Blame
319888
223739181
2008-07-05T15:18:02Z
207.138.242.200
rv vandalism
{{otheruses4|the psychological behavior|the manga|BLAME!}}
{{Unreferenced|date=July 2007}}
[[Image:Who_is_responsible_not_me.jpg|thumb|right|Making others, people, places or things, responsible for something that has gone wrong.]]
[[Image:Blame_Mosley_banner.jpg|thumb|right|Blaming [[Max Mosley]].]]
To '''blame''' is to hold another person or group responsible for perceived faults real, imagined, or merely invented for pejorative purposes. Blame is an act of censure, reproach, and often outright condemnation. Blame is used to place responsibility and accountability for faults on the blamed person or group.
== Psychology ==
Blame seems basic to [[Hominidae|hominid]] behaviour, as the ''cat did it'' incident with [[Koko (gorilla)|Koko]] the [[gorilla]] demonstrated very vividly.
Blaming is nearly universally observed in children. It seems to be an essential part of [[human development]]. When [[language]] skills develop, one of the first practical things that can be done with them is to apply them to blame others for one's own misdeeds, and get them sanctioned or punished while one simply continues to engage in more of same.
== Specific examples of blame ==
=== Blame in organizations ===
Some [[systems theory|systems theorists]] and [[management consultant]]s, such as [[Gerald Weinberg]], held that the flow of blame in an [[organization]] was itself one of the most important indicators of that organization's robustness and integrity. Blame flowing upwards in a hierarchy, he argued, proved that superiors were willing to take full for their orders to their inferiors and supplying them with the resources required to do their jobs. But blame flowing downwards, from management to staff, or laterally between professionals, were signs of organizational failure.
Organizations can apply [[censure]] and [[demotion]] to managers and leaders who do not take full responsibility for their actions - in effect, to blame them for deflecting blame, rather than admit and redress it. These measures are quite common in [[government]] and [[diplomacy]], in situations where no [[punishment]] can be applied, e.g. due to [[diplomatic immunity]].
=== Blame in politics===
[[Resignation]] of a [[public official]] is another common way to accept blame, although in doing so the person may publicly blame others for the resignation.
===Blame in version control===
In [[Subversion (software)|Subversion]] <code>svn blame</code> is a command to show author and revision information in-line for the specified files or URLs. Each line of text is annotated at the beginning with the author (username) and the revision number for the last change to that line. <sup>[http://svnbook.red-bean.com/nightly/en/svn.ref.svn.c.blame.html SVN documentation]</sup>
==See also==
*[[Culpability]]
*[[Scapegoat]]
*[[Justice]]
*[[List of management topics]]
==External links==
{{commons|Category:Blame|Blame}}
*[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blame Merriam-Webster Definition of Blame]
*[http://www.unwords.com/unword/blamestorming.html "Blamestorming" Unword Definition]
*[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term="Blamestorming" Urban Definition]
*[http://bctf.ca/lessonaids/online/la2030/blaming.html "Blame the Victim" Article by British Columbia Teachers' Federation]
[[Category:Core issues in ethics]]
[[Category:Management]]