Taming Wicked Problems in Strategy Wicked Strategies and the Business of Humanity

Abstract

In business, some problems are easy, some problems are hard, and some problems are so complex, so intractable, and so threatening to organizations - or entire industries that they are best described as 'wicked'. These problems resist easy interpretation or understanding; they pose questions that seem, to observers, to be unsolvable; and they render traditional analytical tools virtually impotent, requiring new approaches to strategic analysis.

While the prevalence of wicked problems in the arena of strategic management has been increasing because of forces in the business environment, the ability of management to respond effectively to these problems has not kept pace, for two reasons. First, many managers are not aware of the existence of wicked problems and the characteristics that make a problem wicked. Second, effective, systematic approaches to taming wicked problems in strategy are a recent development that have yet to be widely shared and integrated into management curricula.

One such systematic approach that offers promise in addressing the challenge of wicked problems has been developed by the Business of Humanity Project, a joint initiative of the Katz Graduate School of Business and the Swanson School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. The approach employs the construct of humanity—a combination of humane criteria and an empathetic response to global human needs - to develop strategies that respond to the environmental forces creating wicked problems by exploiting disruptive technologies, reconciling conflicted stakeholders, and embracing an unknowable future.