South African vs US business terms

This post is a continuation of the guest lecture I gave at GSU. A group of MBA students are planning to visit South Africa to meet with South African companies. I gave them this introduction to business terms used in South Africa.

• In South Africa revenue or sales is called turnover. I’ve been in a number of business meetings where South African businesspeople proudly mentioned their company’s high turnover. (Turnover in America typically refers to employee attrition).
• In South Africa the CEO is referred to as the Managing Director or MD. CEO is used more frequently in South Africa these days.
• A director in America is typically a level below a VP, however in South Africa a director usually refers to a board member, i.e., a very senior position.
• In America a loan is typically referred to as a note.
• In South Africa the word scheme doesn’t have the same negative connotation as it has in America. Share plans are frequently called Share schemes.
• In South Africa employees are retrenched rather than laid off.
• In South Africa people will check their diary instead of their calendar to schedule a meeting.

During the next installment I’ll give you a few fun general terms that are used differently in South Africa.Do you have an interesting story to tell when you used a word that people in a different country didn’t understand or misunderstood?