ECONIMIC REPORTS

Business Buzzwords: Buzz Off

ARE some of those familiar business terms bandied about the office and over the Internet beginning to ring repetitive - as in overkill? According to a recent poll of more than 500 business executives, you're not alone.

The survey, conducted by Western Staff Services, a temporary staffing firm in Walnut Creek, Calif., offered executives a list of ''corporate buzzwords'' to rate. The results indicate certain words are used much too often.

Sixty-nine percent of respondents said ''politically correct'' is overused and, in the words of one respondent, ''just another word used by whiners,'' the survey said. Thirty-eight percent panned ''information highway,'' followed by ''information age'' and ''cyberspace.'' And 20 percent said ''state of the art,'' ''win win,'' and ''corporate culture'' are on the way out.

Fired up, many respondents wrote in their own choices, including - you guessed it - ''corporate buzzwords.'' Other business banter to consider banning includes, ''no brainer,'' and ''putting out fires.''