PROPAGANDA IN THE WORKPLACE… (The positive and the negative effects)

Bruce Bisbey…please follow us at: https://dumbdogproductionsllc.blogspot.com

PROPAGANDA IN THE WORKPLACE

Propaganda is the ability "to produce and spread fertile messages that, once sown, will germinate in large human cultures.” However, in the 20th century, a “new” propaganda emerged, which revolved around political organizations and their need to communicate messages that would “sway relevant groups of people in order to accommodate their agendas”. First developed by the Lumiere brothers in 1896, film provided a unique means of accessing large audiences at once. Film was the first universal mass medium in that it could simultaneously influence viewers as individuals and members of a crowd, which led to it quickly becoming a tool for governments and non-state organizations to project a desired ideological message. As Nancy Snow stated in her book, Information War: American Propaganda, Free Speech and Opinion Control Since 9-11, propaganda "begins where critical thinking ends."

Though much of workplace propaganda and dissemination can have a positive side of team building, helping to create a strong work ethic and camaraderie with ones fellow workers and management. Providing insight into the workings of the business, its platform, both short and long term strategies’. The dangers of misuse and mismanagement of information on all levels of employees, is disconcerting in that strategies and ethics of any company, business or governmental agency is depended on the principal management and or owners of the entity in question at any given time.

ECLIPSING INTO THE WORKPLACE

The ease of data collection emerging from the IT revolution has been suggested to have created a novel form of workplace propaganda. A lack of control on the acquired data's use has led to the widespread implementation of workplace propaganda created much more locally by managers in small and large companies, hospitals, colleges and Universities etc. The author highlights the transition of propagandist coming from large, often national producers to small scale production. The same article also notes a departure from the traditional methodology of propagandists i.e., the use of emotionally provocative imagery to distort facts. Data driven propaganda is suggested to use 'distorted data' to overrule emotion. For example, by providing rationales for ideologically driven pay cuts etc.

Another troubling aspect is pressure on the employee that maybe both politically or socially oriented. There seems to be a need to educate and inform people specific issues, nonprofits and charities.

Social and common media for transmitting propaganda messages include news reports, government reports, historical revision, junk science, books, leaflets, movies, radio, television, and posters. Some propaganda campaigns follow a strategic transmission pattern to indoctrinate the target group. This may be through memos, traditional group meetings or one to one or with a simple transmission, such as a leaflet or advertisement dropped from a plane or an advertisement. Typically these messages will contain directions on how to obtain more information, via a web site, hot line, radio program, etc. (as it is seen also for selling purposes among other goals). The strategy intends to initiate the individual from information recipient to information seeker through reinforcement, and then from information seeker to opinion leader through indoctrination. The company or entity is financially in trouble, the competition is doing better and pay cuts or wage freezes may be insinuated to keep the company from laying off personnel or reorganizing.

A number of techniques based in social psychological research are used to generate propaganda. Many of these same techniques can be found under logical fallacies, since propagandists use arguments that, while sometimes convincing, are not necessarily valid.

Sometime has been spent analyzing the means by which the propaganda messages are transmitted. That work is important but it is clear that information dissemination strategies become propaganda strategies only when coupled with propagandistic messages. Identifying these messages is a necessary prerequisite to study the methods by which those messages are spread.

PROPAGANDA TECHNIQUES

• ·         Astroturfing: Creating illusion of grass roots activity…
• ·         Bandwagon: Pump up the value of 'joining the party'…
• ·         The Big Lie: So large it must be true…
• ·         Card-stacking: Build a highly-biased case for your position…
• ·         Character Assassination: Destroy the person…
• ·         Glittering Generalities: Use power words to evoke emotions…
• ·         Information Management: Knowledge is power…
• ·         Milieu Control: Controlling communication…
• ·         Name-calling: Denigrating opponents…
• ·         Plain Folks: Making the leader seem ordinary increases trust and credibility…
• ·         Slogans: impactful catchphrases…
• ·         Sockpuppeting: Using faked, non-existent people to support a cause…
• ·         Stereotyping: Classify the other side negatively…
• ·         Testimonial: The testimony of an independent person is seen as more trustworthy…
• ·         Transfer: Associate the leader with trusted others…
• ·         Atrocity accusations: Accuse the other someone or the other side of committing acts of gross indecency and questionable moral and work related issues…
• ·         Denialism: Choosing to avoid the truth…
• ·         Hyperbolic inflations: Exaggerate the things they believe or have done to make them particularly terrible…
• ·         Demonization and dehumanization: Make them appear as wholly bad in all ways, without hope of redemption or conversion…
• ·         Polarization: Contrast what we and they believe, say and do. Show that they are not like us, putting them and us at opposite poles…
• ·         Divine sanction: Claim that what you are doing is either required or aligned with higher powers…
• ·         Meta-propaganda: It the use of propaganda about propaganda. Show how they make things up and are deliberately trying to deceive, whilst our messages are based on clear evidence…

There is no clear answer as more protectionism and control give the power and censorship to limited number of individuals who are dependent to follow, interrupt and implement policy.

Sources, References & Credits: Google, Wikipedia, Wikihow, Pinterest, IMDB, Linked In, Indie Wire, Changing Minds, Small Business, Behance, Inc.com, Association of Corporate Counsel, Investopedia, The Balance, Chicago Tribune, How Stuff Works, Work Force, Gallup

THIS ARTICLE IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THE INFORMATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND BRUCE BISBEY MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF PERFORMANCE, MERCHANTABILITY, AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, REGARDING THIS INFORMATION. BRUCE BISBEY DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE COMPLETENESS, ACCURACY OR TIMELINESS OF THIS INFORMATION. YOUR USE OF THIS INFORMATION IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU ASSUME FULL RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK OF LOSS RESULTING FROM THE USE OF THIS INFORMATION. BRUCE BISBEY WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES WHATSOEVER, WHETHER IN AN ACTION BASED UPON A STATUTE, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION NEGLIGENCE) OR OTHERWISE, RELATING TO THE USE OF THIS INFORMATION.