Shifting the Burden

Shifting the Burden

„An underlying problem generates symptoms that demand attention. But the underlying problem is difficult for people to address, either because it is obscure or costly to confront. So people "shift the burden" of their problem to other solutions — well-intentioned, easy fixes which seem extremely efficient. Unfortunately, the easier "solutions" only ameliorate the symptoms; they leave the underlying problem unaltered. The underlying problem grows worse, unnoticed because the symptoms apparently clear up, and the system loses whatever abilities it had to solve the underlying problem.“ (Senge 1990)

Systems archetypes are one of ten systems thinking tools. Systems archetype in general refers to „…recurring, generic systemic structures that are found in many kinds of organizations, under many circumstances, and at different levels or scales, from internal personal dynamics to global international relations.“ (Kim a Anderson 1998)

The Shifting the Burden archetype comes into play when a complicated problematic situation arises. The problem might be difficult to fix and it might also be hard to even identify the root cause of the problem. In such case people might be naturally inclined to apply temporary or more easily available “solutions” to seemingly fix the problem. However these quick solutions only fix the symptoms and not the root cause of the problem which means that even though the solution might be successful short-term, the problem will most likely manifest itself again later on or a completely new symptom might appear.

Along with the “Fixes that fail” and “Limits to Success” archetypes these are the three most easily recognizable archetypes in a real world. (Kim a Anderson 1998)

Systems thinking

The first mention of the term “Systems thinking” comes from Barry Richmond who used it in 1987. (Arnold a Wade 2015) Richmond defines Systems thinking as “…the art and science of making reliable inferences about behavior by developing an increasingly deep understanding of underlying structure.” (Richmond 1994)

The art and science are composed of the parts shown in Picture 1.

Richmond also adds that “…Systems Thinking is a Paradigm and a Learning Method. The first conditions the second. The second supports the first. The two parts form a synergistic whole” (Richmond 1994)

(Anderson a Johnson 1997) also add that systems thinking is in general characterized by the following principles:

1. Thinking of the “big picture”
2. Balancing short-term and long-term perspectives
3. Recognizing the dynamic, complex and interdependent nature of systems
4. Taking into account both measurable and nonmeasurable factors
5. Remembering that we are all part of the systems in which we function and that we each influence those systems even as we are being influenced by them

History

The beginnings of the systems archetypes can be traced back to 1960s and 1970s when several recurring systemic structures were observed. In the 1980s these observations were properly described and diagrammed. (Kim a Anderson 1998) Peter Singe then referred to these structures as systems archetypes in his book The Fifth Discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization from 1990. (Kim a Anderson 1998; Senge 1990)

Structure

As mentioned earlier, Shifting the Burden begins with a problem symptom that we are trying to solve. At first we apply the easier symptomatic solution (B1). Afterwards the problem is seemingly fixed so there is no pressure or need to apply a better (fundamental) solution. The fundamental solution (B2) would however be more beneficial long term even though it is usually more time consuming and takes more time for the benefits to become noticeable (comes with a delay) as it would fix the root cause of the problem which would prevent the problem from happening again. With application of the symptomatic solution also comes a potential for side effects (R3) which make the application of the fundamental solution even more challenging.

(Kim a Lannon 1997) also mention a possible development of the Shifting the burden archetype into an “Addiction” archetype where the side effects get so much out of hand that they overwhelm the original problem.

Examples

Stress in life

Life itself can get stressful due to various responsibilities (e.g. balancing work life, school life and personal life). The only logical solution that would solve the root cause is limiting the amount of responsibilities which can obviously be hard to do in certain cases. Some people thus try to mask the problem with medication or alcohol. This however does not solve the root cause and might cause more trouble down the road (addiction). (Senge 1990) The visualization of this example can be seen in Picture 2.