Category: Planning / Topics: Government • Management • Science & Technology
by Stu Johnson
Posted: November 309, 2015
A personal experience leads to thoughts about unintended consequences (part 2 looks at unexpected benefits, causes, and tips)
Sunken ships become coral reefs |
Aspirin for heart health and strokes |
In Part 1 we looked at a personal example of unintended consequences and examples of consequences that create new problems. In this part we turn to unexpected benefits, the causes of unintended consequences and tips on avoiding or anticipating them. The notes at the end of this entry cover both parts, so the note numbers below continue from Part 1.
Unexpected benefits
Lest we think that all unintended consequences are bad, sometimes they can be quite beneficial.
“Yet in the course of providing compliance advice to executives, we discovered a small subset who approached the new law with something like gratitude. For years, and especially when financial reporting had become fast and loose and criminal conduct entrenched at places like WorldCom and Enron, these executives had secretly wished that some of the resources absorbed by their companies’ profit centers could have been diverted to improving financial management processes and capabilities. They were thinking not only of protecting stakeholders and shielding their companies from lawsuits but of developing better information about company operations in order to avoid making bad decisions.” [4]
The causes and prevention of unintended consequences
These examples, and myriad others, illustrate what economists and social scientists have attempted to define. Rob Norton provides a good summary in an article in The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. [5] The high points:
I like the list offered by the contributor to the Wikipedia article on unintended consequences
Possible causes of unintended consequences include the world's inherent complexity (parts of a system responding to changes in the environment), perverse incentives, human stupidity, self-deception, failure to account for human nature, or other cognitive or emotional biases. As a sub-component of complexity (in the scientific sense), the chaotic nature of the universe—and especially its quality of having small, apparently insignificant changes with far-reaching effects (e.g., the butterfly effect)—applies. [1]
The role of human nature is critical. In fact, it could be said that the first reference to unintended consequences is found in the opening chapters of the book of Genesis with the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Regardless of the level of wisdom and foresight, some consequences cannot be anticipated and are totally unexpected. Too often, however, they are a result of selfish ambition, political agendas, arrogance, and other human frailties. We can also be caught be exuberance and optimism—good qualities—but ones that need to be kept in perspective when considering the consequences of our planning and decision-making.
How to avoid or anticipate unintended consequences
Here are a few tips. Your own experience may suggest others. My own perspective is that of smaller businesses and organizations that do not have a permanent legal staff (though this can introduce its own pitfalls).
Notes
Primary Sources
Secondary Sources (notes within primary sources – links have been checked and left intact, but marked “invalid” if no longer working)
For more information...
This post also appears as an article on SeniorLifestyle.org
Search all articles by Stu Johnson
Stu Johnson is owner of Stuart Johnson & Associates, a communications consultancy in Wheaton, Illinois focused on "making information make sense."
• E-mail the author (moc.setaicossajs@uts*)* For web-based email, you may need to copy and paste the address yourself.
Posted: November 309, 2015 Accessed 6,396 times
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Category: Planning / Topics: Government • Management • Science & Technology
by Stu Johnson
Posted: November 309, 2015
A personal experience leads to thoughts about unintended consequences (part 2 looks at unexpected benefits, causes, and tips)
Sunken ships become coral reefs |
Aspirin for heart health and strokes |
In Part 1 we looked at a personal example of unintended consequences and examples of consequences that create new problems. In this part we turn to unexpected benefits, the causes of unintended consequences and tips on avoiding or anticipating them. The notes at the end of this entry cover both parts, so the note numbers below continue from Part 1.
Unexpected benefits
Lest we think that all unintended consequences are bad, sometimes they can be quite beneficial.
“Yet in the course of providing compliance advice to executives, we discovered a small subset who approached the new law with something like gratitude. For years, and especially when financial reporting had become fast and loose and criminal conduct entrenched at places like WorldCom and Enron, these executives had secretly wished that some of the resources absorbed by their companies’ profit centers could have been diverted to improving financial management processes and capabilities. They were thinking not only of protecting stakeholders and shielding their companies from lawsuits but of developing better information about company operations in order to avoid making bad decisions.” [4]
The causes and prevention of unintended consequences
These examples, and myriad others, illustrate what economists and social scientists have attempted to define. Rob Norton provides a good summary in an article in The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. [5] The high points:
I like the list offered by the contributor to the Wikipedia article on unintended consequences
Possible causes of unintended consequences include the world's inherent complexity (parts of a system responding to changes in the environment), perverse incentives, human stupidity, self-deception, failure to account for human nature, or other cognitive or emotional biases. As a sub-component of complexity (in the scientific sense), the chaotic nature of the universe—and especially its quality of having small, apparently insignificant changes with far-reaching effects (e.g., the butterfly effect)—applies. [1]
The role of human nature is critical. In fact, it could be said that the first reference to unintended consequences is found in the opening chapters of the book of Genesis with the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Regardless of the level of wisdom and foresight, some consequences cannot be anticipated and are totally unexpected. Too often, however, they are a result of selfish ambition, political agendas, arrogance, and other human frailties. We can also be caught be exuberance and optimism—good qualities—but ones that need to be kept in perspective when considering the consequences of our planning and decision-making.
How to avoid or anticipate unintended consequences
Here are a few tips. Your own experience may suggest others. My own perspective is that of smaller businesses and organizations that do not have a permanent legal staff (though this can introduce its own pitfalls).
Notes
Primary Sources
Secondary Sources (notes within primary sources – links have been checked and left intact, but marked “invalid” if no longer working)
For more information...
This post also appears as an article on SeniorLifestyle.org
Search all articles by Stu Johnson
Stu Johnson is owner of Stuart Johnson & Associates, a communications consultancy in Wheaton, Illinois focused on "making information make sense."
• E-mail the author (moc.setaicossajs@uts*)* For web-based email, you may need to copy and paste the address yourself.
Posted: November 309, 2015 Accessed 6,397 times
Go to the list of most recent InfoMatters Blogs
Search InfoMatters (You can expand the search to the entire site)
Category: Planning / Topics: Government • Management • Science & Technology
by Stu Johnson
Posted: November 309, 2015
A personal experience leads to thoughts about unintended consequences (part 2 looks at unexpected benefits, causes, and tips)
Sunken ships become coral reefs |
Aspirin for heart health and strokes |
In Part 1 we looked at a personal example of unintended consequences and examples of consequences that create new problems. In this part we turn to unexpected benefits, the causes of unintended consequences and tips on avoiding or anticipating them. The notes at the end of this entry cover both parts, so the note numbers below continue from Part 1.
Unexpected benefits
Lest we think that all unintended consequences are bad, sometimes they can be quite beneficial.
“Yet in the course of providing compliance advice to executives, we discovered a small subset who approached the new law with something like gratitude. For years, and especially when financial reporting had become fast and loose and criminal conduct entrenched at places like WorldCom and Enron, these executives had secretly wished that some of the resources absorbed by their companies’ profit centers could have been diverted to improving financial management processes and capabilities. They were thinking not only of protecting stakeholders and shielding their companies from lawsuits but of developing better information about company operations in order to avoid making bad decisions.” [4]
The causes and prevention of unintended consequences
These examples, and myriad others, illustrate what economists and social scientists have attempted to define. Rob Norton provides a good summary in an article in The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. [5] The high points:
I like the list offered by the contributor to the Wikipedia article on unintended consequences
Possible causes of unintended consequences include the world's inherent complexity (parts of a system responding to changes in the environment), perverse incentives, human stupidity, self-deception, failure to account for human nature, or other cognitive or emotional biases. As a sub-component of complexity (in the scientific sense), the chaotic nature of the universe—and especially its quality of having small, apparently insignificant changes with far-reaching effects (e.g., the butterfly effect)—applies. [1]
The role of human nature is critical. In fact, it could be said that the first reference to unintended consequences is found in the opening chapters of the book of Genesis with the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Regardless of the level of wisdom and foresight, some consequences cannot be anticipated and are totally unexpected. Too often, however, they are a result of selfish ambition, political agendas, arrogance, and other human frailties. We can also be caught be exuberance and optimism—good qualities—but ones that need to be kept in perspective when considering the consequences of our planning and decision-making.
How to avoid or anticipate unintended consequences
Here are a few tips. Your own experience may suggest others. My own perspective is that of smaller businesses and organizations that do not have a permanent legal staff (though this can introduce its own pitfalls).
Notes
Primary Sources
Secondary Sources (notes within primary sources – links have been checked and left intact, but marked “invalid” if no longer working)
For more information...
This post also appears as an article on SeniorLifestyle.org
Search all articles by Stu Johnson
Stu Johnson is owner of Stuart Johnson & Associates, a communications consultancy in Wheaton, Illinois focused on "making information make sense."
• E-mail the author (moc.setaicossajs@uts*)* For web-based email, you may need to copy and paste the address yourself.
Posted: November 309, 2015 Accessed 6,398 times
Go to the list of most recent InfoMatters Blogs
Search InfoMatters (You can expand the search to the entire site)