The SNAFU Principle is term coined in the U.S. military in World War II. It may also refer to a principle popular found among Discordianism practice. It states that Communication is only possible between equals. In any hierarchy (business, government, military, etc.) people and employees inevitably distort the truth of reports when dealing with their superiors, in order to avoid any punishment for relaying bad news. As a result, the superiors often operate from a distorted view of the situation, sometimes leading to poor results.
SNAFU was first a United States military acronym meaning "Situation Normal, All Fucked Up", or, as is sometimes censored for civilians, as "situation normal, all fouled up".
References
SNAFU Principle Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA