Avoid Confusion

In analyzing and understanding work in this section, especially complex work or work within formal organizations, it is necessary to be clear about terms. The most ordinary terms can be particularly confusing: e.g. work and managing. Three other common confusions are dealt with here.

An Outcome & An Output

«Ouputs» are tangible. Any actual output is also an actual outcome of some sort. «Outcome» in this context is a synonym for result i.e. some change in the real world.

However, in managing work we are concerned with bringing certain changes about i.e. with desired outcomes. And not all «desired outcomes» are outputs, rather they are a consequence of outputs.

A desired outcome (assuming it is feasible in principle) is a purpose-PH6, specifically a strategic objective (PH6-L2).

An outcome depends on appropriate outputs, sometimes all very similar, but the connection may not be direct. In large projects or organizations, both outcomes and outputs may be diverse and complex.
Examples:

A shop that wants to increase the proportion and frequency of returning customers (outcome), or expects to increase profitability per square metre by 10% (outcome), requires many sales (outputs) in both cases. However the sales/outputs will be analysed differently to determine whether each outcome has been achieved.

The desired outcome of a website project might be "a large section of a particular public visits the website weekly". To enable this, the project-manager might specify work outputs that provide for registration and personalization of the website, opportunities for customizing, and production of regular reminder emails with details of changes.

Re Control

Outputs can be controlled: they can be specified in great detail and their production can be closely supervised and checked.

Outcomes cannot be controlled in the same way: because outputs may not have the expected effect and disruptive events may intrude and render them useless or even counter-productive.

An Activity & An Action

An activity and an action are two different things i.e. activity is not just a plurality of actions.

An activity is used here as a category or class of actions of a particular sort.
Examples:

Tennis playing is an activity; whilst hitting a forehand at a particular point in a match is an action.

Nursing is an activity, whilst taking a particular patient's temperature at a particular time is an action. (Note that taking a patient's temperature in general could be viewed as an activity because it is a class of actions.)

Activities are purposive-PH6 and their identity is defined by principal objects (PH6-L4).

Actions are the final common pathway of all purposes, and occur in work within tasks that are defined by tactical objectives (PH6-L1).

Projects and organizations typically require diverse and more or less specialized activities, but not vast numbers. However, actions-PH1 are generated by decisions (PH1-L6) and these occur continuously. Even a simple task will include dozens, hundreds or even thousands of actions. However, for simplicity, we often use the singular (e.g. «take action») when we mean commit to the flow of actions required by a task.

Re Control

You can directly control activities in various ways e.g. you may increase their significance, their scope, their sophistication. So activities are manageable.

You cannot control actions directly in the same way. Actions are performed by persons and are a basic expression of human freedom and creative judgement. Interfering with or micro-managing actions reduces the person to helpless frustration. (You can only control actions indirectly through specifying tasks and tactical objectives in ever more minute detail.)

Strategic Objective & Strategy

L2-purposes specify desirable feasible outcomes: strategic objectives are singular or plural outcomes, while strategies are sets or systems of subsidiary outcomes.

The strategic objective is a primary outcome of activity in a social situation. It is always a challenge to define specific appropriate and feasible outcomes.

When situations are complex, interactive and dynamic—typical in large enterprises, it is difficult to ensure activities will generate the desired outcome.

Strategy is a set of inter-connected (sub-)outcomes that, together, are judged to be likely to produce the strategic objective. It is always a challenge to develop a viable strategy.

Example

Organizations must deal with numerous matters that seem tangential but are unavoidable e.g. any large business impacts on the environment, so it is necessary to develop a policy and be clear about outcomes in this regard. In order to deliver those outcomes, a strategy will be required. Otherwise, in the pressure for results, the environment will be forgotten.

Business Consulting

In business literature, strategy often takes the outcome for granted: it is profitability. «Business strategy» is about ways of interacting with a market to deliver profitability: this is a specific matter with its own THEE Framework.

However, profitability is equivalent to having an objective «to survive». Such a formulation requires little thought or intelligence. It is better viewed as inherent in the mission (PH6-L5+L4) than as an outcome (PH6-L2). Even specifying «growth» as an objective is vague.

The more clearly the outcome can be visualized, the more likely is it to be achieved. That requires considerable analysis and thought, intuition and imagination. Techniques like scenario planning may be useful.

In determining appropriate strategic objectives, attention is often simultaneously given to the necessary strategy to ensure feasibility. However, that may be inhibiting and counter-productive. Strategy must deal with dynamic issues like time-lags, counter-measures, resource changes, risks, and public perceptions. These are quite separate, their probabilities are not known, and they are far too complicated to be visualized.

Conclusion

• A manager needs to manage activities and tasks to produce outputs that embody or lead to desired outcomes.
• A worker needs expertise in a particular activity, and makes decisions and takes actions either in response to being managed or as part of managing.
• In a dynamic situation, everyone needs a strategy to deliver the desired outcome.

Clear?

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• Now return to your options for the next step.

Originally posted:5-Nov-2013