In the period since the 2008 Wall Street crash, little consensus has emerged on its causes or actions to prevent a recurrence. Our capability for rational decision making was overwhelmed. Viewing the entire financial system as a huge, richly interconnected organization suggests that its structure and associated management practices are suited for a far simpler environment. An organization that is large relative to its environment and sufficiently complex to require the coordination of specialized expertise cannot function by enabling decision makers to respond only to local demands. The resulting inability to recognize critical interdependencies and the nature of their risk makes periodic catastrophic failure likely. Specifically, compartmentalization of information, influence, and reward creates a myopic decision environment in which individual decision makers are unlikely to make effective or ethical decisions. Useful criteria for evaluating solutions can be suggested by considering the interaction of two factors: limited human information processing capability and the effect of motivation on information processing. Taken together, they suggest that human information processing is both limited and opportunistic. We cannot process all information available and the information selected for processing narrows to that needed to achieve salient rewards. Because of this, the organization's reward practices and their effect on motivation are a critical variable. Large financial rewards contingent upon short term, local, simplistic measures inevitably narrow the focus of decision maker's attention to a small part of the system. In contrast, dominant intrinsic motivation is rooted in awareness of, and responsibility for, broader outcomes. Each type of motivation differs in its requirements for sharing of information, influence, and reward. These, in turn, determine the adaptability of the organization to complexity and change. While this has significant ethical implications, its logic rests on the limitations of human information processing and motivation. Aligning human motivation and information flow to the demands of a complex, turbulent financial environment is the challenge we must meet to prevent further cataclysms.

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2008 年华尔街崩盘：失败的组织应对复杂性

自 2008 年华尔街崩盘以来，几乎没有就其原因或防止再次发生的行动达成共识。我们做出理性决策的能力不堪重负。将整个金融系统视为一个庞大的、相互关联丰富的组织，表明其结构和相关的管理实践适用于简单得多的环境。相对于其环境而言规模较大且足够复杂以需要专业知识协调的组织无法通过使决策者仅对当地需求做出响应来发挥作用。由于无法识别关键的相互依赖关系及其风险的性质，因此可能会出现周期性的灾难性故障。具体而言，信息、影响、和奖励创造了一种短视的决策环境，在这种环境中，个体决策者不太可能做出有效或合乎道德的决策。可以通过考虑两个因素的相互作用来建议评估解决方案的有用标准：有限的人类信息处理能力和动机对信息处理的影响。综上所述，它们表明人类信息处理既有限又机会主义。我们无法处理所有可用信息，并且选择用于处理的信息缩小到实现显着奖励所需的信息。因此，组织的奖励实践及其对动机的影响是一个关键变量。取决于短期的、局部的、简单化的措施，巨大的经济回报不可避免地缩小了决策者的关注范围 关注系统的一小部分。相比之下，占主导地位的内在动机植根于对更广泛结果的认识和责任。每种类型的动机在共享信息、影响力和奖励方面的要求各不相同。这些反过来又决定了组织对复杂性和变化的适应性。虽然这具有重大的伦理意义，但其逻辑取决于人类信息处理和动机的局限性。使人类的动机和信息流与复杂、动荡的金融环境的需求保持一致，是我们必须应对的挑战，以防止进一步的灾难。和奖励。这些反过来又决定了组织对复杂性和变化的适应性。虽然这具有重大的伦理意义，但其逻辑取决于人类信息处理和动机的局限性。使人类的动机和信息流与复杂、动荡的金融环境的需求保持一致，是我们必须应对的挑战，以防止进一步的灾难。和奖励。这些反过来又决定了组织对复杂性和变化的适应性。虽然这具有重大的伦理意义，但其逻辑取决于人类信息处理和动机的局限性。使人类的动机和信息流与复杂、动荡的金融环境的需求保持一致，是我们必须应对的挑战，以防止进一步的灾难。