5/21(Wed.) 〜 5/23(Fri.)

実践ビジネス英語　　　Wednesday, May 21

1) Garcia tells Pearson that some people think of him as the ultimate Mr. Nice Guy, and asks if being nice really means you can't succeed in business. Pearson recalls how a fellow MBA student viewed his niceness as a serious disadvantage at which Breakstone mentions the old saying about nice guys finishing last. Pearson says he wants people to see him as a nice guy and adds that being nice is good business in their field.

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Kindness and Corporations (1)

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2) ultimate Mr. Nice Guy: We also have the expression "no more Mr. Nice Guy." This means to stop behaving in a nice way, stop being accommodating, pleasant things like that. Imagine someone in your office who repeatedly makes careless mistakes. You've been forgiving, but then they make a really serious error. You might say, "Okay! 'No more Mr. Nice Guy,' I'm going to tell him off."

3) can't someone see: Don't they notice, don't they realize, Umemura means, things like, "'Can't he see' that yelling at employees just makes them angry or scared?" Or "'Can't company X see' that customers want cheaper products?

4) blush: This is when your face turns red with embarrassment. There's also the expression "at first blush," but this isn't related to embarrassment. "Blush" used to mean a glimpse or momentary view, so "at first blush" means when first learning something or when first seeing something. For example, "He seemed rude 'at first blush' but he is just busy."

at first blush = 一見したところでは、一見して

5) fellow MBA student: It means someone who shares a characteristic with another person, and this could be many different things, the same job, the same school, interests. For example, U.S. Presidents often say, "My fellow Americans" in their speeches. Or you could say, "I enjoy talking to Paul because he is a 'fellow history buff,'" meaning you both know a lot about history.

6) hopeless case of nice-guy-itis: According to my medical dictionary, "itis" is a suffix that refers to a usually inflammatory disease of a certain body part or organ. So appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Laryngitis is inflammation of the larynx. And we also use it metaphorically like Pearson does to mean we take something too far, we use it too much that sort of thing. So it's harmful to us like a disease. So being addicted to a smartphone could be called "smartphone-itis," though personally I'd use this more in print than in speech.

7) life-threatening ailment: Pearson means an illness that could be fatal, that puts your life in danger. It's also common to hear "career-threatening" with regard to athletes, such as, "He suffered a 'career-threatening' knee injury, but ultimately recovered to win the gold medal.

8) Guess what?: Pearson means, "What I'm about to say will surprise you." such as, "'Guess what?' The company decided to cancel that big project." It's also common to use this sarcastically when we are going to say something that isn't surprising at all, such as "'Guess what?' That extremely high-risk investment didn't pay off after all."

9) people-oriented: Pearson uses "oriented" to mean primarily concerned or directed toward a certain thing. You might hear about a tech-oriented job fair, for example, or export-oriented factories.

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実践ビジネス英語　　　Thursday, May 22

1) Breakstone says Millennials put a premium on doing business with nice, caring people. Garcia adds that social media is integral to the lives of millennials and that in the social media world, being nice and doing the right thing is mandatory. Pearson says the recession also led to a backlash against consumerism among millennials and that work oriented solely toward money is out of fashion.

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Kindness and Corporations (2)

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2) reach out to: Make a special effort to help someone or communicate with them, as if we were literally reaching out a hand. Things like, "The government is 'reaching out to' small companies, offering subsidies and low-interest loans." Or "The company is 'reaching out to' local consumers trying to ascertain their needs."

3) place a high premium on: In this case, "premium" means value. And if we put or place a premium on something, we value it especially, we attach importance to it, such as, "This company 'places a high premium on' independent thinking. So they want employees to act on their own initiative, be creative."

4) in one's DNA: Garcia is using this to mean something is an inherent part of a person's nature. "It's in their blood" is another way to say this. "In one's DNA" can
also refer to talents, interests, etc. that run in some genetically connected group like a family or nationality. In my case, people in my family tend to be very interested in foreign languages. It's "in our DNA."

5) be out in the open: Available for everyone to see or experience, in other words. We also say "get something out in the open" meaning make it available for everyone to
see, put it out there. Things like, "It was a good meeting. We got a lot of the staffers' complaints 'out in the open.'"

6) backlash against: This is a hostile, adverse reaction to some statement, action, event. And "backlashes" come from groups, I'd say. You'll hear about a backlash from the public or from the media. For example, there would be a backlash if a politician's comments were perceived as sexist. That politician would be strongly criticized in the press. People might call for his or her resignation.

7) mind you: This means this is something important that I want you to know or to mark. It can also come after the statement. Pearson could have said, "Work is about
making money, 'mind you.'"

8) mutually exclusive: When things are "mutually exclusive," they can't exist in tandem. If you have one, you can't have the other. And like Pearson, it's very common to say things are not "mutually exclusive." You can have both at the same time. One
does not preclude the other. Things like, "Protecting the environment and making a profit are not 'mutually exclusive.'"

9) contradiction in terms: This refers to a statement that contains a contradiction, that has two elements that contradict each other. People often joke that an honest politician is a "contradiction in terms." Or a new used car is a "contradiction in terms" too.

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実践ビジネス英語　　　Friday, May 23

1) Pearson says companies that ignore the importance of kindness put themselves at risk and that it's a powerful marketing tool As one example of authentic corporate kindness, Pearson describes a coffee shop chain that operates community stores that donate some of their profits to local charities. However, Umemura believes that some of his friends think companies would act anonymously if their kindness was really motivated by humanitarianism.

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Kindness and Corporations (3)

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2) the real deal: This is a thing or a person that's considered authentic, not inferior in some way. Imagine you find a very good price for something online, you might ask, "Is this 'the real deal' or a knock-off?" Or you could say, "He is 'the real deal.' A company president who is genuinely concerned about his employees' happiness."

3) at one's peril: When we do something at our "peril," we put ourselves at risk. We endanger ourselves in some way by doing this. For example, "We neglect saving for retirement 'at our peril.'" Or "We neglect keeping up with world events 'at our peril.'"

4) register on someone's radar: Get someone's attention, their notice as if it shows up on a radar screen. We also say something "is not on someone's radar," meaning they are not considering it, they are not thinking about it. A busy executive might say,
"Getting married 'is not on my radar' right now." Or "Social media 'was not on that company's radar' for a long time."

5) authentic: Real, not fake, in other words. Things like, "This is an 'authentic' 18th century vase." Or "This restaurant serves 'authentic' Indian food."

6) big-name: If something is big-name, it's very famous or widely admired. Pearson uses it as an adjective, so there's a hyphen between the two words. If it's a noun, no hyphen, such as "She is a 'big name' in the financial industry." Or "Company Z is a 'big name' in pharmaceuticals."

7) make a point of: This means make sure to do something you consider important, treat a certain action as essential. You might "make a point of" reading the newspaper every day, or "make a point of" only buying clothes on sale.

8) feel-good publicity: "Feel-good" can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the context. Umemura's using it in a bad way to mean something that causes superficial or unfounded happiness or satisfaction. But "feel-good" can mean genuinely heartwarming, you know, something that makes us feel good, feel happy, such as "The rescue of that little puppy was the 'feel-good' story of the year. "

9) anonymously: Umemura means they wouldn't reveal their name when they did these acts of charity. This is an adverb, uh, the adjective is "anonymous," such as, "The money was donated by an 'anonymous' benefactor." Or "All complaints to the personnel department are kept 'anonymous.'" The noun is "anonymity," which even native speakers have trouble saying. People say, for example, "'Anonymity' is a big problem with the Internet. That being unnamed encourages people to post mean or abusive comments."

【原稿チェック： Hiromi, Hiroko, Ina, Cecile】
【ディクテーション： Sanae】