# Management as a Nexus of Logical Fallacies By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2022-09-30 Logic provides insight into how decisions are made. In organizations, one faces both deductive and inductive arguments for actions. Little time is given to discerning if the arguments being made are logical or if they are based on logical fallacies. Such fallacies are common errors in one’s individual or organizational reasoning. They consist of inaccurate arguments or unrelated points. Given the premium American businesses place, at least rhetorically, on rationality the absence of [[discussions]] centered on logic is suggestive. Discussions of logical arguments eventually move discussions of illogical arguments. When this occurs, one confronts logical fallacies. It is at that point that management can be seen to be a nexus of logical fallacies. This places organizations in an awkward place. Rationality is desired, but inherent logical fallacies undermine the legitimacy of managerial decisions. The first logical fallacy inherent in management is the appeal to authority (_argumentum ab auctoritate_). This situation is complicated as there are cases in which authority is legitimate. The key to this logical fallacy, as it relates to management, is the appeal to unqualified authority. A basis for expertise is limited. There is a tendency for managers, or those being supervised, to allow the managerial authority to influence decisions to a point well beyond the established limits of a manager’s qualified authority. As the Nuremberg trials and Milgram experiments suggest there is a dangerous human tendency to obedience to authority. Management enacts and organizations reward such obedience daily.   The second logical fallacy inherent in management is the appeal to force (_ad baculum_). In this situation, one uses power or its threatened use to gain acceptance. Organizationally, the threat of being reprimanded or fired is ever-present if one deviates from the directions of management. The power asymmetry between management and subordinates makes the appeal to force a largely unidirectional phenomenon in organizations.  Management is not only organizationally sanctioned coercion but also a nexus of logical fallacies. Appeal to authority and appeal to force are two clear examples of logical fallacies inherent to management. If organizations are serious about rationality it benefits from addressing how structure impedes, if not precludes, its enactment. #### Related Items [[Logic]] [[Analytics]] [[Management]] [[Rationality]] [[Business]] [[Structure]] [[Power]]