Corporate language for the modern executive.

• Author: Croucher, John S.
• Position: Report

1. INTRODUCTION

   The new style of corporate language is more complex than simply telling a falsehood, since you actually have to know the truth in order to lie (Webb, 2005). But this type of speaking in an impressive verbal disguise of a mischievous attempt to confuse, or at best to an expedient attempt, through laziness, to mangle communication that was once operated through plain English. Even more worrying is that the perpetrators actually believe what they say, making there disarming sincerity all the more difficult to spot. This type of behaviour devalues the language and thwarts the ability to think rationally. Indeed, these expressions have crept by stealth into the corporate world that they now, sadly, have become the norm.

   This frightening new era of management-speak (Croucher, 2010) has heralded a bewildering array of catch phrases such as 'benchmarking', 'strategic imperatives', 'visual dashboards' and 'balanced scorecards', the latter thanks to Kaplan and Norton (1992) which supposedly enable an organisation to clarify its vision and strategy and what should be measured to 'balance the financial objective'. While all superficially noble in their aims, they also hide a mixture of good and evil in meanings that can be interpreted in the way desired.

   An essential underlying strategy of this new-age business jargon is 'divide and conquer'--multiple tactics of destabilising that generate insecurity, nervousness, and discomfort as a foundation for securing the pre-eminence of the domain. Colleague is split from colleague; and, one by one, turned against each other. We will deal with some of the classic examples, although there of course many more.

2. KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

   Mechanisms of reward for good performance may appear seductively attractive, and supremely defensible in modern management parlance, but they hide in them tools of punishment. 'Key Performance Indicators' or 'KPIs' are part of the divide and conquer armoury: reward some and discipline others. Allegedly designed to provide 'quantifiable metrics' that reflect the performance of an individual in achieving the goals and objectives of the business, KPIs are one of the most effective tools to vanquish those whom management would like to be rid of. And as such they are insidious.

   A more appropriate description of a KPI is provided by Beckwith (2006) who declares them to be "an aid to determine just how badly you are doing". And that is precisely the way in which management can silence workers who question their judgment or get in their way.

   By linking salary directly to performance, the hapless target of a 'KPI Review' is constantly 'on the backfoot' trying to justify their worth. Mechanisms of reward can serve to divide workers under the veneer of 'performance enhancement'. According to Webb, KPIs were invented to 'quantify the unquantifiable', thereby making them especially popular in the social services and government. They are seized upon by managers who have doubt about their own judgement or feel the need to cover themselves in case litigation rears its head down the track when they must 'downsize'.

   Chillingly, you may even be told that 'adherence to guidelines will be a factor in your periodic review'. This is simply another way of saying 'if you don't do what you're told you'll be gone'. And watch out if you don't have any of the 'core competencies' that they consider essential.

3. PRODUCTIVITY AND JOB SECURITY

   One particular method of targeting the hapless worker is a close examination of their 'productivity'. Are they, for example, 'value added' to the company? By rewarding those favoured and punishing those don't 'sing from the same songbook,' close scrutiny and denigration of a worker's output can provide handy ammunition for their removal. The so-called 'incentivisation' (Centre for Constructive Innovation, 2007) provides rewards for those favoured by the boss over those who are on the nose. Such differential performance bonuses create an atmosphere of mistrust and envy.

   The crafty...