The Hindu Business Line : Covering one's back

THERE is an impression that it is only the government officials who record everything in writing, document every conversation with peers, bosses, politicians and outsiders, as a measure of self-protection.

But such self-preservation techniques appear to be universal, as was confirmed by the former US Secretary of State, Mr Dean Acheson, who said that a "memorandum is written not to inform the reader but to protect the writer".

Now, it is learnt that the urge for self-protection is increasing in the private sector as well. It has become a way of life for many modern executives in the US, besieged as they are by investigators digging into corporate crimes.

They send e-mails to themselves, write notes, carry a spiral notebook, and ensure, wherever possible, that there is a witness, particularly when they are declaring quarterly results or a disciplinary action.

The proclivity to protect oneself seems to be a special characteristic of HR functionaries. They even retain old voicemails, including those of job applicants, in the event that something might come back to haunt them, for instance, when someone is fired, not promoted, or rejected and leaves a piece of his or her mind in a five minute tirade.

There are those who send e-mails to all their peers when they make a strategic decision, so that if anything were to backfire there will be evidence that everyone was consulted.

There are others who are selective about such things. Their tripwires, it seems, include projects assigned verbally, things that are not governed by standard operating procedure, and anything in which the boss makes a reference to HR.

But is it not ironical that although it is happening all the time in government offices and now in corporate ones too, that a less responsible person who has simply avoided blame or deflected it comes to rewarded?

People who are constantly covering themselves clearly believe in the adage that it is not whether you are right or wrong but where you place the blame. Because blame moves in the office at breakneck speed, protection has become essential even if it appears to be a waste of time.

Finally, one might think that this effort would be frowned upon by those who study motivational psychology. Not so.

According t to experts in organisational psychology, "It's good to cover oneself if one is doing so in a responsible way, such as making sure all of the details for which one is responsible are covered."

R. Sundaram

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