社会の窓から英会話Social / Business

Scene 4-3 上級 Office Politics ～社内でのかけひき～

Rat orgy

Right after the meeting Brian and Sarah are talking about the decision Mr. Stanley made. This is their reaction.

Lesson

Dialogダイアログ
Explanationsフレーズ解説
Translation日本語訳

Dialog

繰り返し聴いて英語の自然なリズムを身につけましょう。

Brian: I can’t believe that! Where does Stanley get off making Barbara the god damn Marketing VP?

Sarah: Believe me. I was just as surprised as you were. But, you know, when I think about it, it all makes sense.

Brian: What do you mean?

Sarah: Well, you know, Barbara, she’s…she’s really friendly with Grace. And I think perhaps a little fortune in the form of a recommendation from our esteemed CEO got her the position.

Brian: That’s a bunch of crap! That old hag hasn’t got the first idea of how to manage anything. She couldn’t manage a rat orgy, let alone choose a suitable VP.

Sarah: Well, technically she didn’t choose her.

Brian: Okay. Recommend a suitable VP.

Sarah: Anyway, the one I feel bad for is Teddy. He’s been slaving away these days, working on those big accounts he brought in. I thought he was for sure going to get the job.

Brian: I know. I was saying the same thing to him this morning. He barely had time to think. He’s so bogged down. Poor guy.

Explanations

ポイントとなる内容を確認してより理解を深めましょう。

英文解説
日本語解説

Here, Sarah helps to shed some light on why Barbara may have been given the promotion. It appears that she is good-friends with one of the senior management at the company, and it is through this connection that she rose through the ranks. This kind of scenario, while unfair, is not uncommon in North American companies. There is an expression in business: "it's not what you know, it's who you know." This saying demonstrates to some extent the massive and complex network of social politics that underlies the business world. It is a reality that raw skill is not enough to get you to the top. You have to be willing to play a political game if you want to be successful in business. Also, in this dialogue, you can find some italicized words. These italics indicate emphasis. In this case they are used jokingly to point out Brian's incorrect choice of words.

このダイアログでは、サラが与えてくれるヒントによって、バーバラが昇進した理由がわかります。バーバラは会社の上級管理職の一人と仲がいいらしく、このコネで出世したのです。このような筋書きは、不公平ではありますが、北アメリカの会社では珍しいことではありません。ビジネスに関して"it's not what you know, it's who you know."という表現があります。この格言は、ビジネスワールドの根底にある巨大で複雑なネットワークの実情を、ある程度、言い表しています。現実的には、トップに上り詰めるには、技術だけでは不十分です。ビジネスで成功したいなら、積極的に政治ゲームに参加する必要があります。また、このダイアログでは、いくつかのイタリック体の語があります。これらのイタリック体の語は強調を示しています。ここでは、ブライアンが選んだ言葉の間違いを指摘するのに、冗談めかして使われています。

Words & Phrases

rat:
ネズミ、嫌なやつ

orgy:
乱痴気騒ぎ

esteemed
尊敬されている、高く評価されている

hag:
鬼ばば、くそばばあ

let alone:
〜はおろか、〜はもちろんのこと

technically:
技術的には、理論的に言えば

slave away:
あくせく働く

get bogged down with a lot of work:
仕事が多くて動きが取れなくなる