Dirty politics, '90s style.

I've heard too many horror stories to doubt that the lingering recession and uncertainty in the health care industry has soured everybody's disposition and played havoc with personal ethics. Human resources folks have supplied some excellent examples of unethical tactics being employed by ruthless job hunters.

* Offers to pay for information, particularly dirt on a prospective boss or negative financial information on the organization so either or both can be avoided.

* Bribes offered for good references. * Altered W-2 forms (serious business).

It's not just job hunters. Unethical people don't suddenly get religion at the office door. Once hired, they display the same ruthlessness. Attempts to undermine competitors' reputations are increasing and, given the heightened paranoia in many battered workplaces, accusation alone often means a name goes on the short list for the next reduction in force.

One of the latest dirty tricks used to eliminate a competitor or just an irritant is to bring sexual harassment charges. Joe, an orthopedist in a large HMO, was accused by Sara, one of the nurses, of sexual harassment. She contended that his remarks made her uncomfortable. The human resources department investigated and found nothing. A month later, Sara said that Joe continued to make her uncomfortable. She could cite no specific language but could produce a prescription for Valium - presumably needed to quiet her nerves. The fact that Valium is widely overprescribed (it's not difficult to find a doctor who will write a prescription) was ignored by a nervous management.

Joe's response was an attitude of sullen hurt. He did not vigorously demonstrate his value to the organization. Instead, he defended substantial grounds for dismissal for cause, so they paid him off and sent him away. Six months later, Sara worked over Joe's replacement. This time human resources saw the pattern and transferred Sara to the organizational equivalent of Siberia. Other physicians blamed the medical director for Joe's sacrifice. (If you assume only a woman would pull this against a higher ranking male, your view of office politics is exceedingly limited.)

Clients report that when their bosses warned them that someone was gunning for them, they had also been advised to keep a low profile. If you are the target of a character assassin, powerful or lowly, a low profile is the worst strategy. Defending oneself is equally useless, because most people believe "where there's smoke there's fire." I do, too, but I'm not convinced that the smoke and fire have a common origin. Manufactured smoke often causes people to lose interest in finding the fire. Go on the offensive instead. Vince Lombardi was right.

If you are, or suspect you are, likely to be worked over on the grapevine by a competitor who hopes to gain at your expense or by a disgruntled employee you've disciplined or caused to be disciplined for nonperformance, your first impulse may be to ignore the attack. Your next impulse may be to break out in paranoia and defend your work and your life. Instead, consider the following strategies.

Move close to the perpetrator. You do know who's out to get you, don't you? We've never met anyone who couldn't name names and expound on reasons. No one is so isolated or unpopular that a co-worker won't take pity and at least hint at what's afoot.

Nothing is more likely to confound the grapevine and diffuse a rumor as quickly as seeing you and the perpetrator are friends. You will have the person neatly cornered, because shying away from you would tip everyone off that he or she is trying to dent your reputation. By remaining in close contact and pretending collegiality, you force him or her to operate below the surface and behave very cautiously. For instance, if you and Fred are seen lunching regularly, his sarcastic remarks about you will either be taken as witticisms or Fred will be deemed a hypocrite - the worst charge, short of murder, from an organizational viewpoint.

Feed the grapevine with your accomplishments and helpfulness. Don't brag, but do make a case for why you are valuable to your boss and the organization. Don't be one of those people who still insist, "My work speaks for itself." Wrong! Your success can be measured by your output or your patients' or boss's satisfaction, but it may not be obvious to the casual observer.

Reassert control over your job and your subordinates. Don't let your managerial grip slip because one part of your job is temporarily overwhelming. Jack was traveling from facility to facility - out of the office four days a week for months. Jack's assistant, Len, was left to make critical decisions. Suddenly, those decisions did not reflect Jack's instructions, although none was obviously wrong. When Jack questioned Len about his lack of follow through, Len defended himself instead of agreeing to clean up his act. When Jack began to document what he saw as Len's substandard performance, Len raised his visibility with Jack's boss's secretary. Len "casually" pointed out Jack's long absences and large expense reports and talked about the long hours he spent "doing my boss's job."

It looked like another palace coup until Jack did two things: He gave Len an out-of-town assignment that would allow him to "prove himself" (give him enough rope to hang himself). Then, while Len was away, Jack occupied himself mending fences, placating his boss and the secretary, and correcting Len's mistakes. P.S. Len didn't make it in the hustings either. He was laid off with minimal severance and a very tepid reference. The good guys/gals do win occasionally.

Rescue subordinates who can't/don't rescue themselves. Some people - usually top performers - really don't get it. They are easy marks, because nothing short of physical abuse registers and they never see a danger zone. Managers owe it to the organization, as well as to individuals, to stop such practices as quickly as they're spotted and before they gain momentum. Sara needed to be counseled in words of one syllable on the damage to her both personally and professionally as well as to the organization that a false accusation would do. The organization's conclusion, on watching this drama, was that management was both cowardly and ineffectual. Failure to rescue is much worse politically than "blowing things out of proportion." Hyperbole is better than no words at all.

Finally, don't take any attacks personally and preach this strategy like a religion to all victims. This is hard to do but very necessary. Too often, an attack provokes such an unsavvy response that the victim does him- or herself more harm than the perpetrator could possibly do.

I wish I could report that health care politics will return to normal-whatever that is. I can't. Rampant, fundamental change causes people who, in different circumstances, might be team players to strike out. Management's job includes setting the political tone, monitoring behavior, and then enforcing the limits. Expect surprise when you tell someone something he or she is doing is unexceptable. Expect a silent cheer from the rest of the organization. One of the truisms of organization life is that some of an organization's members will play dirty. Especially in times of economic and organizational uncertainty, there are individuals who, for whatever reasons, will play fast and loose with traditional workplace ethics. They will, in short, do pretty much anything that will advance their cause within the organization, letting the bodies fall where they may. In this column, Marilyn Kennedy gives some sage advice on how to deal with some of the "ugies" of organizational life.