In the 1970s we learned about “ratf&%#ing,” the dirty tricks used by USC students in an attempt to control the university’s student government — tactics they (and others) carried into the wider world with the Nixon/Watergate scandals. Well, it appears that such tactics are still in play, in both student government and real-world politics, even in the hallowed halls of Harvard. The question we ask here is: Do some people use dirty tricks to get ahead in business? And, if so, is that ultimately as harmful as we know it can be in the political arena.
For an interesting look at campus ratf&%#ing, check out this fascinating Wall Street Journal article.