Globalization is typically used to refer disparagingly to a broad basket of issues associated with ever-increasing international trade. One of the most contentious of these is the off-shoring of jobs. Globalization permits everything from transferring entire factories – even industries – to staffing specific back-office operations overseas.
The injured parties complain – workers, smaller firms that lack the resources to engage in these activities, communities. The politicians put up the cry: when we allow labor to leave the country, we lose essential sources of national wealth. The solution seems simple to them: we must protect these jobs.
A century and a half ago, the French economist Frederic Bastiat referred to this, in “Economic Sophisms,” as Sisyphism. He argued that the natural tendency of people – and their organizations – is to find easier, less expensive ways to do things; solutions that “subtracted from the effort and added to the result.”
Protectionism, on the other hand, locates wealth not in the result, but in the effort, the very obstacle that we ordinarily seek to reduce or remove. “Its ideal,” he said, “ may be represented by the toil of Sisyphus—at once barren and eternal.”
As so often, unwelcome consequences arise from distorted premises. And it doesn’t just happen in the realm of national economic policy. It happens at work, where it can also create the perverse result of increasing the burden on operations, rather than efficiency.
A good many firms offer numerous examples of this sort of thing. Silos, departmental dynasties, ill-conceived promotion and incentive systems – too many to name.
Is the Sisyhpus System one of those at work in your organization?
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Today’s tip: Speaking of misidentifying not merely your goals, but your tools for achieving them, please take a moment to see this piece about microfinance from The Economist.
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Hello, Jim,
You grabbed me with “Protectionism, on the other hand, locates wealth not in the result, but in the effort…”
That had not dawned on me before and I think it’s a powerful point that brings to light the illusion of activity masquerading for results behind an excuse of nationalism.
That will keep me thinking this weekend.
Hi Steve,
I wish I could claim authorship of that insight, but it belongs to Frederic Bastiat, whose ability to structure insights so strikingly, together with his contemporary relevance, is truly amazing.
I hope we hear from you regarding your thoughts on this over the weekend!
Good question, Jim – as usual. I think, too, of the age-old “Doing the same thing over and over again, but hoping for a better result.” In early Chinese culture, as you probably know, this was considered a form of insanity. Only DISCONTINUOUS “continuous improvement” avoids the fatal flaw in that!
Hello Lee,
“Discontinuous ‘continuous improvement’” – that’s good. It suggests grounding the efforts at improvement not in themselves, but in regular assessments of their effectiveness.
Thanks for your visit, Lee, and your always thought-provoking comments!