This article, written by Steven Kerr, is an interesting insight into our natural propensity as a society to reward one type of behavior, while really hoping often for its exact opposite. It can be seen in all areas of life, in fact the article gives examples in business, law, medicine, sports, war, politics, consulting, education, etc. This is particularly relevant in business, and also in politics - as this year’s elections start to draw closer. Below are a few examples, but the entire article is worth reading several times over (On the folly of rewarding A, while hoping for B.doc):
Official goals are “purposely vague and general and do not indicate . . . the host of decisions that must be made among alternative ways of achieving official goals and the priority of multiple goals …[2] They usually may be relied on to offend absolutely no one, and in this sense can be considered high acceptance, low quality goals. An example might be “All Americans are entitled to health care.” Operative goals are higher in quality but lower in acceptance, since they specify where the money will come from, and what alternative goals will be ignored.
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