning to end quietly so that people can continueworking as they were before, to pass, to no longer exist.  “To blow over” has acouple of different meanings; take a look at our Learning Guide for someadditional explanations.

Salih says, “What the CEO and the head of Lance Publishing need is a goodmediator.”  A “mediator” is a person whose job it is to end a fight or adisagreement between two people or two organizations.  Sometimes when twogroups cannot agree to something, they will ask a third person – a mediator – tocome in between them and help “negotiate,” or find a solution for their problem ordisagreement. Salih hopes that they can find “a good mediator who can find some way for twoincompatible personalities to meet in the middle.”  If you are “incompatible,” youare not compatible.  “To be compatible” means that you can get along withsomeone, that you and that person have similar ways of thinking or similarpersonalities.  “To be incompatible” means that you can’t get along with eachother.  Sometimes people will say they’re getting a divorce because they areincompatible with their wife or husband.  That happens here in Los Angelesevery day!

“To meet in the middle” means to compromise, to reach an agreement whereeach person gives up something that he or she wanted in order for you to cometo an agreement on something.  For example, if I say, “I will sell you my car for$1,000,” it’s an old car, and you say, “I’ll give you $500.”  I say, “Okay.  Well, let’s meet in the middle, $750.”  We both had to do something different than ouroriginal position in order to come to an agreement.

Jeannie then asks what “the chances are of that happening,” how possible is that?  Salih says, “Quite frankly (meaning honestly), knowing the people involved(since I know who the two people are, and considering that fact), I think it has asnowball’s chance in hell!”  This is an old expression.  “Snowballs” are roundballs made out of snow, which, of course, is cold.  “Hell” is a place, in theChristian religion at least, where you go if you are evil, where your soul will go ifyou are bad in this world.  After you die, you can either go to heaven, which is awonderful place, or hell, which is a terrible place.  Traditionally, hell has beenrepresented as being a place where there is fire, where it’s very hot.  So, ifsomeone says, “This has a snowball’s chance in hell,” they mean that it is very unlikely.  It is very improbable because a snowball, which is cold, would notsurvive in a hot place like hell – or Phoenix, Arizona in the summertime, which is very similar!

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.

[start of dialogue]

Jeannie:  Have you heard about the new management dispute?

Salih:  No, what’s happening?

Jeannie:  Well, the CEO is having problems with the head of one of thesubsidiaries.

Salih:  Which one?

Jeannie:  Lance Publishing.  Apparently, the head, Bill Riker, is saying that heand the CEO differ too much in their business philosophy and they can’t agree ona future direction for the company.

Salih:  I really hope they can settle their dispute soon.  It doesn’t do anybody anygood to have so much hostility in the office.

Jeannie:  I hope so, too.  This company can’t afford to have another high-leveldeparture.  We’ve lost so many good people already this past year.

Salih:  We’ve had a lot of bad press, that’s for sure.  It doesn’t matter that ouremployment contracts have confidentiality agreements.  When somebody is disgruntled, they talk, and they talk loudly and to whomever will listen.  

Jeannie:  You’ve got that right.  I just hope none of us gets caught in thecrossfire.  I deal with people at Lance Publishing every week.

Salih:  I’m with you.  I’m keeping a low profile and hoping the whole thing willblow over soon.  What the CEO and the head of Lance Publishing need is a goodmediator who can find some way for two incompatible personalities to meet in themiddle.

Jeannie:  What do you think the chances are of that happening?

Salih:  Quite frankly, knowing the people involved, I think it has a snowball’s chance in hell!

[end of dialogue]

The script for this episode was written by the never disgruntled, never hostile Dr.

Lucy Tse. From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan.  Thanks for listening.  We’ll seeyou next time on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan.  This podcast is copyright 2008.