Planning and People In all kinds of
organizations--companies, schools, hospitals, etc. --decisions appear correct in
theory but do not work in practice. There are many reasons for this. To
illustrate the problems involved we will consider four cases where different
decisions have to be taken. Case No. 1 The manager of
a shipping company was interested in using large metal containers for the
company’s cargo instead of conventional methods of loading and unloading. He
discovered that the use of containers was less expensive and quicker than
conventional methods. More cargo could be sent at one time and delays on the way
were shorter. The only major disadvantage (apart from the initial cost of the
containers) was that not all ships could take them. However, the manager
believed that his company could find enough ships for their containers. His plan
to use containers was adopted by the board of directors. Unfortunately, however,
it was never put into practice. The dockers heard about the plan and did not
like it. The reason was that the containers would make about a quarter of the
dockers redundant. The plan was killed. The comparison of
containers with conventional methods is shown in the following table.
Advantages
Disadvantages
Containers
1. less freight expenses 2. quicker delivery 3. more cargo
can be sent at one time 4. shorter delays on the way
1. not all ships can take them 2. heavy initial cost
Conventional methods
1. all ships can use them 2. no need to spend money on the
containers
1. more freight expenses 2. slower delivery 3. less cargo
can be sent at one time 4. longer delays on the way
Case No. 2 A solar pump was built in
a small desert village. The pump used the desert’s most common
resource-sunlight, to increase its greatest necessity-water. Solar collectors
were used to collect the sun’s rays. Flat collectors can be stationary and do
not have moving parts which can be broken in sand storms. The system used the 20
degree centigrade temperature difference between the solar collectors and the
ground water to work a gas expansion engine which pumped water from under the
ground. Some of the social effects of the new pumps were planned for.
Children aged 6 to15 used to bring the water from wells, where they met the old
men of the village and received informal education from them. In order to
replace this, a school was also included in the project. But the project had not
considered the traditional power structure of the village. As soon as the
foreign experts left, the two richest men in the village took control of the
pump and started selling water to everyone else. The result was that the
majority of people were poorer than before. Case No. 3 In 1946
there was a program in the Rio Grande valley to substitute hybrid corn for the
native corn. The native corn was of poor nutritional quality and gave a poor
quantity of grain while the hybrid corn was of excellent quality and gave about
three times as large a crop as the native variety. In the first year half of the
84 farmers in the village planted hybrid corn and doubled the corn production.
Three years later, however, only three farmers planted hybrid corn. The others
were planting the traditional variety. At the beginning of the project the
program leader studied the ecology of the area and showed films demonstrating
the superiority of the new corn. The farmers agreed that the hybrid corn had
great advantages. The size of the crop confirmed these advantages. Why did they
stop planting it The answer was simple: their wives did not like it. They
complained that it wasn’t good for cooking and they didn’t like the
flavor. Case No. 4 The manager of a large office building had
received many complaints about the lift service in the building. He engaged a
group of engineers to study the situation and make recommendations for
improvement. The engineers suggested two alternative solutions: 1. adding
more lifts of the same types; 2. replacing the existing lifts by faster
ones. The manager decided that both alternative solutions were too
expensive. So the firm’s psychologist offered to study the problem. He noticed
that many people arrived at their offices feeling angry and impatient. The
reason they gave was the length of time they had to wait for the lift. However,
the psychologist was impressed by the fact that they had only had to wait a
relatively short time. It occurred to him that the reason for their annoyance
was the fact they had to stand by the lifts inactive. He suggested a simple,
inexpensive solution to the manager. This was adopted and complaints stopped
immediately. The solution was to place a large mirror next to the
lifts. Three of these cases show failure, and one success. What conclusions
can be made about the decision involved First, in any decision, some
considerations are more relevant than others. It is a mistake to attempt to,
solve a problem in engineering terms when the problem is a psychological one.
Similarly, it is wrong to concentrate on the social effects of a new invention
if it is mechanically inadequate. It is a mistake to attempt to improve one part
of a system if the whole system has to be changed. Secondly, there is a
more fundamental question. A solution may be technically very crude but will
work because people are enthusiastic about it. Some projects predict negative
human reactions but are unable to persuade people that the project is right.
Other projects fail because of indifference--people neither like it nor dislike
it-they just do not think it is necessary. A project will be successful only if
the people involved believe that it is necessary and valuable for their own
lives. Some people believe that in these cases the plans are right but the
people are wrong. History, however, has shown this belief to be dangerous. If the problem is a psychological one, we can’t attempt to ______.