Acronyms: Corporate vs Italy

It’s the holiday season—have you done your shopping yet? As someone who worked for eleven years in retail, I can sympathize with my past-co-workers especially at this time of year, because they are working harder than any elves (real or cinematic). Because of this, I’ve been thinking of them even more than usual (hey, I miss my working class pals), and because of this I’ve been thinking about acronyms. If you don’t know, big corporations (like big governments, big hospitals, big schools, and big restaurants) are awfully fond of acronyms. And (this is all getting somewhere, promise), because of this combination of thinking about my stressed holidays pals (Andrea, take a break!) and about corporations and their acronyms while living in Italy for my pre-tirement, I’ve (with Natalie’s help) been comparing corporate acronyms with Italy acronyms. And I thought you’d enjoy it, too (even if you are in the midst of the hectic holiday season—everyone needs to goof off a few minutes a day). Some of these are specific to my past company (Amazon.com, that is), such as the first one (which, to be honest, I may have wrong—but it’s the way I learned it), but some are just general to the corporate world. And, if your corporation has any favorite acronyms that you think might be better in Italy, add them.

Acronym   Corporate World                                    Italy

ASIN      Amazon Specific Information Number      Americans Seek International Notoriety

WBR       Weekly Business Review                          Wine Bread Regularly

MAP       Minimum Advertised Price                        Maximum Amount of Pasta

CP          Contribution Profit                                    Crostini Porcini

GV         Glance Views                                            Gelato Value

DMM     District Merchandise Manager                   Dolce Manga Merchant

FBA       Fulfilled by Amazon                                   Florence Brings Art

CEO      Chief Executive Officer                             Charming English Operators

FIFO     First In, First Out                                      Frescos Invite Frequent Odysseys

LIFO     Last In, First Out                                      Lisciano Involves Fizz Often