Is Qantas Management waging psychological warfare on its staff?
Psychological Warfare:
"The planned use of propaganda and other psychological actions having the primary purpose of influencing the opinions, emotions, attitudes, and behavior of hostile groups in such a way as to support the desired objectives."
So in short I would say yes!
Have a look at the Engineers dispute, the company purportedly spent some $200million fighting the Engineers “industrial campaign” that if they had paid what the engineers wanted would have cost the company a mere million or two. Why would the Director of a public Company squander shareholder value to such an extent?
I’d say there was an agenda here. Wouldn’t be a form of conditioned learning would it?
'conditional learning', is where someone is conditioned to behave in a particular way by rewards and punishments ,such as Ivan Pavlov, famous 'conditioned reflex' experiments with dogs.
The brain is one big associative-memory system. After 2 things have been memorised as associated, thinking of one thing triggers thoughts of the other. You might learn associations that protect you from harm, such as one electric shock making you steer clear of live wires in future or they might be irrational/exagerated associations leading to phobias. They can also be unhelpful associations like 'food = comfort' leading to over-eating .
So can’t allow the unions to think they have a chance, hit them hard and hit them continuously until they are conditioned to think nothing can be done and they stop resisting the companys plans.Habitual Learning through systematic desensitisation.
Reduction of an animal's behavioral response to a stimulus, as a result of a lack of reinforcement during continual exposure to the stimulus. Habituation is usually considered a form of learning in which behaviours not needed are eliminated. It may be separated from most other forms of decreased response on the basis of permanence; the habituated animal either does not resume its earlier reaction to the stimulus after a period of no stimulus, or, if the normal reaction is resumed on reexposure to the stimulus, it wanes more quickly than before.
Or as I would call it ,the "Borg syndrome", make 'em think resistence is futile!
I believe this sometimes leads to what is called an extinction burst.
An extinction burst will often occur when an extinction procedure has just begun. This consists of a sudden and temporary increase in the response's frequency , followed by the eventual decline and extinction of the behavior targeted for elimination. Take, as an example, a pigeon that has been reinforced to peck an electronic button. During its training history, every time the pigeon pecked the button, it will have received a small amount of bird seed as a reinforcer. So, whenever the bird is hungry, it will peck the button to receive food. However, if the button were to be turned off, the hungry pigeon will first try pecking the button just as it has in the past. When no food is forthcoming, the bird will likely try again... and again, and again. After a period of frantic activity, in which their pecking behavior yields no result, the pigeon's pecking will decrease in frequency.
The evolutionary advantage of this extinction burst is clear. In a natural environment, an animal that persists in a learned behavior, despite not resulting in immediate reinforcement, might still have a chance of producing reinforcing consequences if they try again. This animal would be at an advantage over another animal that gives up too easily.
Is this what Qantas Pilots are presently seeing happening to their Union, AIPA extinction?
Let us say hypothetically n old President is ousted by a non-management type President, a President who can see the writing on the wall and wishs to take the fight to the company before all is lost.This particular President tries to muster every arsenal at his disposal to attack the “barbarians at the gate”.Like the Engineers the Company has no qualms in spending millions of dollars to thwart this upstart.The company even manages to turn loyal lieutenants against him, adding to the Presidents downward spiral in popularity.
People on his committee openly slander him and begin to white ant him, through openly attacking from the inside at every opportunity and on every available forum possible.They attempt to stop every action he takes even if it is of vital importance to the professional cause, and then take great glee in announcing that he is a dead duck President because none of his plans work. They start to politically proclaim it’s time for a change.
The Company works in unison, they renege on agreement such as allowances and standards of Hotel accomodation.Rank and file members start to question what is going on. Let’s face it ,if you sling enough mud some of it is going to stick. The President concerned, attempts even more audacious actions to justify his stance and to advance the interests of the members, until the final inglorious coup de grace.
The new President comes to power and immediately the company proclaims a new era of engagement and cooperation. Allowances are restored and Hotel accomodation is returned to past standards and yet the new President sounds very much like the old President whereby there is much talk yet very little walk.
Was this AIPA’s extinction burst?
Looks to me like Qantas Management may have read the following book as well.
The Thirty Six Strategies
A Unique Collection of Ancient Chinese Proverbs
The Thirty Six Strategies are a unique collection of ancient Chinese proverbs that describe some of the most cunning and subtle strategies ever devised by man.
Six Winning Strategies
1. Deceive the sky to cross the ocean.
Moving about in the darkness and shadows, occupying isolated places, or hiding behind screens will only attract suspicious attention.
Six Confrontation Strategies
7. Create something from nothing.
You use the same feint twice. Having reacted to the first and often the second feint as well, the enemy will be hesitant to react to a third feint. Therefore the third feint is the actual attack catching your enemy with his guard down.
Six Attack Strategies
13. Startle the snake by hitting the grass around it.
When preparing for battle, do not alert your enemy to your intentions or give away your strategy prematurely.
Six Chaos Strategies
19. Remove the firewood under the cooking pot.
When faced with an enemy too powerful to engage directly you must first weaken him by undermining his foundation and attacking his source of power.
Six Advance Strategies
25. Replace the beams with rotten timbers.
Disrupt the enemy's formations, interfere with their methods of operations, change the rules in which they are used to following, go contrary to their standard training.
Six Desperate Situations Strategies
31. The honey trap.
Send your enemy beautiful women to cause discord within his camp. This strategy can work on three levels. First, the ruler becomes so enamoured with the beauty that he neglects his duties and allows his vigilance to wane.