"Incent"
Devdas Nandan
At a large corporation, I have heard many managers use the verb "incent"
to mean "offer incentive to a person, group or organization." An
example would be "This measure would incent the employees to submit
employee appraisals on time."
Has anyone been exposed to this usage?
Truly Donovan
Not only exposed to it, but exposed to people making fools of themselves
actually trying to do it.
--
Truly Donovan
"Industrial-strength SGML," Prentice Hall 1996
ISBN 0-13-216243-1
http://www.prenhall.com
Relbats
Worse yet, I've "been exposed" to "incentivize" -- sound more technical,
no?
Along the same lines, football quarterbacks a few years back would
"audible" at the line of scrimmage to change a play. Now, according to
our omniscient commentators, they "audible-ize".
Comments?
Clay Stabler
APS 142896
Brian J Goggin
>At a large corporation, I have heard many managers use the verb "incent"
>to mean "offer incentive to a person, group or organization." An
>example would be "This measure would incent the employees to submit
>employee appraisals on time."
>
>Has anyone been exposed to this usage?
AAAAAAAArrrrrrgggghhh!
I'd have thought it was more likely to incense them.
Does anyone maintain a list of management gobbledegook?
bjg
John Davies
In article <32d2ff18...@news.ieunet.ie>, Brian J Goggin
<b...@wordwrights.ie> writes
[...]
>AAAAAAAArrrrrrgggghhh!
[...]
>
>
>Does anyone maintain a list of management gobbledegook?
Do you have access to Dilbert in Ireland? I became addicted to him when
I lived in Singapore, where he appeared daily in one of the papers. I
keep in touch in this Dilbertless land through the Scott Adams web site:
http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/dilbert/archive
I can't recall whether there's actually a gobbledegookbase at the site,
but there's certainly a lot of managerese to be found there, much of it
based on real-life examples sent in by Dilbert fans.
--
John Davies (jo...@redwoods.demon.co.uk)
On that of which one cannot speak, one must remain silent. (Wittgenstein)
Martin A. Mazur
In article <32D2E6...@worldnet.att.net>,
Devdas Nandan <DNa...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>At a large corporation, I have heard many managers use the verb "incent"
>to mean "offer incentive to a person, group or organization." An
>example would be "This measure would incent the employees to submit
>employee appraisals on time."
>
>Has anyone been exposed to this usage?
Eeek! I'da thought "incentivize" (how I usually hear it done), bad as it is,
would have done the trick.
--
Martin A. Mazur .................... Representing only himself
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/m/x/mxm14/
3rd Century thoughts on MTV: "There is no public entertainment
which does not inflict spiritual damage" - Tertullian
Michael B. Quinion
In article: <19970108144...@ladder01.news.aol.com>
>
> Worse yet, I've "been exposed" to "incentivize" -- sound more
> technical, no? Along the same lines, football quarterbacks a few
> years back would "audible" at the line of scrimmage to change a play.
> Now, according to our omniscient commentators, they "audible-ize".
A truly awful specimen of the breed. Some examples of my own, mainly
from British newspapers, include 'divisionalise' (to organise a company
into divisions), 'invisibilise' (to make work vanish) and 'problematise'
(your guess is as good as mine). In a recent interview -- I think the
TV one with Ruby Wax -- Fergie referred to the need to 'chameleonise'
herself. I have also recently seen 'aerosolise', 'de-proceduralise',
'BiCapitalise', 'foreignise', 'de-exceptionalise', 'hyperbolise' ('"My
comments have been hyperbolised," he whimpered') and 'perspectivise' (as
of a CAD drawing package), not to mention the newest Internet term
'spamvertise'.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael B Quinion <mic...@quinion.demon.co.uk> Thornbury, Bristol, UK
Web: <http://clever.net/quinion/> and <http://www.quinion.demon.co.uk/>
World Wide Words: */words/ : MQA: */mqa/ : Interpret Britain: */sibh/
JC Dill
On Wed, 8 Jan 1997 23:05:32 +0000, John Davies
<jo...@redwoods.demon.co.uk> expound upon: "Re: "Incent""
>In article <32d2ff18...@news.ieunet.ie>, Brian J Goggin
><b...@wordwrights.ie> writes
>[...]
>>AAAAAAAArrrrrrgggghhh!
>[...]
>>
>>
>>Does anyone maintain a list of management gobbledegook?
>
>Do you have access to Dilbert in Ireland? I became addicted to him when
>I lived in Singapore, where he appeared daily in one of the papers. I
>keep in touch in this Dilbertless land through the Scott Adams web site:
>
>http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/dilbert/archive
While there at the Dilbert site, find the mailing list and subscribe!
It will keep you up to date on the latest in management gobbledegook.
BTW, here in Sunny SillyCon Valley, both of Scott Adam's books, The
Dilbert Principle and Dogbert's Book of Management, are top 10
sellers. Both are *also* regularly shelved in the *management* books
section as well as the *humor* books section... (and you can order
them from the Dilbert site too!)
HTH
jc
Gareth Williams
Thus spake b...@wordwrights.ie (Brian J Goggin) :
+Devdas Nandan wrote:
+>At a large corporation, I have heard many managers use the verb "incent"
+>to mean "offer incentive to a person, group or organization."
+>Has anyone been exposed to this usage?
+AAAAAAAArrrrrrgggghhh!
+I'd have thought it was more likely to incense them.
+Does anyone maintain a list of management gobbledegook?
Interesting. One man's deft coinage is another man's gobbledegook.
I guess it depends whether the coiner is 'one of us' or 'one of them'?
Has anyone round here studied the sociology of the propagation of
neologisms - or some similar snappily named subject?
+on the other hand, Clay Stabler wrote...
+Worse yet, I've "been exposed" to "incentivize" -- sound more technical,
+no?
+Comments?
Well, it's the one in the dictionary so I suppose we'd better use it.
regards: Gareth Williams
-------
'A man coins not a new word without some peril and less fruit;
for if it happen to be received, the praise is but moderate;
if refused, the scorn is assured'
Ben Jonson, _Discoveries_
Brian J Goggin
>In article <32d2ff18...@news.ieunet.ie>, Brian J Goggin
><b...@wordwrights.ie> writes
>[...]
>>AAAAAAAArrrrrrgggghhh!
>[...]
>>
>>
>>Does anyone maintain a list of management gobbledegook?
>
>Do you have access to Dilbert in Ireland? I became addicted to him when
>I lived in Singapore, where he appeared daily in one of the papers. I
>keep in touch in this Dilbertless land through the Scott Adams web site:
Oh joy! Oh happiness! Reading his book on management was one of the
best things I did in 1996. (No doubt you've bought it already.)
However, I didn't know there was a web site; I'll zoom off there ASAP.
Many thanks.
bjg
Brian J Goggin
>Thus spake b...@wordwrights.ie (Brian J Goggin) :
>+Devdas Nandan wrote:
>+>At a large corporation, I have heard many managers use the verb "incent"
>+>to mean "offer incentive to a person, group or organization."
>+>Has anyone been exposed to this usage?
>+AAAAAAAArrrrrrgggghhh!
>+I'd have thought it was more likely to incense them.
>+Does anyone maintain a list of management gobbledegook?
>
>Interesting. One man's deft coinage is another man's gobbledegook.
>I guess it depends whether the coiner is 'one of us' or 'one of them'?
>Has anyone round here studied the sociology of the propagation of
>neologisms - or some similar snappily named subject?
There's a serious point there. If physicists, computer programmers or
chemists coin a new word, and use it amongst themselves, I don't
really mind (as long as they don't do it in the streets and frighten
the horses).
Management specialists, however, think up these phrases and teach them
to other managers, who then go back to their organisations and use
them to everybody else. Their use is usually part of the latest wave
of improvements: total quality management, world-class manufacturing,
employee empowerment, business process re-engineering or whatever is
on the menu this week.
Thus the managers use the terminology of the new initiative to
persuade the employees to accept the new initiative. This does not
work: the terminology itself annoys many people and provides the
resistance with ammunition. If, on the other hand, managers were to
explain their new ideas in familiar terms, they would have a better
chance of success.
Similarly, an American school might try using Ebonics to teach
Standard English ....
bjg