Letter M Maastricht Treaty to MYOB.docx

Dictionary of Human Resources and Personnel Management MA 161 maintenance factors M MA abbr maternity allowance Maastricht Treaty /_m?_str xt tri_ti/ noun a treaty signed in 1992 which sets out the principles for a Euro-pean Union and the convergence criteria for states wishing to join the EMU machine /m?_?i_n/ noun a device which works with power from a motor copying machine a machine which makes copies of documents, a photocopier machinery /m?_?i_n?ri/ noun 1. ma-chines 2. an organisation or a system the administrative machinery of a uni-versity the machinery for awarding government contracts machinery guard /m?_?i_n?ri ?_dz/ noun a piece of metal to prevent workers from getting hurt by the mov- ing parts of a machine machine shop /m?_?i_n ??p/ noun a place where working machines are placed machine tool /m?_?i_n tu_lz/ noun a tool worked by a motor, used to work on wood or metal machinist /m?_?i_n st/ noun a person who operates a machine Madam Chairman /m_d?m _t?e?m?n/, Madam Chairwoman /m_d?m _t?e?w?m?n/ noun a way of speaking to the female chairman of a committee or meeting magazine /m_ ?_zi_n/ noun a paper, usually with pictures and printed on glossy paper, which comes out regu-larly, every month or every week mail box /_me l b?ks/ noun 1. one of several boxes where incoming mail is put in a large building 2. a box for putt-ing letters main /me n/ adjective most important Our main office is in Birmingham. The main building houses our admin and finance departments. One of our main customers has gone into receivership. main office /me n _?f s/ noun an of-fice building where the board of direc-tors works and meets maintain /me n_te n/ verb 1. to keep something going or working We try to maintain good relations with the em-ployees’ representatives 2. to keep something working at the same level The company has maintained the same volume of business in spite of the reces-sion. to maintain a dividend to pay the same dividend as the previous year maintenance /_me nt?n?ns/ noun 1. the process of keeping things going or working Maintenance of contacts is important for a sales rep It is essen-tial to ensure the maintenance of sup-plies to the factory. 2. the process of keeping a machine in good working or-der We offer a full maintenance service. ‘…responsibilities include the maintenance of large computerized databases’ [Times] ‘…the federal administration launched a full-scale investigation into the airline’s maintenance procedures’ [Fortune] maintenance contract /_me nt?n?ns k?ntr_kt/ noun a con-tract by which a company keeps a piece of equipment in good working order maintenance factors /_me nt?n?ns f_kt?z/ plural noun elements at work which create em-ployee dissatisfaction when they are not adequately provided The reason for the strike was the lack of maintenance factors such as decent rest periods. maintenance of membership 162 management accountant maintenance of membership /me nt?n?ns ?v _memb?? p/ noun US a requirement that employees who are union members must remain so for the full duration of their employment in an organisation major /_me d"?/ adjective important There is a major risk of fire. ‘…a client base which includes many major commercial organizations and nationalized industries’ [Times] majority /m?_d"?r ti/ noun 1. more than half of a group the board ac-cepted the proposal by a majority of three to two three members of the board voted to accept and two voted against 2. the number of votes by which a person wins an election He was elected shop steward with a majority of three hundred. majority vote /m?_d"?r ti v??t/, majority decision /m?_d"?r ti d - s "(?)n/ noun a decision made after a vote according to the wishes of the larg-est group make /me k/ noun a brand or type of product manufactured Japanese makes of cars a standard make of equipment What make is the new com-puter system or What’s the make of the new computer system? verb 1. to pro-duce or to manufacture The workers spent ten weeks making the table. The factory makes three hundred cars a day. 2. to do an action to make a bid for something to offer to buy something to make a payment to pay to make a deposit to pay money as a deposit 3. to earn he makes £50,000 a year or £25 an hour 4. to increase in value The shares made $2.92 in today’s trading. make good /me k _ ?d/ verb 1. to repair The company will make good the damage. 2. to be a success 3. to compensate for something to make good a loss make up /me k _$p/ verb to compen-sate for something to make up a loss or difference to pay extra so that the loss or difference is covered make-whole remedy /me k _h??l rem?di/ noun a way of compensating an employee for their bad treatment in violation of employment legislation Make-whole remedies are often consid-ered insufficient by aggrieved workers. make-work practices /_me k w__k pr_kt s z/ plural noun methods of cre-ating work for people who would other-wise have no work Make-work practices are boosting morale in areas badly hit by the recession. Make-work practices at least provide practical work experience. man /m_n/ noun a male worker, espe-cially a manual worker without special skills or qualifications All the men went back to work yesterday. verb to provide the workforce for something It takes six workers to man a shift. We need volunteers to man the exhibition on Sunday. The exhibition stand was manned by three salesgirls. (NOTE: manning – manned. Note also to man does not mean only using men) manage /_m_n d"/ verb 1. to direct or to be in charge of to manage a de-partment to manage a branch office A competent and motivated person is re-quired to manage an important depart-ment in the company. 2. to manage to to be able to do something Did you manage to see the head buyer? She managed to write six orders and take three phone calls all in two minutes. ‘…the research director will manage and direct a team of graduate business analysts reporting on consumer behaviour throughout the UK’ [Times] management /_m_n d"m?nt/ noun 1. the process of directing or running a business She studied management at university. Good management or effi-cient management is essential in a large organisation. a management graduate or a graduate in management Bad management or inefficient management can ruin a business. 2. a group of man-agers or directors The management has decided to give everyone a pay in-crease. (NOTE: Where management refers to a group of people it is some-times followed by a plural verb.) ‘…the management says that the rate of loss-making has come down and it expects further improvement in the next few years’ [Financial Times] management accountant /_m_n d"m?nt ?ka?nt?nt/ noun an management audit 163 manager accountant who prepares financial infor-mation for managers so that they can take decisions management audit /_m_n d"m?nt ?_d t/ noun a listing of all the managers in an organisation with information about their skills and experience The management audit helped determine how many more managers needed to be recruited. management buyin /m_n d"m?nt _ba n/ noun the purchase of a subsid-iary company by a group of outside di-rectors. Abbr MBI management buyout /m_n d"m?nt _ba a?t/ noun the takeover of a company by a group of employees, usually senior managers and directors. Abbr MBO management by objectives /m_n d"m?nt ba ?b_d"ekt vz/ noun a way of managing a business by plan-ning work for the managers to do and testing if it is completed correctly and on time management by walking around /m_n d"m?nt ba w?_k ? ?_ra?nd/ noun a way of managing where the manager moves round the office or shop floor, discusses problems with the staff and learns from them. Abbr MBWA management committee /_m_n d"m?nt k?m ti/ noun a com-mittee which manages something such as a club or a pension fund management course /_m_n d"m?nt k?_s/ noun a training course for managers management development /_m_n d"m?nt d vel?pm?nt/ noun the selection and training of potential managers management education /_m_n d"m?nt edj?ke ?(?)n/ noun formal education in the principles and techniques of management and related subjects that leads to a qualification management function /_m_n d"m?nt f$?k??n/ noun the duties of being a manager management game /_m_n d"m?nt e m/ noun a problem which is given to trainee managers to solve as part of a training course The management game run on a computer, demanded de-cisions in marketing strategy. management of change /m_n d"m?nt ?v _t?e nd" / noun the process of managing the way changes in the working environment are imple-mented and how they affect the workforce management ratio /_m_n d"m?nt re ?i??/ noun the number of manag- ers for every hundred employees in an organisation There was a very high management ratio since there was more planning and less manual work than in most companies. management science /_m_n d"m?nt sa ?ns/ noun the study of the skill and knowledge which can be applied to management He studied management science at a university. management style /_m_n d"m?nt sta l/, style of management /sta l ?v _m_n d"m?nt/ the way in which man- agers work, in particular the way in which they treat their employees management team /_m_n d"m?nt ti_m/ noun a group of all the managers working in the same company management technique /_m_n d"m?nt tekni_ks/ noun a way of managing a business management trainee /m_n d"m?nt tre _ni_/ noun a young member of staff being trained to be a manager management training /m_n d"m?nt _tre n ?/ noun the process of training staff to be managers, by making them study problems and work out solutions manager /_m_n d"?/ noun 1. the head of a department in a company She’s a department manager in an engi-neering company. Go and see the hu-man resources manager if you have a problem. The production manager has been with the company for only two weeks. Our sales manager started as a rep in London. All new trainees must report to the departmental man-ager. 2. the person in charge of a branch or shop Mr Smith is the manager of manageress 164 manpower our local Lloyds Bank. The manager of our Lagos branch is in London for a series of meetings. ‘…the No. 1 managerial productivity problem in America is managers who are out of touch with their people and out of touch with their customers’ [Fortune] manageress /m_n d"?_res/ noun a woman who runs a shop or a department managerial /m_n?_d" ?ri?l/ adjec-tive referring to managers All the managerial staff are sent for training every year. Managerial staff have a special canteen. to be appointed to a managerial position to be appointed a manager decisions taken at manage-rial level decisions taken by managers managerial grid /m_n d" ?ri?l _ r d/ noun a type of management train-ing in which trainees attempt to solve a number of problems in groups, and thereby discover their individual strengths and weaknesses managerial obsolescence /m_n - d" ?ri?l ?bs?_les(?)ns/ noun a situa-tion where managers cannot keep up with the latest technology or are not as well-qualified as more junior staff managership /_m_n d"?? p/ noun the job of being a manager After six years, she was offered the managership of a branch in Scotland. managing change /m_n d" ? _t?e nd"/ noun the process of managing the way changes in the working envi-ronment are implemented and how they affect the workforce managing director /m_n?d" ? da _rekt?/ noun the director who is in charge of a whole company. Abbr MD mandate /m_n_de t/ verb to give in-structions to someone who will repre-sent you in negotiations mandating /m_n_de t ?/ noun the act of giving instructions to a representative mandatory /_m_nd?t(?)ri/ adjective which everyone must obey Wearing a suit is mandatory for all managerial staff. mandatory meeting a meeting which all staff have to attend ‘…the wage talks are focusing on employment issues such as sharing of work among employees and extension of employment beyond the mandatory retirement age of 60 years’ [Nikkei Weekly] mandatory injunction /m_nd?t(?)ri n_d"$?k??n/ noun an order from a court which compels some-one to do something mandatory issues /m_nd?t(?)ri _ ?u_z/ plural noun bargaining issues that directly affect employees’ jobs Man Friday /m_n _fra de / noun a male employee who does a variety of tasks in an office. Girl Friday (NOTE: Sometimes person Friday is used in job advertisements to avoid sexism.) man-hour /_m_n a??/ noun work done by one employee in one hour One million man-hours were lost through industrial action. There are two hundred man-hours of work still to be done, which will take ten workers twenty hours to complete. manifest /_m_n fest/ noun a list of goods in a shipment adjective obvi-ous or apparent manifest content /m_n fest _k?ntent/ noun an apparent meaning of words used by one person to another The manifest content of the director’s talk to us was congratulatory, but read-ing between the lines, we could tell she was angry. manned /m_nd/ adjective with some-one working on it The switchboard is manned twenty-four hours a day. The stand was manned by our sales staff. (NOTE: manned does not mean only using men) manning /_m_n ?/ noun people who are needed to do a work process (NOTE: manning does not mean only men) manning agreement /_m_n ? ?- ri_m?nt/ noun an agreement between the company and the employees about how many employees are needed for a certain job manning levels /_m_n ? lev(?)lz/ plural noun the number of people re-quired in each department of a company to do the work efficiently manpower /_m_npa??/ noun the number of employees in an organisa-tion, industry or country (NOTE: man- power does not mean only men) manpower audit 165 marzipan manpower audit /_m_npa??r ?_d t/ noun a listing of all the employ-ees in an organisation with details of their skills and experience A complete manpower audit was needed to decide what recruitment or training should be carried out to meet future requirements. manpower forecasting /_m_npa?? f?_k?_st ?/ noun the process of calculating how many em-ployees will be needed in the future, and how many will actually be available manpower planning /_m_npa?? pl_n ?/ noun the process of planning to obtain the right number of employees in each job manpower reductions /_m_npa?? r d$k??nz/ plural noun reductions in the number of employees manpower requirements /_m_npa?? r kwa ?m?nts/, man-power needs /_m_npa?? ni_dz/ plural noun the number of employees needed manpower shortage /_m_npa?? ??_t d"/ noun a lack of employees man-to-man ranking /m_n t? m_n _r_?k ?/ noun the arrangement of employees in order according to their skills or other criteria (NOTE: does not only refer to men) manual /_m_nj??l/ adjective done by hand or done using the hands noun a book of instructions, showing what pro-cedures to follow manual labour /m_nj??l _le b?/, manual work /_m_nj??l w__k/ noun heavy work done by hand manual labourer /m_nj??l _le b?r?/ noun a person who does heavy work with their hands manufacture /m_nj?_f_kt??/ verb to make a product for sale, using ma-chines The company manufactures spare parts for cars. noun the making of a product for sale, using machines manufactured goods /m_nju- _f_kt??d ?dz/ plural noun items which are made by machine margin /_m?_d" n/ noun 1. the differ-ence between the money received when selling a product and the money paid for it 2. extra space or time allowed ‘…profit margins in the industries most exposed to foreign competition – machinery, transportation equipment and electrical goods – are significantly worse than usual’ [Australian Financial Review] marginal /_m?_d" n(?)l/ adjective hardly worth the money paid marginal cost /m?_d" n(?)l _k?st/ noun the cost of making a single extra unit above the number already planned marital status /m_r t(?)l _ste t?s/ noun the condition of being married or not market /_m?_k t/ noun 1. a place, of-ten in the open air where farm produce and household goods are sold The fish market is held every Thursday. The open-air market is held in the central square. Here are this week’s market prices for sheep. 2. the possible sales of a specific product or demand for a spe-cific product There’s no market for word processors The market for home computers has fallen sharply. We have 20% of the British car market. ‘…market analysts described the falls in the second half of last week as a technical correction to a market which had been pushed by demand to over the 900 index level’ [Australian Financial Review] ‘…market leaders may benefit from scale economies or other cost advantages; they may enjoy a reputation for quality simply by being at the top, or they may actually produce a superior product that gives them both a large market share and high profits’ [Accountancy] marketing manager /_m?_k t ? m_n d"?/ noun a person in charge of a marketing department The marketing manager has decided to start a new ad-vertising campaign. market rate /_m?_k t re t/ noun the normal price in the market We pay the market rate for secretaries or We pay secretaries the market rate. ‘…after the prime rate cut yesterday, there was a further fall in short-term market rates’ [Financial Times] married /_m_rid/ adjective joined as husband and wife married couple /m_rid _k$p(?)l/ noun a husband and wife married staff /m_rid _st?_f/ noun staff who have wives or husbands marzipan /m?_z _p_n/ adjective be-longing to the level of management im- mass 166 maturity curve mediately below the top executives (slang) mass /m_s/ noun 1. a large group of people 2. a large number We have a mass of letters or masses of letters to write. mass meeting /m_s _mi_t ?/ noun a meeting attended by most or all of the members of a trade union at a particular workplace at which they reach decisions on important issues, e.g. whether or not to take industrial action mass-produce / m_s pr?_dju_s/ verb to manufacture identical products in large quantities to mass-produce cars mass production /m_s pr?- _d$k??n/ noun the manufacture of large quantities of identical products mass redundancies /m_s r - _d$nd?nsiz/ plural noun many jobs be-ing lost and a large number of employ-ees being made redundant at the same time mass unemployment /m_s $n m- _pl? m?nt/ noun unemployment of large numbers of people master /_m?_st?/ adjective main or original master budget a budget pre-pared by amalgamating budgets from various profit and cost centres such as sales, production, marketing or adminis-tration in order to provide a main budget for the whole company the master copy of a file the main copy of a com-puter file, kept for security purposes the law of master and servant employ-ment law noun 1. a skilled worker, qualified to train apprentices a master craftsman 2. further university degree master and servant /m?_st?r ?n _s__v?nt/ noun an employer and employee master contract /_m?_st? k?ntr_kt/ noun an industry-wide con- tract between a group of employers and the relevant unions mastermind /_m?_st?ma nd/ verb 1. to have the main ideas behind a scheme 2. to be in charge of a project masterminding /_m?_st?ma nd ?/ noun a type of interview where the in-terviewer influences the interviewee who accepts their views Master-minding resulted in interviews revealing little of the real discontent on the shop floor. Master of Business Administra-tion /m?_st?r ?v _b zn s ?dm n - stre ?(?)n/ noun full form of MBA maternity /m?_t__n ti/ noun the act of becoming a mother maternity allowance /m?_t__n ti ?- la??ns/ noun a government benefit paid to women on maternity leave who are not eligible for statutory maternity pay. Abbr MA maternity leave /m?_t__n ti li_v/ noun a period when a woman is away from work to have a baby but is often still paid maternity pay period /m?_t__n ti pe p ?ri?d/ noun a period of eighteen weeks when statutory maternity pay is paid. Abbr MPP matrix management /_me tr ks m_n d"m?nt/ noun management that operates both through the hierarchical chain of command within the organisa-tion, and through relationships at the same level with other managers working in other locations or on different prod-ucts or projects matrix organisation /_me tr ks ?_ ?na ze ?(?)n/ noun a flexible or- ganisation structure where authority de-pends on the expertise needed for a particular task and overall responsibility is shared between several people matters arising /m_t?z ?_ra z ?/ plural noun the business of a meeting which refers back to items discussed at a previous meeting maturity /m?_t???r ti/ noun the third stage in a product life cycle when a product is well established in the market though no longer enjoying increasing sales, after which sooner or later it will start to decline amount payable on maturity amount received by the in-sured person when the policy becomes mature maturity curve /m?_t???r ti k__v/ noun a rate of pay increases based on age and length of service Maturity curves are not a feature of our pay maximisation 167 mediation structure since seniority is no guarantee of real contribution. maximisation /m_ks ma - _ze ?(?)n/, maximization noun the pro-cess of making something as large as possible profit maximisation or maxi-misation of profit maximise /_m_ks ma z/, maximize verb to make as large as possible Our aim is to maximise profits. The co-operation of the workforce will be needed if we are to maximise produc-tion. He is paid on results, and so has to work flat out to maximise his earnings. maximum /_m_ks m?m/ noun the largest possible number, price or quan-tity It is the maximum the insurance company will pay. up to a maximum of £10 no more than £10 adjective largest possible 40% is the maximum income tax rate or the maximum rate of tax. The maximum load for the truck is one ton. Maximum production lev-els were reached last week. MBA /em bi_ _e / noun a degree awarded to graduates who have com-pleted a further course in business stud-ies. Full form Master of Business Administration MBO abbr management buyout MBWA abbr management by walking around MD abbr managing director She was appointed MD of a property company. means /mi_nz/ noun a way of doing something Do we have any means of copying all these documents quickly? Bank transfer is the easiest means of payment. plural noun money or re-sources The company has the means to launch the new product. Such a level of investment is beyond the means of a small private company. (NOTE: plu- ral is means) means test /_mi_nz test/ verb to find out how much money someone has in savings and assets All applicants will be means-tested. measure /_me"?/ noun 1. a way of calculating size or quantity as a mea-sure of the manager’s performance as a way of judging if the manager’s per- formance is good or bad 2. a type of ac-tion to take measures to prevent something happening to act to stop something happening to take crisis, emergency measures to act rapidly to stop a crisis developing verb 1. to find out the size or quantity of something or to be of a certain size or quantity to measure the size of a package a pack-age which measures 10cm by 25cm or a package measuring 10cm by 25cm 2. to measure the department’s perfor-mance to judge how well the depart-ment has done measured day work /me"?d _de w__k/ noun a payment scheme where payment for a day’s work depends on a specified level of output being achieved measured performance /me"?d p?_f?_m?ns/ noun work performance which is measured in quantitative terms mechanic /m _k_n k/ noun a person who works with engines or machines He got a job as a car mechanic before going to college. mechanical /m _k_n k(?)l/ adjective worked by a machine a mechanical pump mechanism /_mek?n z(?)m/ noun 1. the way in which something works the company’s salary review mechanism 2. the action of a machine or system a mechanism to slow down inflation mechanistic /mek?_n st k/ adjec-tive very formal and structured It is a typical mechanistic organisation with rigid rules and procedures. mediate /_mi_die t/ verb to try to make the two sides in an argument come to an agreement The human resources director said she would try to mediate between the manager and his staff. The government offered to mediate in the dispute. mediation /mi_d _e ?(?)n/ noun an attempt by a third party to make the two sides in an argument agree The em-ployers refused an offer of government mediation. The dispute was ended through the mediation of union officials. Mediation by some third party is the only hope for ending the dispute. medical 168 memorandum of association medical /_med k(?)l/ adjective refer-ring to the study or treatment of illness he resigned for medical reasons he re-signed because he was too ill to work medical certificate /_med k(?)l s?- t f k?t/ noun a certificate from a doc-tor to show that an employee has been ill medical cover /_med k(?)l k$v?/ noun same as medical insurance medical examination /_med k(?)l z_m ne ?(?)n/ noun an examination of a person by a doctor to find out their state of health All members of staff have to have an annual medical examination. medical insurance /_med k(?)l n- ???r?ns/ noun insurance which pays the cost of medical treatment especially when travelling abroad medical profession /_med k(?)l pr?fe?(?)n/ noun all doctors medical report /_med k(?)l r p?_t/ noun a report by a doctor on the medical condition of an employee medium-term /_mi_di?m t__m/ ad-jective referring to a point between short term and long term meet /mi_t/ verb 1. to come together with someone Union leaders came to meet the negotiating committee. We met the agent at his hotel. The two sides met in the lawyer’s office. 2. to be satisfactory for We must have a prod-uct which meets our requirements. to meet the demand for a new product to fill the demand for a product to meet the conditions of an agreement to ful-fil the conditions of an agreement to meet the union’s demands to agree to what the union is asking for 3. to pay for The company will meet your expenses. (NOTE: meeting – met) meeting /_mi_t ?/ noun 1. the coming together of a group of people 2. to hold a meeting to organise a meeting of a group of people The meeting will be held in the committee room. to open a meeting to start a meeting to conduct a meeting to be in the chair for a meet-ing to close a meeting to end a meet-ing to address a meeting to speak to a meeting meetings room /_mi_t ?z ru_m/ noun a special room in which meetings are held member /_memb?/ noun 1. a person who belongs to a group, society or or-ganisation Committee members voted on the proposal. They were elected members of the board. Every em-ployer is a member of the employers’ federation. 2. an organisation which be-longs to a society the member compa-nies of a trade association ‘…it will be the first opportunity for party members and trade union members to express their views on the tax package’ [Australian Financial Review] membership /_memb?? p/ noun 1. the fact of belonging to a group, society or organisation membership qualifica-tions conditions of membership membership card to pay your mem-bership or your membership fees Membership of a trade union is not compulsory, but is strongly encouraged on the shop floor. membership of a pension scheme the fact of belonging to a pension scheme 2. all the members of a group The union membership was asked to vote for the new president. ‘…the bargaining committee will recommend that its membership ratify the agreement at a meeting called for June’ [Toronto Star] membership group /_memb?? p ru_p/ noun a group of which a certain person is a member memo /_mem??/ noun a short mes-sage sent from one person to another in the same organisation She wrote a memo to the finance director. The sales manager is going to send a memo to all the sales representatives. I sent the managing director a memo about your complaint. memo pad /_mem?? p_d/ noun a pad of paper for writing short notes memorandum /mem?_r_nd?m/ noun same as memo memorandum (and articles) of association /mem?r_nd?m ?nd ?_tik(?)lz ?v ?s??si_e ?(?)n/ noun le- gal documents setting up a limited com-pany and giving details of its name, aims, authorised share capital, conduct of meetings, appointment of directors and registered office mental handicap 169 minimum mental handicap /ment(?)l _h_ndik_p/ noun same as learning difficulty (NOTE: term now generally unacceptable) mentally handicapped /ment(?)li _h_ndik_pt/ noun having a learning difficulty (NOTE: term now generally unacceptable) mentee /men_ti_/ noun a less experi-enced employee who is offered special guidance and support by a respected and trusted person with more experience mentor /_ment?_/ noun a person who is respected and trusted by a less experi-enced employee and offers special guid-ance and support to them mentoring /_ment?r ?/ noun a form of training or employee development in which a trusted and respected person with a lot experience—the mentor—of-fers special guidance, encouragement and support to a less experienced employee merit /_mer t/ noun a quality which deserves reward merit award /_mer t ?w?_d/, merit bonus /_mer t b??n?s/ noun extra money given to an employee because they have worked well A merit bonus can encourage the better workers, but will discourage those who feel they can-not reach the required level. meritocracy /mer _t?kr?si/ noun a society or organisation where advance-ment is based on a person’s natural abil-ity rather than on their background method /_me??d/ noun a way of do-ing something They devised a new method of sending data. What is the best method of payment? His organis-ing methods are out of date. method study /_me??d st$di/ noun a study of the way in which something is done mid- /m d/ prefix middle from mid 2001 from the middle of 2001 The factory is closed until mid-July. mid-career crisis /m d k?r ? _kra s s/ noun a point in the middle of someone’s career when they have to de-cide what to do in the future middle /_m d(?)l/ adjective in the cen-tre or between two points middle manager /m d(?)l _m_n d"?/ noun a manager of a depart- ment in a company, answerable to a se-nior manager or director mid-month /_m d m$n?/ adjective which happens in the middle of the month mid-month accounts mid-week /_m d wi_k/ adjective which happens in the middle of a week the mid-week lull in sales migrant /_ma r?nt/ noun a person who moves from one place or country to another, usually to work migrant worker /ma r?nt _w__k?/ noun a worker who moves from place to place looking for work Migrant work-ers were working illegally without work permits. During the summer thou-sands of migrant workers cross the bor-der to work on the harvest. migration /ma _ re ?(?)n/ noun mov-ing from one place or country to an-other, usually to work military leave /m l t(?)ri _li_v/ noun US unpaid leave or absence from work by employees who are in the armed forces or who have to do their military service milk round /_m lk ra?nd/ noun the visiting of universities and colleges by employers, in order to find promising new employees ‘…as the annual milk round gets under way, many students are more interested in final exams than in job hunting’ [Personnel Management] minimal /_m n m(?)l/ adjective the smallest possible There was a mini-mal quantity of imperfections in the batch. The head office exercises mini-mal control over the branch offices. minimise /_m n ma z/, minimize verb 1. to make something seem to be very small and not very important 2. to make something as small as possible The company is attempting to minimise its labour costs by only hiring workers when they are needed. Unemployment was minimised by giving more people part-time work. minimum /_m n m?m/ noun smallest possible quantity, price or number to keep expenses to a minimum to reduce the risk of a loss to a minimum (NOTE: minimum age 170 mobile phone plural is minima or minimums) ad-jective smallest possible minimum payment the smallest payment necessary minimum age /m n m?m _e d"/ noun the lowest age at which someone can be employed (13 in a few types of employment, but 16 is the legal minimum) minimum pay /m n m?m _pe /, minimum wage /m n m?m _we d"/ noun the lowest hourly wage which a company can legally pay its employees minimum salary /m n m?m _s_l?ri/ noun the lowest amount of money that an employee is guaranteed to earn, i.e. their basic pay, which may be increased if an employee qualifies for a bonus by performing well minor /_ma n?/ adjective less impor-tant Items of minor expenditure are not listed separately. The minor shareholders voted against the pro-posal. minor official a person in a low position in a government department minority /ma _n?r ti/ noun 1. a num-ber or quantity which is less than half of the total A minority of board members opposed the chairman. A minority of the union members opposed the motion. to be in the minority to be one of a group that is a small part of a larger group 2. a section of the population from a specific racial group, which does nor make up the majority of the population minutes /_m n ts/ plural noun notes of what happened at a meeting, written by the secretary to take the minutes to write notes of what happened at a meeting misappropriate /m s?_pr??prie t/ verb to use illegally money which is not yours, but with which you have been trusted misappropriation /m s?pr??pri- _e ?(?)n/ noun the illegal use of money by someone who is not the owner but who has been trusted to look after it miscarriage of justice /m sk_r d" ?v _d"$st s/ noun a deci-sion wrongly or unjustly reached by a court or decision which goes against the rights of a party in a case, in such a way that the decision may be reversed on appeal misconduct /m s_k?nd$kt/ noun an illegal action by an employee, or an ac-tion which can harm someone, e.g. dis-obeying instructions misdemeanour /m sd _mi_n?/ noun a minor crime to commit a misde-meanour (NOTE: the usual US spelling is misdemeanor) mismanage /m s_m_n d"/ verb to manage badly The company had been badly mismanaged under the previous MD. mismanagement /m s- _m_n d"m?nt/ noun bad management The company failed because of the chairman’s mismanagement. misrepresentation /m srepr zen- _te ?(?)n/ noun 1. the act of making a wrong statement in order to persuade someone to enter into a contract such as one for buying a product or service 2. the act of wrongly reporting facts mistake /m _ste k/ noun an act or de-cision which is wrong to make a mis-take to do something wrong The shop made a mistake and sent the wrong items. There was a mistake in the ad-dress. He made a mistake in address-ing the letter. misunderstanding /m s$nd?- _st_nd ?/ noun an act of not under-standing something correctly There was a misunderstanding over the pay deal. misuse noun /m s_ju_s/ a wrong use the misuse of funds or of assets verb to misuse funds to use funds in a wrong way (especially funds which do not belong to you) misuse of authority /m sju_s ?v ?__??r ti/ noun the use of one’s author-ity in a wrong way mobile /_m??ba l/ adjective which can move about mobile workforce employees who move from place to place to get work mobile phone /_m??ba l _f??n/ noun a small portable phone which can be used away from home or the office mobile worker 171 morale mobile worker /m??ba l _w__k?/ noun an employee who does not have one fixed place of work (NOTE: Mobile workers, such as teleworkers, are usu-ally linked to a central base by tele-phone and computer) mobility /m??_b l ti/ noun the ability to move from one place to another mobility allowance /m??_b l ti ?- la??ns/ noun an addition to normal sal-ary paid to an employee who is willing to travel to different places of work model /_m?d(?)l/ noun 1. a small copy of something made to show what it will look like when finished They showed us a model of the new office building. 2. something which can be copied the Swedish model of industrial relations adjective which is a perfect example to be copied a model agreement moderate adjective /_m?d(?)r?t/ 1. not too large The trade union made a moderate claim. The government pro-posed a moderate increase in the tax rate. 2. not holding very extreme views a moderate trade union leader verb /_m?d?re t/ to make less strong or less large The union was forced to moder-ate its claim. modification /m?d f _ke ?(?)n/ noun a change The board wanted to make or to carry out modifications to the plan. The client pressed for modi-fications to the contract. modify /_m?d fa / verb to change or to make something fit a different use The management modified its proposals. This is the new modified agreement. (NOTE: modifies – modifying – modified) momentum /m??_ment?m/ noun a movement forwards to gain or lose momentum to move faster or more slowly Monday morning feeling /m$nde _m?_n ? fi_l ?/ noun a feel-ing of being slightly ill or miserable on going to work on Monday morning money purchase pension /_m$ni p__t? s pen??n/ noun a pension plan to which both employer and employee make contributions money purchase pension scheme /m$ni p__t? s _pen??n ski_m/ noun (in the United Kingdom) a pension plan in which the fund that is built up from a person’s contributions is used to buy an annuity, and the retire-ment income that the beneficiary re-ceives depends on the amount of their contributions, the performance of the in-vestments bought with those contribu-tions, the annuity rates and the type of annuity purchased at retirement monitor /_m?n t?/ noun a screen on a computer He brought up the informa-tion on the monitor. verb to check or to examine how something is working How do you monitor the performance of the sales reps? month /m$n?/ noun one of twelve pe-riods which make a year bills due at the end of the current month She earns £2,000 a month. paid by the month paid once each month to give a customer two months’ credit to al-low a customer to pay not immediately, but after two months month end /m$n? _end/ noun the end of a calendar month, when accounts have to be drawn up The accounts de-partment are working on the month-end accounts. monthly /_m$n?li/ adjective happen-ing every month or which is received every month We get a monthly state-ment from the bank. She makes monthly payments to the credit card company. My monthly salary cheque is late. adverb every month He asked if he could pay monthly by direct debit. The account is credited monthly. moonlight /_mu_nla t/ verb to do a second job for cash (often in the eve-ning) as well as a regular job (informal) moonlighter /_mu_nla t?/ noun a person who moonlights moonlighting /_mu_nla t ?/ noun the practice of doing a second job He makes thousands a year from moonlighting. morale /m?_r?_l/ noun a feeling of confidence or satisfaction Employee morale is low due to the threat of unem- morning shift 172 multiple hurdle selection ployment. to boost morale to increase the employees’ feelings of confidence morning shift /_m?_n ? ? ft/ noun a shift which works during the morning (typically from 7.00 or 8.00 a.m. to lunchtime) motion /_m???(?)n/ noun 1. the act of moving about 2. a proposal which will be put to a meeting to be voted on to speak against or for a motion Mr Brown will propose or move a motion congratulating the board on the results. The meeting voted on the motion. The motion was carried or was defeated by 220 votes to 196. motion study /_m???(?)n st$di/ noun a study of the movements of em-ployees performing tasks in order to im-prove efficiency motivate /_m??t ve t/ verb to encour-age someone to do something, espe-cially to work or to sell highly motivated sales staff sales staff who are very eager to sell ‘…creative people aren’t necessarily motivated by money or titles, they may not want a larger office or more work, they don’t often want more responsibility. They want to see their ideas implemented’ [Nation’s Business] motivation /m??t _ve ?(?)n/ noun 1. an encouragement to staff 2. eager-ness to work well or sell large quantities of a product the sales staff lack moti-vation the sales staff are not eager enough to sell motivational /m??t _ve ?(?)n(?)l/ adjective referring to motivation motivational factor /m??t - _ve ?(?)n(?)l f_kt?/ noun an aspect of a job or an organisation which encour-ages employees to work hard A bonus system based on production targets was a strong motivational factor. A high commission should be a strong motiva-tional factor for the sales force. mouse /ma?s/ noun small moveable device attached to a personal computer and used to move or select items on the screen (NOTE: plural is mouses or mice) ‘…you can use a mouse to access pop-up menus and a keyboard for a word-processor’ [Byte] movement /_mu_vm?nt/ noun 1. an act of changing position or going up or down movements in the money mar-kets cyclical movements of trade free movement of labour within the EU the principle that workers from any country of the EU can move to another country to obtain work 2. a group of people working towards the same aim the labour movement the free trade movement the trade union movement mover and shaker /mu_v?r ?n _?e k?/ noun an influential and dynamic person within an organisation or group of people who makes things happen (in- formal) MPP abbr maternity pay period Mr Chairman /m st? _t?e?m?n/ noun a way of speaking to the male chairman of a committee meeting multi-employer bargaining /m$lti mpl? ? _b?_ n ?/ noun cen-tralised bargaining about pay, usually between employer’s associations repre-senting all the employers in a particular industry in a country or region and the relevant trade unions multinational corporation /m$ltin_?(?)n(?)l k?_p?_re ?(?)n/ noun a company which has branches or subsidiary companies in several countries multiple /_m$lt p(?)l/ adjective many noun a company with stores in sev-eral different towns ‘…many independents took advantage of the bank holiday period when the big multiples were closed’ [The Grocer] ‘…the multiple brought the price down to £2.49 in some stores. We had not agreed to this deal and they sold out very rapidly. When they reordered we would not give it to them. This kind of activity is bad for the brand and we cannot afford it’ [The Grocer] multiple chain promotion plan /m$lt p(?)l t?e n pr?_m???(?)n pl_n/ a system of linking each position in an organisation to several others from which promotion may be made, or to which employees may be promoted multiple-employer bargaining /m$lt p(?)l mpl? ? _b?_ n ?/ noun same as multi-employer bargaining multiple hurdle selection /m$lt p(?)l _h__d(?)l s lek??n/, mul-tiple hurdle system /m$lt p(?)l _h__d(?)l s st?m/ noun a method of se- multiple management 173 MYOB lecting candidates for a job by requiring that they should pass a series of tests The multiple hurdle system very effi-ciently eliminates a large number of candidates. multiple management /m$lt p(?)l _m_n d"m?nt/ noun a management system where committees of middle managers advise top management on company policy multiskilling /_m$ltisk l ?/ noun a system of working where employees are trained to work in various types of job, and none are kept on the same type of work for very long, so as to allow flexi-bility in the deployment of the workforce multitasking /_m$ltit?_sk ?/ noun 1. performing several different tasks at the same time 2. running several differ-ent software programs at the same time Murphy’s law /m__fiz _l?_/ noun law, based on wide experience, which says that in commercial life if some-thing can go wrong it will go wrong, or that when you are thinking that things are going right, they will inevitably start to go wrong mushroom job /_m$?ru_m d"?b/ noun US a job which is unpleasant (slang) mutuality /mju_t?u__l ti/ noun the right of a trade union to bargain on be-half of its members and so take a part in the running of the company mutuality agreement /mju_t?u- __l ti ? ri_m?nt/ noun an agreement between management and union, by which the management agrees not to make changes to the conditions of work without consulting the union Myers-Briggs type indicator /ma ?z br z _ta p nd ke t? / noun a test designed to indicate what type of personality a person has on the basis of the preferences they show with regard to four paired opposites: extraversion and introversion; sensing and intuition; thinking and feeling; judging and perceiving MYOB abbr mind your own business