Category Archives: Organization Development

Bans and obligations: a last resort?

Posted on April 19, 2024 by koenfucius

(featured image collage with work by LtapsaH/Pixabay) The law can be an important, but often overlooked, factor in our day-to-day choices. But how effective are legal bans and obligations really? A decision whether or not to do something is almost … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavioural economics, Cognitive biases and fallacies, Law, Morality, Organization Development, Psychology | Tagged | Leave a comment

Transparent or opaque?

Posted on February 23, 2024 by koenfucius

(featured image via Dall-E 3) Transparency, especially related to people’s incomes, may not be as desirable as we think Relativity is widely associated with Albert Einstein (even though many people have, at best, only a vague idea of what the … Continue reading →

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The asymmetry of importance

Posted on February 9, 2024 by koenfucius

(featured image: <Bus stop.jpg> made with Dall-E). We tend to assume that in interactions with others, their view of the importance of the interaction matches ours. That assumption may be wrong, and can be problematic “No man is an island, … Continue reading →

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Wages, benchmarks and markets

Posted on March 3, 2023 by koenfucius

(Featured image: qimono/Pixabay) The dispute about nurses’ salaries in the UK highlights the peculiar way in which we make judgements, and how one ignores market dynamics at one’s peril, even in the labour market This week’s nurses’ strike in the … Continue reading →

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Rules in the balance

Posted on March 11, 2022 by koenfucius

Even when our choices are determined by rules and principles, we cannot avoid making trade-offs Next week, Gallup, a consulting firm historically known as an opinion pollster, organizes a webinar titled Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: How to Make it a … Continue reading →

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The problem with football

Posted on July 9, 2021 by koenfucius

(featured image credit: J Brandt/Flickr) Football (or soccer), for many, produces such a powerful imagery and symbolism that we cannot help seeing it as a representation for bigger things – and that is what it is, warts and all Let … Continue reading →

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Why people do what they do (and don’t do what they don’t do)

Posted on August 13, 2020 by koenfucius

How to understand better what motivates people’s behaviour – in organizations and elsewhere – and how this can help us manage behavioural change, in others and in ourselves People don’t always do the right thing. It sounds like (and arguably … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavioural economics, Cognitive biases and fallacies, Management, Organization Development, Psychology | Tagged | 2 Comments

Signals from the unexpected

Posted on May 25, 2018 by koenfucius

(credit: didgeman CC BY) The messages that are sent when expectations and reality are at odds can be revealing and powerful A few weeks ago, three things happened to me on three consecutive days. All three involved choices other people … Continue reading →

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Useful ‘Nobel’ Economics? You bet!

Posted on October 16, 2016 by koenfucius

(featured image credit: edar/pixabay) How a winner of the Economics ‘Nobel’ prize may help run organizations better They say the way to hell is paved with good intentions. Arguably, anyone intent on paving the way to hell might find more … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavioural economics, Economics, Management, Organization Development | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment