WSJ on new business jargon

[Benjamin Zimmer]

Today's Wall St. Journal has an article on the "new crop of buzzwords"
in business circles:

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114341219645208528.html
Mind Your Language:
To Do Business Today,
Consider Delayering
March 27, 2006; Page B1
Don't even talk about "rightsizing," "digitization" and the "war for
talent." The new business buzzwords are "delayering," "Web 2.0" and
"knowledge acquisition."
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It's only available online for subscribers, so here's a summary:

* delayering: "In plain English, it means managers are being fired.
It's the latest manifestation of rightsizing and downsizing."

* knowledge acquisition, skills development: "Knowledge acquisition is
the opposite of delayering, but different from the now passé 'war for
talent.' It has been awhile since executives have had to do battle to
find job candidates. These days, companies need to know how to sift
through an onslaught of applications to hire the person with the kinds
of knowledge that will best help the company stay competitive. Hence
the notion of knowledge acquisition and its corollary, 'skills
development,' which refers to efforts to use the employees already
available, but to teach them new skills."

* unsiloing: "Another current buzzword, 'unsiloing,' mangles the noun
silo to make an important but simple point: Managers must cooperate
across departments and functions, share resources and cross-sell
products to boost the bottom line."

* network optimization: "Operations-oriented consultants today talk
about 'network optimization,' meaning figuring out where to locate
plants to manufacture products around the world."

* volume sensitive, niche strategy: "A 'volume sensitive' business is
one with massive fixed costs, while a 'niche strategy' is a small-time
player."

* Sox (also "S-O" or "Sarbox"): "The word refers to Sarbanes-Oxley,
the 2002 corporate governance reform act, which morphed into a
buzzword. 'If you want to stop something from going forward in a
company these days, all you have to do is ask, "Will this pass Sox
rules?" ' says Mr. D'Alessandro. 'Sox makes CEOs halt in their
tracks.'"


--Ben Zimmer

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