GalacticCactus Forum

Forums => English & Linguistics => Topic started by: Jonathon on October 22, 2007, 06:53:15 PM

Title: Actionable
Post by: Jonathon on October 22, 2007, 06:53:15 PM

I read this blog post (http://thebrowser.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2007/10/22/cnbc-lights-cameraactionable/) on CNN Money earlier today and had roughly the same reaction as the author. I'm only familiar with "actionable" as a legal term meaning "subject to legal action," not as business jargon meaning "capable of being acted on." And even if both meanings exist, I think CNBC's usage is ambiguous at best and stupid at worst.

But it made me wonder, how many people think of the legal definition first, and how many think of the business definition?

Title: Actionable
Post by: Porter on October 22, 2007, 07:07:37 PM

Legal definition only.

Title: Actionable
Post by: rivka on October 22, 2007, 07:10:27 PM

Ditto.

Title: Actionable
Post by: dkw on October 23, 2007, 06:34:28 AM

Thirded.

Title: Actionable
Post by: pooka on December 05, 2007, 10:44:41 AM

I'm pretty familiar with it in the business sense.  Often parts of a process are in the way of each other, or input is needed from various people before action can be taken.

Title: Actionable
Post by: Jonathon on December 05, 2007, 10:56:36 AM

But is the business sense what you think of first? I think even people familiar with it might not think of it first outside of a business context.

Title: Actionable
Post by: pooka on December 05, 2007, 12:39:13 PM

I guess it depends, since I work in a law office but that word never comes up in our field (labor and employment) so my legalese is probably off-callibration.