OPTIMIZATION (Sub)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 2367 ▶ |
| Object type | Human sciences, Methodology or model |
- “The attainment of some kind of optimum in part of the system (which) precludes the attainment of an optimum for the whole” (K. BOULDING, 1972, p.84).
K. BOULDING states that this problem “which emerges out of economics… has a highly general significance” (Ibid).
It arises, in human organizations, out of the inadequate — and in some cases downright non-sensical — use of technical tools applied to inadequate ends.
From another angle, K. BOULDING adds: “Many of the failures of organizations, for instance, are a result of suboptimization, which could be defined as the best way of doing something which should not be done at all, or more generally, finding the best way of doing something in particular without taking account of the costs which this solution imposes on other segments of the system” (Ibid).
Suboptimization is a very general and dangerous result of hyperspecialization, as most specialists merely see as their duty managing and resolving as best as possible their own small segment of a global situation they consider to be outside their commitment… if even they are conscious of its existence.