Tuesday, August 29, 2006

White Collar Lies

While exaggerations and even outright lies on resumes are certainly nothing new for corporate America, they seem to be taking an increasing prominent place in major debates around the country. Take, for instance, this Boston Globe article from early August which describes the potential falsification of former Big Dig Safety Official John J. Keaveney’s resume. While not yet confirmed, it appears that he lied about both his schooling and military service in Ireland.

So what’s the big deal? In a 1998 study conducted by Robinson, Sheppard, and Heywood, 83% of participants said that they would lie in order to get a job (Vrij, 8). The subjects even claimed that employers expected them to exaggerated qualities. If job applicants lie so readily, why do we make such a big issue over the few that surface in the media? The problems arise when the subject-in-question’s credibility is at stake for other reasons. In Keaveney’s case, he had anonymously submitted a memo to the Globe which he claimed to have written about the safety and reliability of tunnel ceilings in 1999 -- seven years before the tragic death by ceiling collapse of a motorist this past July. Modern Continental, his employer at the time and the major contractor for that particular tunnel, claims it has no record of the memo and believes it to be fabricated. Here’s where it gets tricky. If the public believes Keaveney and his memo, then Modern Continental is liable for covering up safety issues with the tunnel. If true, the company could be responsible for millions of dollars worth of repairs. However, if the public does not believe Keaveney, then Modern Continental can walk away without accepting any responsibility for July’s death. This is where Keaveney’s credibility comes into play.

By lying on his resume Keaveney was deliberately attempting, without forewarning, to create in others a belief that his credibility is greater than it actually is. However, when the public learned about the resume falsifications his credibility was practically destroyed. It casts doubt on his alleged memo and lends more credibility to Modern Continental’s version of the story. In fact the Boston Globe has publicly written an apology for publishing the memo in the first place. For the most part, Modern Continental is off the hook in the public eye over July’s death.

So who did John Keaveney’s resume lies hurt? If the memo were true, then they hurt the family of the woman who died in July and have put the whole city of Boston at risk. If false, then they have only hurt him. In either case, rather mundane and apparently common lies have cast him to the forefront of the American media and the debate over white collar deception.

3 Comments:

At 7:27 PM, Blogger Nicole said...

Credibility is a very important topic in all aspects of life, from high schools, to colleges, and even to the workplace. Barrett brings up some great issues about the recent situation with the Big Dig in Boston. John J. Keaveney lied on his resume, which does not sound like a very big deal, but in this case, it was. Many corporations are cracking down on the credibility of the people they hire because of instances like this. I'm sure if you asked most people, they would think a little white lie on a resume couldn't do any harm. But then if you ask those same people if they would care if their family physician or if their home contracter lied on their resume, they would probably start to care. Keaveney was definitely trying to deceive his future employer when he altered his resume, and that deception lead him and his company into a lot of trouble.

 
At 1:13 AM, Blogger Erica said...

This article is an interesting battle of possible self-oriented lies. A self-oriented lie, according to Vrij, is one “intended to make the liar appear better or to gain personal advantage.” The personal aggrandizement on Keaveney’s resume would be a self-oriented lie if it shown that his claims were false. Similarly, if it is found that Keaveney fabricated the memo regarding the Big Dig, that would also be a case of self-oriented lying. If Modern Contintental ever did receive that memo, then they are lying to protect themselves. Caught in the middle is The Boston Globe, who has apologized for printing the memo. If The Globe believes Keaveney but is backing down because his credibility has been thrown in to question, then The Globe is telling a self-oriented lie to its readers.

 
At 3:38 AM, Blogger Barrett Amos said...

Kaitlin, I would agree with your classification of Keaveney as a manipulator. He was (as far as can be assumed) certainly trying to manipulate the situation to cast himself as a public hero. By submitting the memo to the Globe anonymously he was trying to create a favorable image of himself without becoming directly involved in the process. It could also be argued that his resume lies were a means to that ultimate end (a la Machiavelli), although I highly doubt that he had planned that far in advance. Instead, I think he was just taking advantage of the situation with little regard to any conventional morality.

 

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