Head & Alford
Aspects of wicked problems:
- Social pluralism = multiple interests and values of stakeholders.
- Institutional complexity = the context of interorganizational cooperation and multilevel
governance.
- Scientific uncertainty = fragmentation and gaps in reliable knowledge.
Wicked problems are:
- Unpredictable
- Complex
- Open-ended
- Intractable
Dimensions of wicked problems:
- Uncertainty = lack of knowledge
- Ambiguity = conflicting views / frames
- Complexity = many interconnected variables and unpredictable changes
- Diversity = multiple stakeholders, multiple goals, multiple interests
Heifetz Roberts
Tame problems Simple problems
Somewhat wicked problems Complex problems
Wicked problems Wicked problems
New Public Management (NPM) = an approach to running public service organizations that is used in
government and public service institutions and agencies. Developed during the 1980s in an attempt
to make public service organizations more ‘businesslike’ and to improve its efficiency by using private
sector management models. It was supposed to address some of the shortcomings of traditional
administration. It is ill-suited to deal with wicked problems.
Aspects of a broader way to think about variables, options, and linkages than collaboration:
- Frame reflection = reflecting on frames, which are structures of belief, perception, and
appreciation which underlie policy positions. Wicked problems are grounded in different
frames and value perspectives rather than in disagreements about scientifically verified
knowledge.
- Systems thinking = a holistic approach to analysis that focuses on the way a system’s
constituent parts interrelate and how systems work over time and within the context of
larger systems.
o Social knowledge is provisional and context dependent
, o Can be helpful in understanding the complexity dimensions of wicked problems, but
it is less applicable for dealing with the communicative and political aspects.
- Complexity theory = emphasizes interactions and the accompanying feedback loops that
constantly change systems. It highlights some of the complex and contradictory aspects of
policy interactions in complex settings.
Three leadership styles:
- Dominant orthodoxy = transformational leadership, in which a leader has two key roles:
o Recognizing current state and problem
o Inspiring, enabling, and empowering workers to follow a strategy
- Adaptive leadership = includes a leader mobilizing adaptive work instead of announcing a
strategy and expecting compliance.
- Collaborative leadership = leading without control or monetary incentives.
Rittel & Webber
Characteristics of wicked problems:
1. Planner has no right to be wrong
2. Unique
3. No stopping rule
4. Symptom of another problem
5. No ultimate or immediate test
6. No set of potential solutions
7. No definitive formulation
8. Not true or false but good or bad
9. One-shot operation
10. Numerous explanations
Roberts
Coping strategies:
- Authoritative / taming strategies = diminish the level of conflict inherent in wicked problems
by putting problem-solving into the hands of a few stakeholders who have the authority to
define a problem and come up with a solution.
Power = not dispersed
- Competitive strategies = assumes a zero-sum game. Central is the struggle for power to
define a problem and solutions.
Power = dispersed & contested
- Collaborative strategies = premised on the principle that by joining forces parties can
accomplish more as a collective than they can achieve by acting as independent agents.
Power = dispersed but not contested
Aspects of wicked problems:
- Social pluralism = multiple interests and values of stakeholders.
- Institutional complexity = the context of interorganizational cooperation and multilevel
governance.
- Scientific uncertainty = fragmentation and gaps in reliable knowledge.
Wicked problems are:
- Unpredictable
- Complex
- Open-ended
- Intractable
Dimensions of wicked problems:
- Uncertainty = lack of knowledge
- Ambiguity = conflicting views / frames
- Complexity = many interconnected variables and unpredictable changes
- Diversity = multiple stakeholders, multiple goals, multiple interests
Heifetz Roberts
Tame problems Simple problems
Somewhat wicked problems Complex problems
Wicked problems Wicked problems
New Public Management (NPM) = an approach to running public service organizations that is used in
government and public service institutions and agencies. Developed during the 1980s in an attempt
to make public service organizations more ‘businesslike’ and to improve its efficiency by using private
sector management models. It was supposed to address some of the shortcomings of traditional
administration. It is ill-suited to deal with wicked problems.
Aspects of a broader way to think about variables, options, and linkages than collaboration:
- Frame reflection = reflecting on frames, which are structures of belief, perception, and
appreciation which underlie policy positions. Wicked problems are grounded in different
frames and value perspectives rather than in disagreements about scientifically verified
knowledge.
- Systems thinking = a holistic approach to analysis that focuses on the way a system’s
constituent parts interrelate and how systems work over time and within the context of
larger systems.
o Social knowledge is provisional and context dependent
, o Can be helpful in understanding the complexity dimensions of wicked problems, but
it is less applicable for dealing with the communicative and political aspects.
- Complexity theory = emphasizes interactions and the accompanying feedback loops that
constantly change systems. It highlights some of the complex and contradictory aspects of
policy interactions in complex settings.
Three leadership styles:
- Dominant orthodoxy = transformational leadership, in which a leader has two key roles:
o Recognizing current state and problem
o Inspiring, enabling, and empowering workers to follow a strategy
- Adaptive leadership = includes a leader mobilizing adaptive work instead of announcing a
strategy and expecting compliance.
- Collaborative leadership = leading without control or monetary incentives.
Rittel & Webber
Characteristics of wicked problems:
1. Planner has no right to be wrong
2. Unique
3. No stopping rule
4. Symptom of another problem
5. No ultimate or immediate test
6. No set of potential solutions
7. No definitive formulation
8. Not true or false but good or bad
9. One-shot operation
10. Numerous explanations
Roberts
Coping strategies:
- Authoritative / taming strategies = diminish the level of conflict inherent in wicked problems
by putting problem-solving into the hands of a few stakeholders who have the authority to
define a problem and come up with a solution.
Power = not dispersed
- Competitive strategies = assumes a zero-sum game. Central is the struggle for power to
define a problem and solutions.
Power = dispersed & contested
- Collaborative strategies = premised on the principle that by joining forces parties can
accomplish more as a collective than they can achieve by acting as independent agents.
Power = dispersed but not contested
