I recently read an article about emergent behaviour. When a system performs a task it was not explicitly programmed to perform, the outcome is described as emergent behaviour. This is a fairly frequent happening in the fields of neural networks and genetic algorithms, which is what the article was about.
Emergent behaviour is exhibited in the actions of many insect colonies. When bees build a nest in a hive, thousands of bees each play a small part without, we assume, knowing the extent of the work done by their co-workers or having an overall plan.
Whilst the emergent behaviour of insects inevitably results in the creation of something beneficial to the colony, that which occurs in neural networks and genetic algorithms often seems to take on a life and shape of their own.
It struck me that many appraisal systems demonstrate emergent behaviour by taking on a life and shape that bears little resemblance to the system’s original purpose.
We often come across instances where the major effort is expended on maintaining the protocols of the system. Success is evaluated by the degree of compliance with the system rather than measuring the effectiveness of its outcomes.
Such systems become a liability to the organisation rather than the asset they were designed to be. They utilise valuable resources, produce inaccurate and possibly misleading results and inevitably create a degree of staff dissatisfaction.
Could this happen to you? Possibly! Emergent behaviour emerges insidiously and largely goes unrecognised. Only those who are constantly asking themselves “Are our systems really delivering what we need?” avoid any significant problems.
