Age of DefeRence (End Of)

At some point during the 1960s, the United States experienced a sharp trend that led to the end of the age of deference. The point when deference ended is not clearly marked in the sands of time, but it [Page 18]clearly is the result of reduced belief in the honesty and ethics of American business practices as well as government policy. The age of deference ended when people moved from trusting to distrusting large companies for what they did, for the values they used to guide operations, and for what they represented.

One of the strongest indicators of the end of deference can be found in poll data results. In 1966, 55 percent of the public had a great deal of confidence in the management capability and ethical standards of American business executives. A decade later the confidence level had fallen to 16 percent. Tracking the status of executive managements on these indicators, polling companies such as Gallup found that after post–World War II highs, company executives and other societal leaders have tended to receive very low honesty and ethics ratings for over three decades.

American business leaders used much of the last part of the 19th century to create a rationale supporting the concentration of capital as the operating financial and business arrangement. Tug-of-wars occurred between executives, media reporters, labor leaders, consumer advocates, civil rights advocates, and government leaders during the early years of the 20th century. The Great Depression dampened this corporate effort, which was lifted to new heights by World War II. During the war effort, American industry contributed to democracy, prosperity, and the dream of a new lifestyle. Public relations practitioners featured in this encyclopedia helped to position companies through counseling during these years of the 20th century. They communicated messages for and listened to concerned citizens. Slowly, deference was earned and granted by statement and deed.

After having worked successfully to create and then restore confidence in large business practices, many executives and senior practitioners were caught off guard by the events of the last half of the 20th century. They saw a slow erosion of faith in the American dream that had been created by capitalistic concentration of publicly held wealth and that had produced what many thought was the most envied lifestyle of the world.

Not only had business executives suffered a loss of deference, but so had many other categories of societal leaders. Gallup poll data revealed that legislators, government executives, reporters, news anchors, advertisers, marketers, and others had high honesty and ethics ratings with only a small fraction of the public. None of these categories enjoyed high ratings with more than a third of the population, and many of these positions were associated with honesty and ethics ratings in the single digits.

Many factors account for this slide. People in the United States were looking for a morale rebound after the despair of the Great Depression. World War II gave a substantial boost to the collective feeling of well-being and goodwill. Industry had excelled in its ability to innovate, invent, and manufacture materials. A new lifestyle was created by the abundance of goods and materials, research and development achievements, and the manufacturing capacity created during the war.

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