Do you have more context? Where did you see this? What did it come from?
John
My quote is a part of a figure. Let me provide you with some more related context.
Some people prefer to speak globally, while others like to be specific. Flexible communication requires the ability to chunk up, down or laterally depending upon the situation. .... Effective politicians are experts at this. If you were to ask a ploitician a relatively small-chunk question like "what are you going to do about income tax?", a skilled politician will chunk upward, i.e. "income tax is but one element in the fight to keep inflation under control which we have said will remain at the top of our agenda."
This response chunked up from
income tax to
inflation. A lateral move remains at the same chunk size. Figure 7.2 demonstrates all three moves---up, down and lateral---with the question that triggers the move in each direction.
Figure 7.2 Stepping up, down and laterally
upward (general)
commerce - exchange - communication - ideas
lateral
banking - food retail - insurance - motor trade
downward (specific)
banking - merchant banking - share dealing -
acme shares - my acme shares
Is there any possibility "acme shares" refer to the shares of the company, Acme Ltd?
And I'm a little confused about the meanings of "commerce" and "exchange" in red in the above context.
Does "commerce" here mean "social relations, especially the exchange of views, attitudes, etc" or "an interchange of goods and commodities"?
And does "exchange" here mean "an argument or quarrel" or "the act or process of exchanging something like goods"? It seems to me when they mean the formers, it will be more logical in the context where the items chunk upward.