The Cost of Disinformation
- Details
- Category: Information
- Created on 19 December 2010
- Written by Steve Burrows
As businesses we regularly publish information. This website gives information about our services and snippets of news about our business etc. The information we publish to the public is intended for the public and open to public scrutiny, so most responsible businesses try to publish honest, accurate information. If the information we ought to publish will cast us in a less than flattering light then we usually avoid publishing it, remaining silent being preferable to self-incrimination or deception.
It is a fundamental tenet of corporate governance; we communicate to our stakeholders that which we believe to be true and appropriate for communication, we may withhold information as permitted by law, but we don't ever knowingly publish untruths. The intentional publication of untruths we call disinformation, or more bluntly; lying. No responsible business lies to its stakeholders , it's a surefire route to reputational damage and public excoriation. Disinformation is very costly.
Imagine then my surprise when earlier today a major UK company actually phoned me explicitly to tell me a lie. Even worse an easily disprovable lie.
I live on an island, most supplies are brought in by boat, either ro-ro ferries operated by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Co., or container ships operated by a rival freight-only shipper, Mezeron. Between them these shippers operate daily sailings carrying food, furniture, clothes, white goods, cars and other imports, regularly and reliably within the constraints of the weather. Our food retailers depend heavily on the characteristics of regularity and reliability, they allow "just in time" logistics and supply chain management in ensuring that we receive an adequate supply of fresh produce. Today one of our supermarkets, operated by a very large UK company and providing a home delivery service, telephoned me to inform me that they would not be able to deliver to me on the 27th December as previously arranged but would have to reschedule for the 29th, the reason being that they would not receive a delivery on 26th "because there was no ferry service to the island" that day. I was surprised, "No ferry service", despite two shipping lines running a regular daily service. Knowing that at least one of the companies operating our national lifeline normally runs every day except Christmas I checked the schedules, and sure enough, the Isle of Man Steam Packet ro-ro ferry is scheduled to sail on the 26th, and I can book passage on it if I wish. The claim of "no ferry service" was a lie; plain, unvarnished and unsolicited dishonesty to me as a customer and stakeholder.
So why would a large and apparently honest and reputable UK company ring me up, out of the blue on a Sunday, to lie to me? I can only speculate. Perhaps it's because this company has recently switched ferry service provider from the Isle of Man Steam Packet to the allegedly cheaper Mezeron. Perhaps Mezeron will not be sailing on the 26th and the company does not want the inconvenience and cost of using the Steam Packet for a "one off". Whilst I can only speculate to the factors behind the lie, I know absolutely that it is a lie. I know absolutely that a major UK company, which should understand stakeholder engagement and the importance of truthfulness, has just volunteered to me and other customers a plain dishonest lie. Years of trust have been undermined in a half-minute telephone call. Can I believe the next thing they tell me? Can I believe that their bills are accurate and fair? Can I believe their corporate statements to investors and the Stock Exchange?
Of course the lie probably came from some harassed junior or middle manager, one of thousands in such a large organisation, but the culture of honesty is a responsibility of the directors, the board. If the company does not engender honesty to stakeholders in its staff one has to presume that the lack of direction to ensure honest dealing comes from the top. So the cost of disinformation? I know that Tesco is a dishonest company, they have proved it by being dishonest to me, and of course I will tell my friends, and anyone else who will listen, I am shocked, I will tell the world. The cost of disinformation is reputation, and in business reputation is all - ask Gerald Ratner.
