And I won’t do it again?

And I won't do it again?

 

'So Sorry'

Fund Managers Now Well-Versed in the Language of Loss

By Steven Mufson

Washington Post Staff Writer

Sunday, November 2, 2008; F01

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/01/AR2008110100231.html

© Copyright 1996-2009 The Washington Post Company

 

"Being a stock market fund manager or strategist these days means always having to say you're sorry........."

 

A very interesting article about the language of contrition by fund managers. Except this unforeseen behaviour raises two questions. The first question: is this just herd behaviour? If everyone is saying sorry it is much easier to follow and say you are sorry. In the same way as when everyone was doing the equivalent of jumping off a cliff with other people's money, I guess, it was easy to jump off a cliff as well.

 

The second question is this: what happened to "...and I won't do it again?" Usually when we say we are sorry we try to convince the other person of our genuine remorse by promising not to do it again? Even if this promise is some sort of short term confidence assurance. I have a feeling that we have to wait another six or seven years before we find out. So much for imperative moral language.

 

Label: sorry, business language, fund managers, economy, banking, Washington post

Verbal Apology and Physical Pain

Hospitals shine light on mistakes by publicly saying: "We're sorry"

American Medical News

By Kevin B. O'Reilly, AMNews staff. Aug. 11, 2008.

Copyright 2008 American Medical Association

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/08/11/prl10811.htm

[Note about link: AMNews only keep articles available free on line for 90 days, after that some articles have to be paid for.]

Intro From Article

Health care executives say the disclosures can solidify public trust and help improve patient safety. Some doctors worry about the public exposure.

Background

Some hospitals in the US are introducing a policy of publicly admitting any mistakes and errors their professional staff make. Advocates of patient care believe that this is a step forward in health care, but some professional thinks that this policy only helps lawyers and negative reporting. Not everyone agrees that such publicity helps.

Comments

The important aspect here is that some hospitals are officially admitting to mistakes and errors. Saying is sorry, must surely be an important act of communication. But this can only be the first step and an opportunity to really improve health care. In the article there are suggestions on how safety lessons can be passed on within the profession.

NOTE:
AHRQ WebM&M (Morbidity and Mortality Rounds on the Web) is the online journal and forum on patient safety and health care quality. This Journal was mentioned in the article. ( http://www.webmm.ahrq.gov/ )

Bottom-Line

There is a clear distinction between a verbal apology and the physical distress and maybe pain of the patient. And although humans do make mistakes, this is not a justification for not introducing policies that try to prevent mistakes.

Tags: mistakes, medical errors, sorry, apology, communication