postzegelmentaliteit

English translation: 'every man for himself' mentality

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Dutch term or phrase:postzegelmentaliteit
English translation:'every man for himself' mentality
Entered by: Antoinette Verburg

16:05 Sep 17, 2007
Dutch to English translations [PRO]
Business/Commerce (general)
Dutch term or phrase: postzegelmentaliteit
Please someone help me with this term. My inspiration is lacking for this rush translation. Thank you!
Saskia Placke
United States
Local time: 03:17
'every man for himself' mentality
Explanation:
The quote below comes from a report headed Hebben Nederlandse media last van ‘postzegel mentaliteit’?
"Postzegel mentaliteit.
Coopmans stipte hierbij overigens aan dat hij wel gelooft dat de consument ooit en masse online TV gaat consumeren. Wanneer deze tipping point echter zou aanbreken, moest hij het antwoord schuldig blijven.
Hij pleitte daarnaast voor een ‘open wereld’, waarbij marktpartijen samen optrekken in plaats van elkaar proberen te dwarsbomen of financieel uit te kleden, zoals nu het geval zou zijn. Door deze Nederlandse ‘postzegel mentaliteit’ zouden we volgens hem mondiaal weleens de boot kunnen missen en dat kon toch niemands bedoeling zijn. In dit kader zal ook KPN haar portfolio m.b.t. ‘mediaexperimenten’ de komende tijd eens grondig analyseren en waar nodig zich herbezinnen"

I think on the basis of that report I would call it an 'every man for himself' mentality - lack of collaboration and ability to see the bigger picture apparently being part of the problem


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Note added at 50 mins (2007-09-17 16:55:50 GMT)
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The site where the report can be found is:http://www.marketingfacts.nl/berichten/20070907_hebben_neder...
Selected response from:

Kate Hudson (X)
Netherlands
Local time: 10:17
Grading comment
Thank you very much. I ended up going with this translation. I think I will enter it into the glossary also.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1small thinking
Jack den Haan
3 +2silo mentality
Neil Cross
3 +1'every man for himself' mentality
Kate Hudson (X)
3 +1small-minded/narrow minded/short-sighted/shallow-minded
jarry (X)


Discussion entries: 6





  

Answers


18 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
small thinking


Explanation:
This might do the trick...

http://www.mwdadvisors.com/blog/2007/07/more-big-vs-small-th...
This "application architecture" lens for BPM and SOA is all wrong. It's another example of small thinking.


Jack den Haan
Netherlands
Local time: 10:17
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in DutchDutch, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 72
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you for your help. I went with Kate's answer: "every man for himself" mentality".


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tina Vonhof (X): 'territorial thinking' zou misschien ook kunnen.
15 mins
  -> Thanks, Tina.

neutral  writeaway: don't see how this applies when you see the ref Moira posted above. thinking big and thinking small mean something else in business I thought.
31 mins
  -> With due respect for Moira, there are more references and opinions above (and below, for that matter) than hers. Not to mention Asker's further context ;-)
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47 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
silo mentality


Explanation:
'Silo' mentality / thinking / vision seems to describe the same thing. I came across this concept while translating an annual report a few months ago. It seems to be quite a buzzword in business circles.

See Google for plenty of relevant hits: http://www.google.com/search?q=silo mentality

"Eliminate 'Silo' thinking where many members of your team are only focused on their own specialisms or departments ... Organisations of all sizes often suffer from the consequences of internal functional barriers. The problem is variously termed as Silo Thinking, Silo Vision or Silo Mentality. This is evident when directors, departments, managers, teams or staff may be high performers individually, but fail to choreograph their activities to create peak performance for the organisation."
http://www.perceptiondynamics.info/silo-mentality/silo-menta...

"The other reason for not sharing knowledge is that most nonprofit organizations operate in a “silo” organizational environment. Managers work in the narrow confines of their departmental walls, see their colleagues as competitors, and hoard valuable knowledge. In most cases the 'silo syndrome' is a symptom of leadership failure in an environment that promotes silo behavior. The silo mentality is counterproductive to the sharing of knowledge. A pervasive silo mentality can lead to a moribund organization, an organization that is dying a slow death"
http://www.asaecenter.org/PublicationsResources/whitepaperde...

Another possibility (based on Ken's thoughts above) might be 'turf mentality'.

Neil Cross
United Kingdom
Local time: 09:17
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you very much for your help. I went with Kate's answer: "every man for himself" mentality.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  writeaway: this fits in and is used a lot in the USA as well.
6 mins
  -> Thanks, W!

agree  MoiraB: I like it! I recently came across 'hokjesdenken' and translated it as silo mentality. Sounds like a similar idea.
28 mins
  -> Thanks, Moira!
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49 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
'every man for himself' mentality


Explanation:
The quote below comes from a report headed Hebben Nederlandse media last van ‘postzegel mentaliteit’?
"Postzegel mentaliteit.
Coopmans stipte hierbij overigens aan dat hij wel gelooft dat de consument ooit en masse online TV gaat consumeren. Wanneer deze tipping point echter zou aanbreken, moest hij het antwoord schuldig blijven.
Hij pleitte daarnaast voor een ‘open wereld’, waarbij marktpartijen samen optrekken in plaats van elkaar proberen te dwarsbomen of financieel uit te kleden, zoals nu het geval zou zijn. Door deze Nederlandse ‘postzegel mentaliteit’ zouden we volgens hem mondiaal weleens de boot kunnen missen en dat kon toch niemands bedoeling zijn. In dit kader zal ook KPN haar portfolio m.b.t. ‘mediaexperimenten’ de komende tijd eens grondig analyseren en waar nodig zich herbezinnen"

I think on the basis of that report I would call it an 'every man for himself' mentality - lack of collaboration and ability to see the bigger picture apparently being part of the problem


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 50 mins (2007-09-17 16:55:50 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The site where the report can be found is:http://www.marketingfacts.nl/berichten/20070907_hebben_neder...

Kate Hudson (X)
Netherlands
Local time: 10:17
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 73
Grading comment
Thank you very much. I ended up going with this translation. I think I will enter it into the glossary also.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  writeaway: thinking and acting too much inside the box? short-sightedness, small-mindedness.....I do have the impression that once the NL term is understood, there are many ways to go in English. :-)
5 mins
  -> all of those too if you like ;-)

neutral  jarry (X): I think this expression refers more to the individualisation of our society than to to the situation described by the asker. "Ieder voor zichzelf (i.p.v. samen voor allen) is a well known Dutch expression and differs vastly from "postzegel mentaliteit".
1 hr
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
small-minded/narrow minded/short-sighted/shallow-minded


Explanation:
small-minded
adjective
Not broad or elevated in scope or understanding: limited, little, narrow, narrow-minded, petty, small. See limited/unlimited, wide/narrow.
Contemptibly unimportant: inconsiderable, negligible, niggling, nugatory, paltry, petty, picayune, piddling, small, trifling. Slang measly. Idioms: of no account. See important/unimportant.

News-EditorialThe bourgeois Tony Blair is simply a continuation of this small shopkeeper mentality this shallow, shortsighted, class of upstarts. ...
www.ukzn.ac.za/ccs/default.asp?2,40,5,1233 -




    Reference: http://www.answers.com/topic/small-minded
jarry (X)
South Africa
Local time: 11:17
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 237
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you for your help. I went with Kate's answer: "every man for himself" mentality


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Albert Stufkens
1 hr
  -> Thank you, even though the asker has already selected the answer she found most helpful.
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