What happened to integrity?

Abstract

When we reported this back to the hiring company, they, in turn, rescinded their offer of employment to the candidate. Why? As the hiring manager said: "It's not because the degree is not completed, because that's not a finite requirement here. The fact that that person lied about it speaks to the candidate's integrity, or lack thereof. We don't want that type of person working for us." Then, with another client, the same situation arose: The candidate of choice purported to have completed a degree program, but hadn't, according to the school. We reported this to our client company-who elected to hire the candidate anyway. Did this happen because they knew the candidate was lying, but really felt they needed that person's talents? Or did they know the candidate had fibbed, but chose to overlook the apparent lack of honesty? In another example, I sat in on a meeting with a team of managers and their director. On three different occasions, the director prefaced a comment with, "I wouldn't tell my employee this, but..." and then proceeded to tell us about one employee's habitual lateness, another's propensity for using foul language in the office and yet another of her employees who had confidentially told her that she had once had a nervous breakdown. Does this type of manager think others will respect her for passing on comments like these?