BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: INDEMNIFY

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: INDEMNIFY

By Asking China to Indemnify the world for the Coronavirus Covid 19 are World Leaders Setting a Dangerous and Unsustainable Precedent?

French Translation: Indemniser


Hello Darlings! Happy Thursday!

I have been reading in the news that President Trump and others are floating the idea that China will be asked to pay reparations for the economic damage the Covid 19 pandemic has caused. In other words, that China will be asked to "indemnify" the world for the Covid 19 pandemic.

I wonder if that is a wise position to take or not. I completely understand the frustration that world governments and even individuals have with China on this issue because for the moment, it appears that the virus started there, in Wuhan, and it also appears that China was not completely transparent when the whole thing started. I don't know the facts but I would say there is an appearance that there was a lack of complete transparency on the part of China.

However, I am not sure that asking China to pay reparations for a virus - assuming the virus was not deliberately created and unleashed on the world - is a good idea. Why? Because I believe that between now and the end of time, there will be other viruses and probably even more deadly and destructive ones. And they will begin somewhere, in some country, in some human person in the world. I think viruses don't discriminate. They don't care who you are and where you live and how you look. If a virus is going to attack and inhabit a person or animal, so it shall be. And I think all human beings are vulnerable and susceptible and so are all countries.

The risk with forcing China to pay indemnity and to indemnify the rest of the world to the tune of trillions of dollars (which will surely destroy China economically) is that what goes around comes around and one day, it will be another country who is in the same position. And that may not even be so far in the future. It could be next year that the next virus erupts someplace. Are we going to be demanding that countries pay for airborne viruses that are no fault of their own? This kind of precedent that is being set by asking China to indemnify the world for Covid19 is completely dangerous and is totally unsustainable, in my view. I think that as frustrating as this is for everyone, that governments need to cool it, get calm, and think of other solutions. I don't think virus indeminifications should become the new norm. Nobody is going to win with that.

What do you think? Do you agree with me or disagree with me?
Would love to discuss it at our next meeting.

NEED BUSINESS ENGLISH OR LEGAL ENGLISH COACHING? Contact us https://businessenglishparis.blogspot.com/p/cours-anglais-des-affairs-business.html

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: BOTTOM LINE

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: BOTTOM LINE

 What is the bottom line with your company's re-opening plans? Are all the shareholders on board?

French translation: resultat

Hello Darling! Happy Wednesday!

Today's word of the day (or words of the day) is "bottom line."  When you ask someone "so what is the bottom line here?" whether in business or in general, it means "what's the end result, what is the conclusion."

At work, it could also refer to accounting. What is the company's bottom line could refer to the net profits or net income of the company after expenses are deducted from revenues. This can be distinguished from the top line which refers just to revenues or income without expenses and taxes deducted.

But in general speak, you can just use it to mean what is the conclusion, what is the end result.  So I might ask you "what is the bottom line number for you in this negotiation?" Or I can say to you "the bottom line is, this woman and I are incompatible and I don't want to partner with her."

What about you? What are some of your bottom lines at work and at home? I would love to hear about it. If you are looking for an English coach to practice your English conversation skills, do not hesitate to contact us. We are almost available exclusively for English by Telephone (zoom, whatsapp, etc., could potentially be arranged; but we love just the mobile as we find it extremely effective when there isn't the distraction of video but it is up to you.)

Here is a link to one of our offers: https://businessenglishparis.blogspot.com/p/businessenglish-paris-english-series.html

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: STOCKPILING

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: STOCKPILING

Have you been secretly stockpiling grudges against one of your colleagues?

French translation: stockage


Hello Darlings, Happy Tuesday!

Hope you are well. So, I am updating today with a word of the day: STOCKPILING. Why stockpiling? Because you hear it so much these days in the context of masks and PPEs (Personal protective equipment for medical professionals in the front lines of fighting the cornavirus)

To be honest with you, because I have heard the word stockpiling so much lately within the context of the coronavirus, I have become slightly obsessed with the subject of "biological warfare." Why? I don't know. I think that after the coronavirus, nations and people will have to consider the ease with which biological warfare and germs and viruses can be stockpiled and used to "incapacitate" in a whole bunch of different ways not the least of which is healthwise. Look, for example, at what coronavirus did to the world economy?!

I just searched on Wikipedia for "biological warfare." Look at the overview of what I found. (Hope I did not quote too much for copyright purposes but I have provided  the link and attribution so I should be okay):

Offensive biological warfare, including mass production, stockpiling, and use of biological weapons, was outlawed by the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). The rationale behind this treaty, which has been ratified or acceded to by 170 countries as of April 2013,^[6] is to prevent a biological attack which could conceivably result in large numbers of civilian casualties and cause severe disruption to economic and societal infrastructure.^[7] Many countries, including signatories of the BWC, currently pursue research into the defense or protection against BW, which is not prohibited by the BWC.

A nation or group and that can pose a credible threat of mass casualty has the ability to alter the terms on which other nations or groups interact with it. Biological weapons allow for the potential to create a level of destruction and loss of life far in excess of nuclear, chemical or conventional weapons, relative to their mass and cost of development and storage. Therefore, biological agents may be useful as strategic deterrents in addition to their utility as offensive weapons on the battlefield.^[8]

As a tactical weapon for military use, a significant problem with a BW attack is that it would take days to be effective, and therefore might not immediately stop an opposing force. Some biological agents (smallpox, pneumonic plague) have the capability of person-to-person transmission via aerosolized respiratory droplets. This feature can be undesirable, as the agent(s) may be transmitted by this mechanism to unintended populations, including neutral or even friendly forces. Worse still, such a weapon could "escape" the laboratory where it was developed, even if there was no intent to use it - for example by infecting a researcher who then transmits it to the outside world before realizing that they were infected. Several cases are known of researchers becoming infected and dying of Ebola,^[9][10] which they had been working with in the lab (though nobody else was infected in those cases) - while there is no evidence that their work was directed towards BW, it demonstrates the potential for accidental infection even of careful researchers fully aware of the dangers. While containment of BW is less of a concern for certain criminal or terrorist organizations, it remains a significant concern for the military and civilian populations of virtually all nations.

When you read that, does it not give you chills? But I digressed. This post is about "stockpiling." How can we use that word in the context of business? Hme....well, the word means to accumulate, hoard, collect, gather, cache....I imagine you can stockpile data and documents and files. You can stockpile materials (such as pens, staplers, coffee cups). You can stockpile commodities, merchandies, weapons (including viruses and germs for biological warfare) and equipment. You can also "stockpile" grudges against your colleagues. 

You can't stockpile people and domestic animals - as a general rule. You stockpile things. Can you stockpile ideas? Can you stockpile goals? Maybe. Can you stockpile livestock? Possibly. I tend to think not but it is possible someone could use the word stockpile to discuss livestock which, technically, is a "thing."

So talk to me about the word "stockpile." What things are stockpiled at your office? Inquiring minds want to know.


Note: During this time, I am offering strictly telephone conversation courses to respect the order of President Emmanuel Macron who has issued a directive as you know that the French population must remain under curfew for the next 15 days. If you would like to start or continue with English conversation lessons therefore, it will be strictly by telephone. I look forward to speaking with you, que même. I have noticed that I now have visitors from countries other than France including Germany, United Arab Emirites, Belgium, Spain and Oman. You are also welcomed to take English conversation with me if you like :) 

______________________________________________________________________
Business English Paris is a sister site of Jeannie LaCroix. Please visit our sister site where you can find curated products for busy professionals at www.jeannielacroix.com. Thank you in advance for your support.

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: UNEMPLOYMENT

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: UNEMPLOYMENT

What was the rate of unemployment in your country during the Coronavirus of 2020?

French translation: chomage

Hello Darlings! Happy Monday!

It is Monday again, and I am here updating my blog after several days of lazy. 😀As I write, the Coronavirus of 2020 is looking like it is starting to pass us, although, fingers crossed, some are praying there won't be a second wave. Meanwhile, I thought I would write about unemployment. By the time you read this, hopefully, this nightmare virus will be a thing of late night comedic skits. But at the time I am writing, there has been a reported record number of unemployed people around the world.

In the USA, they are saying the rate of unemployment is about as high as it was during the Great Depression. People are literally protesting on the streets, demanding to go back to work. And perhaps with good reason. Because unemployment leads to death, too. We know the coronavirus can kill if you catch it. But chances are good you won't catch it. The majority of people will not catch it. This is statistically true. In the USA, as of this writing, there has been about 60,000 cases of death (or fewer) and about 300,000 known cases of infection (approximately speaking). But the population of the United States is 350,000,000! So this tells you right there the vast majority of people won't catch coronavirus - statistically speaking. At the same time, the vast majority of the working population in the USA and in other countries, have caught the unemployment virus. And that has a lot of very disturbing symtoms as well. And the worst of these is death. People die from suicide, stress and other related causes and secondary effects from unemployment.

I am interested to find out how your country or community or company dealt with this issue of employment vs unemployment. What strategies did they employ to keep people employed. Were there big trillion dollar stimulus packages by your government the way they had in the United States? Did your company agree to let you work part time or flex time and give you a partial wage to avoid you becoming an "unemployment data statistic"? And depending on when you read this, how long did it take for your country to get the unemployment rate back to normal?

Well, that and other topics are open for discussion if you would like to take a Business English conversation course with me. Do contact me to discuss one of our options. 

See you in the next one and have a great day.

Note: During this time, I am offering strictly telephone conversation courses to respect the order of President Emmanuel Macron who has issued a directive as you know that the French population must remain under curfew for the next 15 days. If you would like to start or continue with English conversation lessons therefore, it will be strictly by telephone. I look forward to speaking with you, que même. I have noticed that I now have visitors from countries other than France including Germany, United Arab Emirites, Belgium, Spain and Oman. You are also welcomed to take English conversation with me if you like :) 

______________________________________________________________________
Business English Paris is a sister site of Jeannie LaCroix. Please visit our sister site where you can find curated products for busy professionals at www.jeannielacroix.com. Thank you in advance for your support.

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: PROFITABILITY

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: PROFITABILITY

What will be the consequences of the Coronavirus on your company's profitability margin this year? 

French translation: rentabilité

Happy Tuesday Darlings!

Today's word of the day is PROFITABILITY. As the world watches helplessly as Covid 19 coronavirus snakes its way through all four quadrants of the world, governments, banks, and companies are going to increasingly worry about their profitability margins.

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: PRODUCTIVITY

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: PRODUCTIVITY

Describe your productivity levels during the period of confinement in 2020. Did they increase, decrease or remain relatively the same?

French translation: productivité

Hello Darlings! Happy Monday!

It has been a few days since I have had the inclination or wherewhithal to update my blog. I guess you could say that my productivity levels have diminished a little bit and that I am experiencing a little bit of mental burnout. I find this period of confinement and all the bad news very mentally draining. Sure, I am fighting tooth and nail to stay motivated but there comes a time when  all this bad news definitely starts to have a negative impact on my ability to focus and get things done. I have become less efficient and there are measurably fewer visible fruits of my labor the longer this situation persists.

What about you? Are you feeling at all impacted by the confinement? Do  you think you have become less efficient because of it? Are you finding that you are producing less than you normally would? And are your lower productivity levels directly correlated to the confinement? Is telecomuting a drag? Tell the truth. Because sometimes we are just lazy and our productivity comes in waves and sometimes we feel it and sometimes we don't and it has nothing really to do with being confined or anything other than just us. So tell the truth. If you are not feeling as productive as you want to feel, if your output is measurably less, what is the real reason? What is the real cause? Because correlation is not necessarily causation.

What is productivity by definition?

. A measure of the efficiency of a person, machine, factory, system, etc., in converting inputs into useful outputs. Productivity is computed by dividing average output per period by the total costs incurred or resources (capital, energy, material, personnel) consumed in that period. from businessdictionary.com

So not only people's productivity is measured by also machines, factories, systems, etc. You can, for example, measure the productivity of a robot, if your company is into robotics and automation technology to create a more efficient workplace. 

How do you maximize your productivity at work, by the way? Are there any specific strategies you use? Do you drink a lot of coffee, for example? Work out during the middle of the day at the company gym? Have regular brainstorming sessions with colleagues? Study with gurus? How do you stay fertile mentally and keep producing and keep increasing your output? And by output, obviously I mean things that are worthwhile and good and helpful and useful and valuable. Because I think it is possible to have negative productivity. It is possible to also produce things which are harmful and bad. Do you agree with my assessment or do you think productivity by definition means something "positive"?

If you are in a position of leadership, how do you help your subordinates to maximise their positive productivity?

Today's Deals

Note: During this time, I am offering strictly telephone conversation courses to respect the order of President Emmanuel Macron who has issued a directive as you know that the French population must remain under curfew for the next 15 days. If you would like to start or continue with English conversation lessons therefore, it will be strictly by telephone. I look forward to speaking with you, que même. I have noticed that I now have visitors from countries other than France including Germany, United Arab Emirites, Belgium, Spain and Oman. You are also welcomed to take English conversation with me if you like :) 

______________________________________________________________________
Business English Paris is a sister site of Jeannie LaCroix. Please visit our sister site where you can find curated products for busy professionals at www.jeannielacroix.com. Thank you in advance for your support.

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: LAUNCH

The Word of the Day is LAUNCH

Do you think that your company will launch a public health campaign after Covid 19 and if so what will it entail?

French translation, lancement

Hello Darlings! Happy Wednesday!

Hope you are doing well today. The word I chose for today is LAUNCH. In English it means to "start or set in motion an activity or enterprise." So you can launch a company as well as you can launch a campaign or an activity or program. Things like that.

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORDS OF THE DAY: EXIT STRATEGY

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: EXIT STRATEGY

Do your political leaders have an exit strategy out of the coronavirus confinement & lockdown quagmire?

French translation, stratégie de sortie

Hello Darlings! Happy Monday!

I was just looking up the translation of "exit strategy" in French because I have exit strategy on my mind. I was thinking about the coronavirus actually, and I just read this morning an article somewhere, I forgot which one, that a politician in UK said that with masks being mandated in the workplace, the country can begin to think of an exit strategy.

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: BILLS

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: BILLS

Are you worried about the pile up of bills now that you have been out of work for several weeks?

French translation, factures

Hello Darlings! Happy Friday!

It is 6:00 p.m. and I am finally getting around to my word of the day which is BILLS. I guess I lost the entire day just thinking about my own bills and wondering how the dickens I am going to pay for it all with the ongoing saga known as coronavirus.

What about you? As a business professional with a steady, fulltime job, I don't imagine you ever really worry about your bills.

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: ROBOTICS

BUSINESS ENGLISH WORD OF THE DAY: ROBOTICS

After the coronavirus do you think your company will turn to robotics for solutions such as staffing? Are you soon to have more digital colleagues?

French translation, la robotique

Hello Darlings! Happy Thursday!

Darlings, I am feeling incredibly lazy and burnt-out. I can't keep up my manic schedule with blogging and youtube and all the rest of it. Like, omg I need a robot. :)