There are a number of billboard ads on display around Cork concerning An Post staff grievances with management. The billboards are headlined:
An Post management is not delivering
Forgive me, and correct me if I am wrong, should that not say:
An Post management are not delivering
I would imagine there is more than one manager involved.
Not wishing to be pedantic or anything but I think the ad is correct. Management, although collective, is still a singular noun. However, the lines of acceptable usage regarding collective nouns are becoming quite fluid, even if the grammar police don’t agree, so you’d probably get away with the plural verb form.
It is me being pedantic – but I am seeking the answer nonetheless. I did puzzle over the headline for a few days, saying it to myself to see if it sounded ‘right’. A dictionary definition is “The person or persons who control or direct a business or other enterprise.” In this case I would say An Post is persons – and the general tone of the billboard appears to be putting it in that context. To my mind, ‘are’ sounds more correct than ‘is’. But that’s me!
There’s some info here http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/grammar/archive/collective_nouns.html which suggests both are correct.
It depends on whether the management is being referred to collectively or individually. For instance,
“The band is due to tour in the autumn” is correct because the band is acting collectively, but
“The band have gone their separate ways” is also correct because it refers to the actions of individual members.
The advert is, I think, referring to management as a whole, and therefore “is” should be the preferred option. Unless it means individual members of management are not going from house to house with postbags. ;0)
The billboards form part of a nationwide campaign to highlight the fact that the entire management team at An Post is not delivering. In designing the ad, I felt it was important to refer to the entire team as a single entity. However, I do agree that “are†would also have been grammatically correct but would most likely have warranted the response “its not their job to deliver, that’s why they employ post(wo)menâ€
The billboards kicked off the campaign and are now being followed up with posters, car stickers and door-to-door leaflet drops.
I’m sure that the postman who volunteered to have his picture used on the billboard ads and leaflets will be happy to hear that there is a debate about something other than his suitability for a job as santa’s little helper. 🙂
How about “An Post is not delivering”, without the noun, no need to worry.
Or Photo of Postperson with group of “suits” in background, caption reading “At An Post, this guy’s the only one delivering”.
Thoughts on a post card please……..