Page 161 - Perfect Phrases ESL Everyday Business

The American Business Culture in a Nutshell

Q and A
This phrase means “question and answer.” A Q and A period often
follows a lecture. A speaker may suggest that audience members
save their questions for the Q and A. (Note that there’s also QA, or
“quality assurance”—the test by which products are assessed for final
problems.)

SOP
The acronym SOP stands for “Standard Operating Procedure.” For
technical jobs, SOPs outline the necessary steps. Informally, SOP
means “That’s how we do it here.”

TBD

The acronym TBD means “to be determined.” You may have a project
plan, but certain benchmark dates aren’t yet firm; they might be
marked TBD. You may not have decided on a final price or time frame
or agenda item. These would be noted as TBD.

Words, Words, Words!
Certain general rules of conversation apply in the business world. The
term “politically correct” means acceptable in a particular environ-
ment, such as your work environment. Often, those who were born
in the United States and work beside you are not always as careful,
or “politically correct,” as they should be. You may think that because
they are from this country, you can follow their example. Don’t follow
everyone’s example, and don’t follow anyone’s example every time.
Everyone slips up now and then, both in language and behavior.
Following are some guidelines that are helpful:

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