Biases that shape the way we solve problems

Although it was touched on, I think it should be mentioned how much culture can influence the way we approach and solve problems. In the Stan Deetz report, the case of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster is used as a narrative to describe the ‘Human Organizational Factors’ that orientate the way we interact with problems. The reading talks about confirmation bias, hindsight bias, tunnel vision, distancing through differences, and oversimplification, but not culture. It can be argued that the Japanese culture played a huge role in the time it took to reveal the severity of the meltdown, and ultimately, to contain it. Admittedly, I am no expert on Japanese culture. So I will only speak to the concepts that I understand: honor and loyalty.

The effects of the tsunami on the plant were obvious, yet spokespersons were very restrained when describing the severity of the meltdown. It would have been far more efficient for all of the information to be available to the international councils that offer support in times of crisis. But that would have not been within the culture to do so; it would have been subversive for an employee to ‘leak’ the actual status of the plant. To admit that the plant was not able to withstand a tsunami of that magnitude would create an element of distrust to the Tokyo Electric Power Company, and General Electric, the manager and producer of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, respectively. Subversion to the public protects the ‘honor’ of the stakeholders.

Question: can you think of an example of when cultural “biases” lend themselves to an answer that seems illogical?

Comments

[Alec Brazeau]

I think that this cultural aspect plays into the Fukushima Daiichi event much more than we give it credit for; thanks for bringing it up! I do think that it is important to keep in mind that while there is an overarching Japanese cultural aspect to this issue, there is also many subcultures and differing values within that overarching one. For example, there are most likely some community members that value equity (the fair treatment of all affected and fair spread of blame) more than efficiency (how fast the clean-up occurs). This is very similar to problem framing as we discussed in Ben's class (a KKK rally from a free speech point of view vs. a public safety one). What I am getting at is that I believe it is important not to lump all of Japan into group because there are most likely differing values within that group.