Schlagwort-Archive: Interest

Reducing unintended consequences

The increasing complexity of tasks inevitably results in narrowing of the perspective of the acting persons. Increasing time and cost pressure prevent us from thinking outside the box. This increases the unintended consequences and burdens the desired effect. Nobody can afford to look beyond the box anymore. Good examples can be found in politics – when climate protection has to fight with nature conservation for space to install wind turbines; when the health of consumers is endangered by the extensive use of glyphosate in agriculture; when power supply lines are impeded by local residents; when traffic cannot be diverted because other disadvantages emerge; when temporary employment models and the promotion of the low-wage sector increase the risk of poverty now and in the future. The social need for further development is prevented by interests of few. That way, the parties involved are mutually depriving each other of a desirable future.

In order to secure creative leeway, the outcomes of measures must be recognized and dealt with at an early stage – whether they are intended or not or not even the direct consequence of the doing. They influence the acting persons through evolved or designed activities, the selected target groups or unforeseen third parties, i.e. everyone. The difficulties arise from a lack of foresight and awareness of the weaknesses, which are:

  • The missing overview
    It comes from the quality of the available data that, in the absence of current data from the future, are mainly extrapolated from the past into the future. On the other hand, the quantity and complexity of the available knowledge as well as the resulting butterfly effect make it impossible to provide reliable predictions.
  • The persistence of old solutions
    The habit of copying old things and reusing them in a rash way leads to solutions that no longer fit the current circumstances – like the administrative tasks that continue to be paper-based.
  • The suppress of existing interests
    The expectations of stakeholders remain unconsidered and, despite everything, influence the results – as soon as, above all, the decisive stakeholders are not involved.
  • The cognitive distortions of the participants
    The tendency of the actors to put their own goals above those of the whole leads to distortions that burden the result – if the participants do not align to each other

In order to get the weak points under control, it needs the conscious consideration of the task. It is already enough to go through the following steps.

  • To work out the initial situation with those concerned, so that everyone has a common view.
  • To describe in brief the purpose, in order to convey the raison d’être to the parties involved.
  • Anchoring a snapshot of the desired future with everyone so that they can act coherently on their own.
  • Prepare a comprehensive proceeding that avoids pragmatically restrictive approaches with their unwanted surprises.
  • Once the activities are prepared, they should be cross-checked: Are the actors known? Is the purpose described? Do the circumstances fit? Are the planned, visible actions appropriate?
  • If further influences are now being carefully sought during execution, unintended consequences should occur less frequently and identified stumbling blocks should be eliminated early on.

Bottom line: Today’s way of working leads to the situation that neither the time nor the means are available to think outside the box. This means that threatening surprises remain undetected for the time being and cannot be eliminated at an early stage. In order to better manage these unintended consequences, it is advisable to address the above-mentioned aspects: clarify the facts; make the purpose tangible; formulate the vision; keep the approach flexible; check the coherence of the measures; and eventually, work through everything carefully. In addition, the requirements of modern management continue to apply – clear objectives, defined roles, fixed time and cost budgets, etc. Looking at ALL the above elements, the unintended consequences should be reduced.

Why should I?

In the egotope of one’s own small apartment, everything is determined by the interests of the one resident. He doesn’t have to coordinate with anyone, doesn’t have to permanently consider other people and only cares when he is in the mooed for it. Different lifestyles, attitudes and tastes encounter in the sociotope of a flat-sharing community. The perceived obligation to take care of the common living space can be very different from one to the other. In the bathroom and the kitchen the different sensitivities collide. One remedy is nowadays the labelling of food and drinks with the name of the owner, in the hope of rediscovering the personal purchases when needed. Fate hits when it comes to dishes. As soon as the first dirty plate remains, other used plates, glasses, knives, forks and spoons accumulate at the speed of light. Why would anyone care about it?

Familial and cultural differences result in dissimilar thresholds of irritation, which, as soon as they are exceeded, lead to someone caring, because the personal emotional burden becomes too big.

  • Assignment
    The official trigger is a temporary assignment of the task. As soon as someone is obliged to fulfil an affair, for example in business in the form of a job description or a direct order, when the authorities are sufficient to deliver the required results in a determined quality, the person in charge has little room to leeway to avoid it.
    The formalized assignment with the clear description of the task is the common way.
  • Career reasons
    The assumption of unpopular tasks can result from career advantages for the responsible persons, which are sufficient to devote them courageously to the activity.
    The calculated assignment uses ambition and creates a win-win situation.
  • Interest
    The intrinsic stimulus of dedicating oneself to a task arises naturally, when the content satisfies a particular interest. And every task can be interesting – even generally unpopular routine tasks. The
    intrinsic assumption of a task based on passion boosts the well-being of the contractor.
  • Public spirit
    A special interest comes from the altruistic drive to take on tasks in order to make the world a better place.
    The altruistic drive to do a job for humanity’s benefit strengthens the fulfiller’s self-esteem.
  • Boredom
    As soon as the inner clock runs slower and slower, time doesn’t want to pass, you get cabin fever and you can’t find anything better to do, than boredom is worse than any unpopular task.
    The distracting performance of otherwise unattractive tasks shall expel the time of the executer.
  • Psychological strain
    If the current situation is so awkward that the level of suffering rises above the personally acceptable degree, this leads quickly to the removal of the disturbing problem.
    The curative takeover of a task takes place autonomously in order to eliminate the acute “pain” by completing the task.

Bottom line: There are tasks that require the active treatment. The reasons to take care of it are manifold. They range from a temporary assignment, are based on interest, calculated career reasons and altruistic public spirit, to avoiding boredom and solving personal suffering. The diversity of the characters leads in most cases to the handling of the task. The first is in extreme cases the last possibility – the assignment. By answering the question “Why should I?” the implementation starts – sooner or later.