ABSTRACT
For Hermes, there is no essential difference between truth and lies, between honest and dishonest dealing. A Hermes-dominated management may be pathologically slippery and elusive, not only with regard to moral principles, but also with regard to goals and practices and the treatment of employees. If it is not producing the results it wants it is likely to seek the solution in a 'restructure', and the pathology of Hermes is often seen in organizations which destabilize themselves by constant 'restructuring'. Hermes has no interest in the past and little in the future. As Hermes is the god of spies, it is not surprising to find intelligence organizations dominated by a Hermes consciousness. In Spycatcher, Peter Wright describes the culture of MI5 in Hermes terms. The escalation of information technology has made it possible to entirely rethink the authors' notions of organization in Hermes terms.
