The notion of false attribution is well known in psychological circles. Basically, it involves error or oversimplification in finding the cause that would account for a set of feelings or circumstances. This is often accompanied with the opportunity to psychologically distance or project away from any notion of personal accountability. In short, we seek something to blame which eases any failures on our part and gives us some sense of understanding rather than confusion.
The notion of false attribution is well known in psychological circles. Basically, it involves error or oversimplification in finding the cause that would account for a set of feelings or circumstances. This is often accompanied with the opportunity to psychologically distance or project away from any notion of personal accountability. In short, we seek something to blame which eases any failures on our part and gives us some sense of understanding rather than confusion.
Covid has had a major impact and is a serious issue for all, but there is a real danger it becomes a rhetorical attribution point for just about every failing, masking more fundamental issues in need of attention. The last few weeks have seen an increase in national insurance, involving the breach of a manifesto promise as the price of tackling the social care issue. The global pandemic was cited by the Premier as the reason for this. Lost in the detail of this of course, was the primacy of priorities towards easing the burden on the NHS to deal with backlogs. Given the fiscal absorbency of the NHS will these funds ever be freed to be redirected to social care further down the line?
Anyone involved in production management, logistics or even plain engineering mechanics would know that if you run systems be they human, fiscal, mechanical or otherwise at capacities exceeding 95% all of the time or something has to give. These demands have palpably been with the NHS for many years now. So, are we protecting the NHS because of Covid demands, or systemic underinvestment and poor planning spanning decades?
Much of businesses’ inability to respond well during lockdown was often attributed to home working or disruption of supply chains. Whilst true in part, the stark reality is so many of these companies failed to have any form of developed disaster management approach that would ensure their survival in truly hard times. When businesses are dependent upon complex supply chains, simple contractual penalties for non-performance won’t work when your own operation grinds to a halt. The tendency to keep inventory down, for example, is a given in ordinary times and benefits the bottom line, but what happens to the cost benefits of such a strategy in extra-ordinary times? That inventory position works both directions too – remember the outdated stockpile of PPE! Covid may have occurred, but many organisations lack true disaster planning. Failure to actually plan for the worst means that when things happen any disruption is attributed to the event, rather than the lack of planning for the stark reality that stuff’ happens. Climate change brings a further dimension to this. Disaster plans include real disasters, not just a server breaking down or a hack, however disruptive.
Covid has become a very convenient area of common human experience, with which the poor, inefficient or unplanned organisation can garner a certain amount of plausible deniability and consumer tolerance over the next year or so. In many boardrooms, centres of legislation or public administration, this factor will be traded upon as we all groupthink together about the adversity we have faced. Even now, many businesses are taking the stance of coming to the end of the tunnel but will they sigh with relief and then fail anticipate future plunges into the dark?
Those who practice Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) understand the axiom that if you don’t get results you have to have reasons. Those reasons require a detailed analysis of what went on, not simply attributing every failure in public service, business or elsewhere to a pandemic that had been predicted for years, whilst failing to fully understand the nature of global relationships that created interdependencies whilst vectoring disease. Indeed, in this respect, the constant reference to the global pandemic is tantamount to the old adages of getting around to it’, or ‘a funny thing happened to me on the way to…’, or perhaps, simply blaming it on the Covid! It could never be a lack of planning! I just can’t, I just can’t, I just can’t control my feet (I can, the lyrics imply false attribution to an external force (the boogie) and a denial of my self-control, insight and planning)!
