"Playing the Bullshit Game: How Empty and Misleading Communication Takes Over Organizations"

by Spicer, André (2020)

Abstract

Why is bullshit so common in some organizations? Existing explanations focus on the characteristics of bullshitters, the nature of the audience, and social structural factors which encourage bullshitting. In this paper, I offer an alternative explanation: bullshitting is a social practice that organizational members engage with to become part of a speech community, to get things done in that community, and to reinforce their identity. When the practice of bullshitting works, it can gradually expand from a small group to take over an entire organization and industry. When bullshitting backfires, previously sacred concepts can become seen as empty and misleading talk.

Keywords

No Keywords

Themes

Bullshit Jobs

Links to Reference

• https://doi.org/10.1177/2631787720929704
• http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2631787720929704
• https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2631787720929704
• https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2631787720929704

Citation

Share

How to contribute.