Ritualized public apologies let leaders shift blame to subordinates without cost

Evidence

However, the scenario frames the issue as a lapse in oversight of wrongdoers rather than the culpability of those in charge. This sleight of hand quickly shifts responsibility to rogue underlings who are charged with violating the organization’s policies and values. Expressing hurt feelings over a wrongdoer’s betrayal can arouse empathy in others for the officials’ plight. If skillfully orchestrated, apologetic admission of ultimate responsibility can bring forgiveness and even sympathy for officials portrayed as victims of subordinate wrongdoers. The public apology typically closes with a forward-looking statement aimed at curbing further probing. It is time to put the problem behind us, the officials announce, and quickly move on to right the wrongs and restore public trust. Admissions of ultimate responsibility are usually devoid of consequences. The officials are not chastised, demoted, dismissed, docked pay, or penalized in other ways. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 439 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Egregious systemic transgressions fostered surreptitiously from above make it hard to believe that the upper echelon is entirely blameless. In a common scenario, top officials evade accountability by stepping forward with a ritualized public apology. They announce that they accept ultimate responsibility because the transgressions occurred “under their watch.” — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 438 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

However, the scenario frames the issue as a lapse in oversight of wrongdoers rather than the culpability of those in charge. This sleight of hand quickly shifts responsibility to rogue underlings who are charged with violating the organization’s policies and values. Expressing hurt feelings over a wrongdoer’s betrayal can arouse empathy in others for the officials’ plight. If skillfully orchestrated, apologetic admission of ultimate responsibility can bring forgiveness and even sympathy for officials portrayed as victims of subordinate wrongdoers. The public apology typically closes with a forward-looking statement aimed at curbing further probing. It is time to put the problem behind us, the officials announce, and quickly move on to right the wrongs and restore public trust. Admissions of ultimate responsibility are usually devoid of consequences. The officials are not chastised, demoted, dismissed, docked pay, or penalized in other ways. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 439 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The TRC’s individual-level apologies left apartheid’s architects unpunished and victims uncompensated — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race: Reflections on…, 1576; Institutional apologies can deploy advantageous comparison to self-cast as victims; Ritualized public apology lets top officials evade real accountability — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 438 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Scapegoating underlings lets officials escape consequences through staged public apologies #corroborates (0.97) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 439
• Ritualized public apology lets top officials evade real accountability #corroborates (0.95) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 438
• Expressed remorse shifts blame onto underlings and costs leaders nothing #expands (0.93) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 439