People like to "pretend" that they are doing "something." The authors suggest two typical types of "work avoidance" processes. They are "diversion of attention" and "displacement of responsibility."
Diversion of attention means changing the problem so that it may be perceived as less painful. For instance, people may focus only on the technical aspects of a problem, blame unlikely sources for the problem, or even deny that the problem exists!
- Displacement of responsibility means placing the problem on someone else's lap. If someone else is responsible, is someone else is to blame, then this someone else can solve the problem. Examples include scapegoating and "shooting the messenger" (that is, blaming whomever brings the problem up for the problem).
It's True! Unfortunately, hiring an external consultant is often an example of "displacement of responsibility." External consultants cannot possibly solve an organizational problem - they may, at most, help organizations find their solutions. External consultants, after all, are unlikely to have the power required to make the difficult decisions often needed to solve the problem!
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