2011年ESL之商务英语 25 Dealing With a Mistake（打印版）

2011年ESL之商务英语 25 Dealing With a Mistake（在线收听）

25 Dealing With a Mistake

GLOSSARY

miscommunication – something that was said or written to mean one thing, butunderstood to mean something else; an instance of unsuccessful communication

* Craig thought we were meeting at 7:00, but nobody else showed up until 9:00.

He was upset, but it was just a simple miscommunication.

copier – a copy machine; a machine that makes copies, reproducing an imageon another piece of paper

* Chantrelle is using the copier to make copies of the homework assignment forall her students.

wires got crossed – a mistake that happened due to a misunderstanding ormiscommunication

* Phyong asked for a small cup of soup, but somehow the wires got crossed andher waiter brought her a small cup of coffee.

to get to the bottom of – to research or investigate something to find the trueexplanation or reason why something happened

* The police officer swore he wouldn’t rest until he got to the bottom of themysterious murder.

purchase order – an official document that a company gives to a vendor (seller)stating the number, specifications, and price of the items it wants to buy

* We can’t buy the new computer until our manager approves and signs thepurchase order.

on (one’s) end – one’s responsibility or fault, used to emphasize that it is not theother person’s responsibility or fault; describing what one party is doing versuswhat another party is doing

* We’re working really hard on our end to meet the terms of the contract, but itseems like the client doesn’t really care.

to figure (something) out – to work hard to understand something; to analyzewhat happened and/or determine why it happened

* How many hours did it take you to figure out what was wrong with Supin’scomputer?

responsible – having responsibility for something; in charge of something andneeding to accept the consequences of one’s actions or decisions

* The office kitchen is so dirty! Who’s responsible for cleaning it?

clerical error – an unimportant, careless error caused by an office worker,especially by filling out a form or typing something incorrectly

* Clerical errors in legal contracts can cost the firm thousands of dollars, soplease proofread everything carefully.

no harm, no foul – a phrase used to recognize that something bad happened,but indicate that it was not very important because nobody was hurt by it andthere were no serious consequences

* Yes, Randall forgot about the meeting, but no harm, no foul. They can justreschedule it for next week.

screw up – a bad mistake with significant consequences; a problem caused bysomeone’s mistake

* When Shane forgot his girlfriend’s birthday, it was a major screw up and shedidn’t talk to him for a week.

productivity – the amount of work that one can complete during a certain periodof time, especially when compared to the amount of work other people can do

* Do you think computers have increased people’s productivity?

to stand corrected – to recognize that what another person is saying is correct;to admit that one had been wrong, but now agrees with the other person

* The newspaper originally published the article with a few mistakes, but now thejournalist stands corrected.

honest mistake – an error that was made by accident or oversight, notintentionally or on purpose

* I’m so sorry I took your suitcase at the airport, but it was an honest mistake. Itlooked exactly like mine!

to make excuses – to offer a reason or explanation for why somethinghappened, usually because one wants to avoid punishment or avoid makinganother person angry

* Wynona gets really angry when her employees make excuses. She respectsthem a lot more if they just admit they made a mistake and then find a way to fixit.

debacle – a major failure; a serious problem

* The computer conference was a debacle and I’m sure nobody will register to goagain next year.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. What does Jenny mean when she says, “I’ll try to get to the bottom of this”?

a) She’ll try to move the copiers out of the way.

b) She’ll make an angry call to the copier supplier.

c) She’ll try to determine how and why this happened.

2. Why is the boss so angry?

a) Because the company cannot afford to buy 16 copiers.

b) Because he won’t be able to work in his office that morning.

c) Because the same mistake has happened before.

______________

WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

on (someone’s) end

The phrase “on (one’s) end,” in this podcast, means one’s responsibility or fault,used to emphasize that it is not the other person’s responsibility or fault, or todescribe what one person is doing compared to what another person is doing:

“We’ll do everything possible on our end to fix the problem.” The phrase “in theend” is used to describe the final result of something: “It took years to renovatethe home, but in the end, they were really pleased with it.” The phrase “to go tothe ends of the earth” means to do everything possible: “Reno would go to theends of the earth to make his daughter happy.” Finally, the phrase “to makeends meet” means to have just enough money to buy what one needs, but nomore: “With just one salary, they’re able to make ends meet, but they aren’t ableto save.”

to screw up

In this podcast, the phrase “to screw up” means to make a bad mistake withsignificant consequences: “Opening a new office was a bad decision. Wescrewed up and the company won’t make any money this year.” The phrase “toscrew up (one’s) eyes” means to move the muscles in one’s face so that one’seyes are mostly closed: “Carolay screwed up her eyes in disgust.” The phrase“to screw (someone) up” means to create emotional problems for anotherperson: “Sheila’s parents divorced when she was just seven years old, and itreally screwed her up.” The phrase “screw (someone)” is a very rude phraseshouted in anger when one is very upset: “You threw away my baseball cardcollection? Screw you!” Finally, the phrase “to screw (someone) out ofsomething” means to cheat someone out of a certain amount of money: “Thestore screwed us out of $100.”

CULTURE NOTE

How Companies Place OrdersLarge companies can “place” (make) orders and pay for their purchases in manyways. One of the most common is a “purchase order,” which was described intoday’s episode. A purchase order must be signed and approved by a managerbefore it can be “fulfilled” (the vendor or seller provides the desired items). Thisallows the manager to control how much of his or her “budget” (the amount ofmoney that can be spent for a particular purpose) is spent.

Some companies have an “open account,” which is like a credit account that the“vendor” (seller) provides to the company. The company’s purchases are“deducted” (subtracted) from the “balance” (amount of money remaining) in thecredit account, and “periodically” (at regular intervals of time), the vendor bills thecompany, requesting payment for the total amount “due” (owed).

Other companies “are billed” (receive bills) by vendors for individual purchases.

Each time the company purchases something, the vendor sends an “invoice” (adocument stating what was purchased, when, and how much it cost). Thecompany usually has 30 days to pay the invoice, after which it may “incur” (haveto pay something extra added to the bill) “late fees” (money that must be paidwhen the regular bill is not paid on time) and/or “interest” (a percentage increasein the amount due).

The company keeps track of the money it owes as “accounts payable,” whereeach account represents one vendor. A computerized system allows thecompany to “pull up” (retrieve and display data) the current balance due on eachaccount and see when those amounts must be paid.

______________

Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – c; 2 – b

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 744: Dealing With aMistake.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 744. I’m your host, Dr.

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

Go to our website at eslpod.com and become a member of ESL Podcast. Get aLearning Guide for each of our current episodes. You can also take a look at ourESL Podcast Store, and why not friend us on Facebook, or like us, or something.

Facebook.com/eslpod.

This episode is a dialogue between Jenny and her boss about making mistakes.

Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Boss: What is going on here?!

Jenny: There was a miscommunication.

Boss: A miscommunication?! There are 16 copiers in this office. Who ordered16 copiers?

Jenny: No one did. Clearly wires got crossed somewhere. I’ll try to get to thebottom of this, but the copiers will be removed before lunch.

Boss: I can’t even walk to my office with all of these machines in here. How am Isupposed to get any work done?

Jenny: I’m looking for the purchase order right now to see if the mistake was onour end or on their end.

Boss: Let me know as soon as you figure it out. I want to know who’sresponsible for this.

Jenny: Right, I’ll let you know. No doubt it was just a clerical error. No harm, nofoul.

Boss: No harm, no foul?! This screw up has cost me half a day’s productivity. Ithink that’s plenty of harm done.

Jenny: You’re right, sir. I stand corrected. I’m sure it was just an honestmistake.

Boss: Stop making excuses for the person responsible for this debacle. Jenny,why are you making excuses for the person responsible?

Jenny: You look thirsty. I’ll go get you some coffee right now!

[end of dialogue]

The title of this episode is “Dealing With a Mistake.” “To deal with” means tohandle, to take care of, and Jenny and her boss need to deal with a mistakeThe boss asks Jenny, somewhat angrily, “What is going on here?!” What ishappening here? Jenny says, “There was a miscommunication.” A“miscommunication” is a nice way, a polite way of saying that somehow twopeople didn’t understand each other. One person thought there was onemeaning, the other person thought it meant something else, and so the two ofthem did not properly communicate.

The boss says, again somewhat angrily, “A miscommunication?! There are 16copiers in this office. Who ordered 16 copiers?” A “copier” is also called a“photocopier,” many people call it a “Xerox machine.” Xerox is a company thatmakes photocopiers, or at least they used to. In any case, there’s a problemhere. The boss says there are now 16 of these copiers in the office. Jenny says,“No one did. Clearly wires got crossed somewhere.” To say that your “wires gotcrossed” is an old expression meaning there was some sort of mistake, but it wasdue to some misunderstanding – some miscommunication, and no one is reallyat fault. That’s the idea; no one is really to blame. This probably comes from theold days when telephone lines would get connected accidentally to each otherperhaps, I don’t know, and you would hear someone else’s communication. Wellhere, the wires got crossed and they did not communicate properly.

Jenny says, “I’ll try to get to the bottom of this, but the copiers will be removedbefore lunch.” She’s going to get rid of or remove the copying machines beforelunchtime. She’s also going to get to the bottom of this. That expression, “to getto the bottom of (something),” means to research and investigate something tofind the real reason, the real explanation. When you find out about a problemand it seems complicated, and you don’t know the reason for the problem you might use this expression. “I’m going to get to the bottom of this issue, why mycar wasn’t finished on time.” I’m going to talk to the mechanic, I’m going to talk tothe mechanic’s boss, and so forth. I’m going to research – investigate – till I findan answer.

The boss says, “I can’t even walk to my office with all of these machines in here.

How am I supposed to get any work done?” You see, Jenny is trying to makeher boss happy, but the boss keeps talking about the problem. If he stoppedtalking, maybe he would get some work done! Right Jenny? Am I right, huh?

Exactly.

Anyway, Jenny says, “I’m looking for the purchase order right now to see if themistake was on our end or on their end.” A “purchase order” is a document usedin businesses that are buying something from another business, and they say,well, here’s our order, here’s what we want, and a purchase order is consideredofficial approval. It’s almost like a contract that says we will pay you this amountof money if you give us these things. The person who sells to a company iscalled a “vendor.” Usually, the purchase order has a number on it, and that’show they keep track of it, that’s how they know which order it was. Jenny saysthat she’s going to look at the purchase order for the copiers to see if the mistakewas on our end. “On our end” means if it was our responsibility, if it wassomething that the company did, instead of “on their end,” which would be theseller or the vendor; it was their mistake.

The boss says, “Let me know as soon as you figure it out (that is, as soon as youunderstand and solve this problem). I want to know who’s responsible for this.”

“Who’s responsible” means who is the person who was in charge, and thereforeif something goes wrong has to take the blame. That is, has to accept theresponsibility: “Yes, it was my fault.” For example in a marriage, it’s always thehusband who is responsible for any problems or any mistakes. And if youunderstand that, gentlemen, your life will be much easier!

Well, Jenny is trying to understand who’s responsible for this error. She says,“Right, I’ll let you know. No doubt it was just a clerical error.” “Clerical” refers todoing paperwork, adding numbers, typing; these are all considered clerical tasks.

A “clerical error” means it’s an unimportant error caused by someone who wasn’tpaying attention. They didn’t mean to make a mistake, it was just like a smallaccident. That’s why Jenny says, “No harm, no foul.” This expression is usedwhen we recognize that something bad has happened, but it isn’t very serious.

For example you’re driving, and you stop at a stop sign, and a car behind youbumps you – hits you very lightly. You get out, you see that he did hit you, butthere doesn’t appear to be any problem with your car; there’s no damage. You might say, “Well, okay. No harm, no foul.” Yes, you hit me, but there isn’t anyserious damage and therefore it’s no big deal.

The boss doesn’t like this attitude by Jenny. He says, “No harm, no foul?! Thisscrew up has cost me half a day’s productivity.” A “screw up” is a noun; it canalso be a verb, “to screw up.” As a noun, it means a bad mistake. As a verb, itmeans to make a bad mistake, something that has consequences; that is,something that does cause some damage – some problems. The problem here,the boss says, is that it has cost him a half a day’s productivity. “Productivity” isthe amount of work that you can complete in a certain period of time, and it’sused generally here to mean getting a lot of things done. By the way, I shouldmention the word “screw” has a number of different meanings in English, not allof which are covered in our Learning Guide for this episode. The boss says, “Ithink that’s plenty of harm done,” meaning yes, there was harm because of thismistake.

Jenny says, “You’re right, sir.” Notice she calls him “sir.” He’s angry; she’s tryingto show respect to him. She says, “I stand corrected.” This is a commonexpression. “I stand corrected” means that you recognize that what you said waswrong and that the other person is right. So that husband says to the wife,“Honey, my dear. I think we need to go to my brother’s house tonight,” and thewife says, “Oh, no. I told you I’m not going. Remember?” and the husband, whoof course doesn’t remember, says, “Oh, yes. I remember. I stand corrected.”

You see how that works? Okay, good. Well, that’s how it works with Jenny andher boss. She says, “I’m sure it was just an honest mistake.” An “honestmistake” is an error that was made by accident. It wasn’t someone trying tocause problems, it was just one of those things that happened by accident.

The boss says, “Stop making excuses for the person responsible for thisdebacle.” “To make excuses” means to give a reason or an explanation for whysomething happened, usually because you want to avoid the other person gettingangry or you don’t want to be punished yourself. “To make excuses” is to say,“Well, okay. Yes, I made a mistake, but the reason was because my friend toldme something that wasn’t true, and then I talked to my other friend, and shesaid…” and so forth. You’re trying to give reasons why you made your mistaketo make you seem less guilty. Well, that’s what the boss does not want Jenny todo. She is making excuses, he says, for this debacle. “Debacle” (debacle) is ahuge failure, a serious problem caused by some big mistake. Then the bosssays, “Jenny, why are you making excuses for the person responsible?” Jennysays, trying to change the subject – trying to get the boss to think aboutsomething else says, “You look thirsty. I’ll go get you some coffee right now!”

This is something that an employee might do for their boss to try to make the boss happy. Of course, we suspect that Jenny made the mistake, and that’s whyshe’s trying to, we would use the expression, “play it down,” that is, not make abig deal of it, say that it is no big deal, it wasn’t important, and so forth.

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