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ITT we discuss business-appropriate abbreviations

  • TheArsenal said...

    YASFRAT

    BENTENYAHU?

    terps99 ●

  • Speaking of this type of thing..

    For some reason, three people (out of like 8 in my "team" at work) have used out loud or in an email the phrase "out of pocket" in the last few weeks.

    I don't get it.. at all. Can anyone explain? The context is kind of like, "I will be in the airport waiting for my flight and will be out of pocket the remainder of the day"

    The way I read it I see "not on my computer or on VPN but available by blackberry and email" but the context it seems to be used is "not available at all".

    Brogie ●

  • LeafeeWolf said...

    ASAP is only acceptable if you use it as a, 'I'll get back with you ASAP.'

    The rage that can build when you ask someone to do something ASAP is incredible. If you absolutely must ask for something as soon as possible, write out 'as soon as possible' or, even better, use something non-cliched like, 'as soon as you are able' or 'as quickly as possible.'

    Of course, this is assuming in email. If you are just talking, ASAP is pretty ubiquitous.

    if you ever write ASAP you are an unorganized person. what does that even mean? what is the deadline?

    i edited out "and awful" after unorganized. i'm going to leave this note because it shows how i really feel.

    This post has been edited 2 times, most recently by 2moreterps on 5/14/2012 at 6:45 PM

    2moreterps ●

  • Brogie said...

    Speaking of this type of thing..

    For some reason, three people (out of like 8 in my "team" at work) have used out loud or in an email the phrase "out of pocket" in the last few weeks.

    I don't get it.. at all. Can anyone explain? The context is kind of like, "I will be in the airport waiting for my flight and will be out of pocket the remainder of the day"

    The way I read it I see "not on my computer or on VPN but available by blackberry and email" but the context it seems to be used is "not available at all".

    This is a very common phrase that is used routinely in business settings. I have heard it countless times and even used it myself. It means to be unavailable. To say you are out of the office is not the same thing because in today's digital age even people who are out of the office can be available by phone or email. To be out of pocket implies that you will not be reachable at all.

    terps99 ●

  • 2moreterps said...

    if you ever write ASAP you are an unorganized person. what does that even mean? what is the deadline?

    i edited out "and awful" after unorganized. i'm going to leave this note because it shows how i really feel.

    Depends on the industry, but I see it at least half a dozen times a day. Very, very common in the legal industry and I would assume most high paced settings. The deadline is what the words state-as soon as possible. It means I need it done right away. If you can get it to me in two seconds, then that would be ideal. Or take two minutes, two days, two hours, or however long it takes, but get it to me as soon as you can.

    terps99 ●

  • terps99 said...

    Or take two minutes, two days, two hours, or however long it takes, but get it to me as soon as you can.

    the fact that all of those are acceptable means that using the phrase isn't appropriate. i got a call today from a hospital that is a client of mine. they had a certification group at the hospital and needed information to prove something today. that isn't ASAP, it's today. i got an email from a customer last thursday afternoon that pricing was due at noon today for an item. that isn't ASAP, that's 5/14 at noon. i can't think of a single situation where it would be appropriate to ask me for something ASAP and I've literally never asked someone for something ASAP. sometimes people give me a deadline of three days and i turn it around in 30 minutes. sometimes they give me a deadline of 4 hours and i tell them i can't get it to them until the next day. if you are organized yourself, and a good manager of others (subordinates, co-workers and clients all need to be managed) the phrase ASAP should never be used.

    if you can come up with a real life scenario that contradicts me please let me know.

    2moreterps ●

  • 2moreterps said...

    the fact that all of those are acceptable means that using the phrase isn't appropriate. i got a call today from a hospital that is a client of mine. they had a certification group at the hospital and needed information to prove something today. that isn't ASAP, it's today. i got an email from a customer last thursday afternoon that pricing was due at noon today for an item. that isn't ASAP, that's 5/14 at noon. i can't think of a single situation where it would be appropriate to ask me for something ASAP and I've literally never asked someone for something ASAP. sometimes people give me a deadline of three days and i turn it around in 30 minutes. sometimes they give me a deadline of 4 hours and i tell them i can't get it to them until the next day. if you are organized yourself, and a good manager of others (subordinates, co-workers and clients all need to be managed) the phrase ASAP should never be used.

    if you can come up with a real life scenario that contradicts me please let me know.

    ASAP means do this right now, and both parties have an understanding of the time frame to completion. If not, then you shouldn't say it.

    TortugaGrande ●

  • 2moreterps said...

    the fact that all of those are acceptable means that using the phrase isn't appropriate.... If you are organized yourself, and a good manager of others (subordinates, co-workers and clients all need to be managed) the phrase ASAP should never be used.

    if you can come up with a real life scenario that contradicts me please let me know.

    We obviously work in very different work environments. I can come up with examples in legal/business situations where it would not be uncommon to hear ASAP used at every step along the way.

    Client to Partner:
    "Company A wants to buy company B and has just announced a proposed merger. This will really screw us. We need to file a lawsuit ASAP to try to prevent this merger."

    Partner to Associate:
    "Client just called and wants to file a lawsuit immediately to prevent a merger. Can you please draft the preliminary injunction papers ASAP? Need to try filing first thing tomorrow."

    Senior Associate to Junior Associate:
    "Partner just called and wants to draft preliminary injunction papers right away. Can you please help and pull any information ASAP on this proposed merger?"

    Junior associate to librarian:
    "I am researching the proposed merger of Company A and company B. I just ran across this subscription only article from SuperLawyers Breaking News Service. Do we have a subscription to that? Can someone please pull this article ASAP and email me a copy? Thanks."

    This post was edited by terps99 on 5/14/2012 at 8:48 PM

    terps99 ●

  • terps99 said...

    Seriously though, have abbreviations like "IOW" and "BTW" become common enough that people can/should be using them in emails? I can't tell how judgmental I should be towards people who use them.

    "Towards" is a word used properly only in England. In America, the correct word is "toward." It's similar to the difference between backwards/backward, cancelled/canceled, shoppe/shop (ok, they stopped using "shoppe" a long time ago in England). There are many instances in our language of us, well, abbreviating British English words in our American English.

    And if you really want to get pedantic, it would be more descriptive to title your thread "ITT we discuss business-appropriate acronyms," since all of the abbreviations in this thread are acronyms (think rectangles, squares). We don't need to distinguish further because some are only acronyms while some are initialisms as well.

    In short: don't be judgmental (or judgemental, if you're using British English) as long as the meaning of the message is understood. No one likes grammar nazis.

    This post was edited by ajefx on 5/14/2012 at 9:19 PM

    ajefx ●

  • Interesting, I think of "towards" as being southern/rednecky

    TortugaGrande ●

  • terps99 said...

    Gary Williams just down-voted your post. In other words, Gary Williams says that a lot.

    Upvoted your down vote-by-proxy.

    interpid

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