Organizational Behavior
organizational lying, bullshitting, and deceiving
Tomáš Ondráček
ondracek.t@mail.muni.cz
Faculty of Economics and Administration, Masaryk University
2022
INTRODUCTION
Snake Oil
(Anti-Cancer Club, 2016)
·ORBE ·2022 2 / 21
INTRODUCTION
Cannabis Oil
(Horsley, 2013)
·ORBE ·2022 3 / 21
INTRODUCTION
Examples
(Hiscott, 2017)
·ORBE ·2022 4 / 21
INTRODUCTION questions
questions
Are today’s approaches to lying and bullshitting applicable
to lying and bullshitting done by an organization?
How can we distinguish between a lying organization
and a lying member of an organization?
What conditions have to be met to determine that
an organization is lying?
·ORBE ·2022 5 / 21
WHO, WHOM, AND WHAT
Who is lying/deceiving?
·ORBE ·2022 6 / 21
WHO, WHOM, AND WHAT
Who is lying/deceiving?
speaker
management
employee
third person
...
organization
·ORBE ·2022 6 / 21
WHO, WHOM, AND WHAT whom
Who is lied to?
Who is deceived?
·ORBE ·2022 7 / 21
WHO, WHOM, AND WHAT whom
Who is lied to?
Who is deceived?
public
state or other oversight organizations
(potential) buyers
employees
...
organization
·ORBE ·2022 7 / 21
WHO, WHOM, AND WHAT whom
Who is lied to?
Who is deceived?
organization
(ACFE, 2019; Hart, 2019)
$3.5 trillion each year
hidden loss
trust breach
climate
employee engagement
·ORBE ·2022 8 / 21
WHO, WHOM, AND WHAT what
About what might organizations lie/deceive?
·ORBE ·2022 9 / 21
WHO, WHOM, AND WHAT what
About what might organizations lie/deceive?
products
economic situation
organizational settings
organizational culture a climate
...
·ORBE ·2022 9 / 21
WHO, WHOM, AND WHAT what
About what might organizations lie/deceive?
advertising
psychological contract
reasonable expectations
...
·ORBE ·2022 10 / 21
CONDITIONS
conditions of lying
(Mahon, 2008)
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CONDITIONS
conditions of lying
(Mahon, 2008)
Statement condition
a person make a statement
Untruthfulness condition
a person make an untruthful statement,
which is a statement that the person believes to be false
Addressee condition
a person make an untruthful statement to another person
Intention to deceive addressee condition
a person make an untruthful statement to another person
with the intention that that other person believe that statement
to be true
·ORBE ·2022 11 / 21
CONDITIONS statement condition
statement condition
advertising
press release
...
the problem of ascription
a scapegoat problem
organizational reaction (Benoit, 2014)
·ORBE ·2022 12 / 21
CONDITIONS untruthfulness condition
untruthfulness condition
organizational knowledge
the collective knowledge and abilities possessed by the people
who belong to an organization
stricter restrictions
presumption of general knowledge in the given field
presumption of general understanding of the target audience
·ORBE ·2022 13 / 21
CONDITIONS untruthfulness condition
E.g.: Subway
(Restaurant Marketing: Five Dollar Foot Longs, Not A Foot Long, 2013)
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CONDITIONS addressee condition
addressee condition
a plurality of audiences
eavesdropper problem
message targetting
·ORBE ·2022 15 / 21
CONDITIONS intention to deceive
conditions of lying
(Mahon, 2008)
collective intentionality (Bratman (1992); Searle (1990))
lying by association, by admission
reaffirming position
legal defense
attacking accuser
(full) apologizing
·ORBE ·2022 16 / 21
CONCLUSION
question
Are today’s approaches to lying and bullshitting applicable
to lying and bullshitting done by an organization?
yes
different notion of intention
different notion of knowledge
difference between lying, deceiving and bullshitting
statement condition
reaction to criticism
·ORBE ·2022 17 / 21
CONCLUSION
question
How can we distinguish between a lying organization
and a lying member of an organization?
difference based on organizational reaction
scapegoating
reaffirming position
legal defense, attacking the accuser
·ORBE ·2022 18 / 21
CONCLUSION
question
What conditions have to be met to determine
that an organization is lying?
addressee condition
a person make an untruthful statement to another person
intention to deceive addressee condition
collective intentionality: lying by association
reaffirming position: legal defense, attacking the accuser
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CONCLUSION
conclusion
Determination of lying or deceiving or bullshitting of
an organization can be done regarding its reaction to criticism.
reaffirming statement
accepting or changing the claim
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CONCLUSION
bibliography I
ACFE. (2019). Acfe report estimates organizations worldwide lose 5 percent of revenues to fraud. Retrieved
from https://www.acfe.com/press-release.aspx?id=4294973129
Anti-Cancer Club. (2016). Snake oil 2. Retrieved from
https://anticancerclub.com/healthy-mind-and-body/
cancer-cures-magic-tricks-and-medical-mischief/attachment/snake-oil-2/
Benoit, W. L. (2014). Accounts, excuses, and apologies: Image repair theory and research. SUNY Press.
Bratman, M. E. (1992). Shared cooperative activity. The philosophical review, 101(2), 327–341.
Hart, C. L. (2019). Lies in the workplace. Sussex Publishers. Retrieved from https://
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-nature-deception/201907/lies-in-the-workplace
Hiscott, R. (2017, Dec). 8 companies that sold you lies. Retrieved from
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/companies-lied-to-you_n_5318940
Horsley, L. (2013). Dosage information for cannabis oil: How to take cannabis oil orally, apply cannabis oil
topically and how to make & take cannabis oil suppositories. Retrieved from
https://www.cureyourowncancer.org/dosage.html
Mahon, J. E. (2008, Feb). The definition of lying and deception. Stanford University. Retrieved from https://
stanford.library.sydney.edu.au/archives/win2010/entries/lying-definition/#StaCon
Restaurant marketing: Five dollar foot longs, not a foot long. (2013, Jan). Retrieved from
https://menubuilder.typepad.com/menu_builder/2013/01/
restaurant-marketing-five-dollar-foot-longs-not-a-foot-long.html
Searle, J. R. (1990). Collective intentions and actions. Intentions in communication, 401, 401.
·ORBE ·2022 21 / 21