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Působnost [oddělení (vládního úřadu/vládní agentury)]

English translation: purview

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Czech term or phrase:působnost
English translation:purview
Entered by: petusek

15:59 Jan 31, 2015
Czech to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Business/Commerce (general) / státní administrativa
Czech term or phrase: Působnost [oddělení (vládního úřadu/vládní agentury)]
Hello everyone,

Trying to help out a friend from a (Czech) ministry, namely proof-reading some old Czech-to-English translations (done by people from that ministry, neither professional translators, nor native speakers of English), I've just come across something I suspect might be wrong.

"Působnost" seems to be translated as "Terms of Reference", which, in itself, might not be wrong, but judging from what the online sources say it appears to apply mostly to Commitees and other similar groupings of people, while here it consistently applies to a particular organizational (sub-)unit within the ministry - one of its sections/departments.

I've consulted a few online sources, such as these:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terms_of_reference
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/terms-of-refere...

From my little Google search research I've gathered "Terms of Reference" is only applied to "Departments" by non-native speakers of English, whereas, apparently, all native speakers uniformly apply that phrase to special working groups and committees created for a particular purpose rather than a permanent authority with a vast and wide range of activities and responsibilities - hence my hesitation. I realize though the results could be misleading.

Basically, in the governmental documents I've seen, the term is obviously supposed to encompass everything that the particular department/section is responsible for or in charge of, its scope of activities, such as project management, data evaluation, communication with partners, documentation, establishing various task and goals etc.

My question is thus as follows:

Is "Terms of Reference" appropriate here, or would, say, "Purview" be better?

Many thanks for any advice!

It seems one never stops learning new stuff! :)

Best,

P.
petusek
Local time: 09:41
purview
Explanation:
...je správně
Selected response from:

Pavel Slama
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:41
Grading comment
Skvěle, děkuji!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +3purview
Pavel Slama
4 +1capacity
Sarka Rubkova
3 +1(Area of) Competence [of a (governmental office/governmental agency]
Viliam Schichman
3 -1scope of responsibilities
Ivan Šimerka


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


27 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
působnost
purview


Explanation:
...je správně

Pavel Slama
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:41
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in CzechCzech
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Skvěle, děkuji!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Dušan Ján Hlísta
17 hrs
agree  Stuart Hoskins
17 hrs
agree  Václav Pinkava
1 day 22 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): -1
scope of responsibilities


Explanation:
proč ne

Ivan Šimerka
Czech Republic
Local time: 09:41
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in CzechCzech
PRO pts in category: 19

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Dušan Ján Hlísta: prečo áno?
16 hrs
  -> běžný překlad
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7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
(Area of) Competence [of a (governmental office/governmental agency]


Explanation:
Just another idea.


    Reference: http://senate.ucsd.edu/Operating-Procedures/Senate-Manual/By...
Viliam Schichman
Slovakia
Local time: 09:41
Native speaker of: Native in Slavic(Other)Slavic(Other), Native in SlovakSlovak

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Stuart Hoskins: I wouldn't be averse to this, either.
10 hrs
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23 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
capacity


Explanation:
...

Sarka Rubkova
Czech Republic
Local time: 09:41
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in CzechCzech
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Adam Homsi: toto je jednoduche a vystizne, this seems simple and comprehensive, for example in case like "in the capacity of a General"
1314 days
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