Annoying managers

[richard51]

Just see Cressida Dick talking about attacks on met police officers.

What really annoys me is that she so condescendingly refers to the officers as "my officers".

Not - they are public servants and not "belonging" to her.

This sort of talk was certainly endemic in the NHS - tuppenny managers as well as senior staff saying other staff are belonging to them. People working for them in their department. It really p....d me orf.

No - they are colleagues!

Grr.

[NormanH]

Is that really her name????

[Gardian]

Well (as usual) you’re talking complete rowlocks.

She is actually quite well thought of amongst the ‘rank & file’ in the Met. In recent years, that’s quite unusual.

As far as suggesting that they should be referred to as ‘colleagues’, I reckon that they’d mostly laugh at you.

As we should.

[woolybanana]

Dickdick would prefer ‘comrade’?

[grumpyaudeman]

Its just the same as the UK queen saying my people

The UK population have never twigged they are subjects not citizens

[idun]

Ms Dick sometimes drives me MAD, and then she comes out with something that is sensible, but that helas is not very often.

Managers................GRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!

I shall say no more than the GRRRRRRRRRRRR as most on most levels need sacking.

[YCCMB]

The clue is in the title. Commander of the Metropolitan Police. Not "everyone's best friend". She probably gives orders on many issues rather than getting out a flip chart and brainstorming ideas with the group so everyone feels invested. It's what commanders do.

Bit like the army, really. They're public servants too, but I bet you'd never think to question a senior officer talking about "his" men. No army officer would refer to his subordinate officers as "colleagues" and I doubt anyone would expect them to. There's a chain of command, a hierarchy. It may not compute with your world view, but the Commander of the Met. isn't just a "manager".

Personally, I've always found managers who project a faux camaraderie when they really want to assert their authority and self-perceived superiority to be a much less attractive breed. That's proper condescension. Yeah, we're all "colleagues" all right, just that, like animal farm, some colleagues are more equal than others.

[EuroTrash]

I think you're being a bit harsh. In the work context "my" tends to have the meaning of "my responsibility" rather than "my own personal possession". Like you talk about "my" desk, "my" computer" etc, you know perfectly well that these things belong to the owner of the business, but, they're the resources you have in order to perform your function so in that sense, they are "yours".

[YCCMB]

And that ^^^^ . Exactly. It's so easy to put ones own spin on someone else's use of language, especially if you're looking to be offended.

[richard51]

I probably have met too many mangers who have reached the rank/grade at which they become incompetent.

However the "commander of the police force" is that and not the owner of individuals in that unit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commander

I certainly object to being the possession of another person

A good manager responsible for the work of people will get the respect of those people by communicating non-aggressively and not in a "I'm the boss" manner.

[richard51]

ET - take your point,but isn't that objectifying people?.

[EuroTrash]

I take your point also, but I think it would be a poor manager who didn't feel some responsibility towards "their" team.

In the same way as you are reponsible for not breaking "your" computer and not overspending "your" budget, you are also supposed to support "your" team.

[YCCMB]

A good manager responsible for the work of people will get the respect of those people by communicating non-aggressively and not in a "I'm the boss" manner.

Which isn't in any way relevant to using a possessive determiner.

There are many examples of the use of possessive determiners to indicate identification with a group or individual (I speak of "my mother" which in no way implies superiority or possession).

Here's a definition which may clarify.

For possessive adjectives as elsewhere, the genitive does not always indicate strict possession, but rather a general sense of belonging or close identification with. Consider the following examples:

my mother or my people

Here, a person does not own his or her mother, but rather has a close relationship with her. The same applies to my people, which means people I am closely associated with or people I identify with.

It's far too easy to get righteously indignant purely on the basis of interpretation of ones own perception of a choice of words. It does not automatically follow that your interpretation was the user's intention.

Still, it's funny to have a dick calling a Dick a dick.

[EuroTrash]

LOL YCCMBOQIYP, that made me laugh.

[richard51]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Possessive_determiner

Yes "My" appears to be a possessive determinator. Surely Ms Dick is not closely associated with all of the Met Police Officers - that takes some doing even for superwoman. Neither do all individual officers belong to her no matter how much she tries. In the quote I'm sure she meant that which I possess.

Funny how someone is so obsessed with dicks. Did you use wiki as usual? BTW I am not a penis or are you trying to be too familiar with me. Are you the female equivalent?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penis_envy

Where did I call Cressida Dick a dick?

[woolybanana]

Lucky you were not nicknamed Little Dick, then!?

[YCCMB]

Possessive determiner. Arnold Schwarzengger was the determinator.

I used Wikipedia, yes. It's the most simplistic explanation I could find. "As usual"? No. I try to steer away from Wikipedia if more factually accurate sources are available, but they can't make too much of a mess of straightforward grammar.

As long as you're happy with your perception of reality, dicky, that's great. I didn't say you were a penis, but (no pun intended) if the cap fits....

And if were questioning people's obsessions, you seem to have developed an unhealthy one for describing people as an anus. I wonder what that says about you?

[richard51]

True, brother WB

NB its a horses rear and that would be my (MY!!!) comrade WB.

Look at wiki.

[richard51]

HaHa

http://www.yourdictionary.com/determinator