Oticon

Article summary

Oticon is a Danish hearing aid manufacturer based near Copenhagen in Denmark. The company is a subsidiary of Demant A/S. It was founded in 1904 by Hans Demant, whose wife was hearing impaired. Oticon has branches in several countries, including a production plant in Poland, with more than 3,000 employees worldwide. The company claims to be the world's second-largest manufacturer of hearing aids, and it uses a management style known as "spaghetti organization", which was introduced by Lars Kolind under his leadership between 1988 and 1998. In 2018 Oticon was fined AUD$2.5 million and they were forced to apologise for misleading customers in Australia about hearing aids and their technology.

Key claims

1. date of foundation: 1904 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. employees: 3,000 employees — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of foundation is "1904". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the employees is "3,000 employees". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
5. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1371716535