The organizational charlatan scale Developing an instrument to measure false performance

This paper reports on the development of the organizational charlatan scale (OCS). The OCS measures one’s emphasis on behaviors associated with perceived performance levels at the expense of those associated with actual performance levels. Data from one company suggests that organizational charlatans receive lower objective technical evaluations but higher subjective management evaluations. The OCS can assist in human resource decisions by providing managers at all levels of the organization with an overall assessment of one’s proclivity for employing such behaviors.