kerr's folly

This is one of those blogs that I intended to type two years ago and started to put together around that time but I never really figured out how I wanted to structure it, so it collected dust for a while. I have got several like that from around the same year. That is beside the point right now, though.

Back when I started typing this I had just learned of a concept called "Kerr's Folly" in school, which describes an issue that has always intrigued me. Steven Kerr, who was or is a professor of management at the University of Michigan, wrote a relatively famous piece in 1995 entitled "On the folly of rewarding A, while hoping for B." The title sums up the concept nicely. All too often societies, businesses, individuals, and other entities believe expect a certain type of behavior but reward a contradictory behavior. As an example, we expect politicians to be representative of the common constituency, but we accept a system that requires someone be either independently wealthy or willing to accept contributions from whomever will give them in order to be elected. So, we are hoping for a representative who understands and responds to the issues of the common folk, but we reward millionaires and sellouts.

The concept was originally written for business and it is very applicable there. Investors demand long-term growth and stability but judge companies on quarterly results without regard to statistical variation. Management expects teamwork but rewards and punishes based on comparative individual accomplishment. Projects are expected to be completed with high level of quality but rewards are based on meeting time and cost goals.

I see the same sorts of things in life outside of business as well. People who feel mistreated lash out, thus guaranteeing that they will continue to be mistreated (or will start to be mistreated if they misunderstood their treatment before). People who desire friendships and deeper relationships become clingy, which encourages others to avoid them rather than befriend them. People expect their kids to have certain standards and viewpoints but they model opposing standards through their personal behavior and are inconsistent in enforcing the standards they preach.

I have always tried to pay attention as to whether I an providing incentives for people to do the opposite of what I want them to do. I don't know that anyone can be objective enough all of the time to really know what behavior he or she is encouraging, though. Do you pay attention to the behavior that you are encouraging in others to behave in your life as well? Do you have a reason not to?