The culpability of the authority figure can be even
worse, than we have so far suggested. Some people may contrive to go through the
motions of obtaining feedback when in fact what they want is simply the pretence and
alibi that people have had a fair opportunity to raise queries. Rhetorical questions may
be used such as ‘is that clear?’ which do not really invite responses. There was
amazement when a person sought to take up a Company’s Managing Director’s written
offer, issued in a standard letter to all new employees, to have an appointment with him
concerning a grievance. The technique can be observed with lecturers, or after-dinner
speakers, who leave the opportunity for questions .until an impossibly late stage in the
proceedings. And also recollect it being used in the services, when orderly officers had
to go through the routine of asking if there were complaints about the food. Some
mastered the technique of asking if there were any queries in such a way that
servicemen would deserve a medal if they actually did make a complaint. This of course
enabled the orderly officer to maintain the fiction that people had been given an
opportunity to complain about the food if they were dissatisfied. The authority figure can
of course use his rank to put the blame firmly on subordinates if things do go wrong.
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