Read a piece years ago that said you should be very careful what targets you set in business as people will inevitably optimise/game the system them for those targets.
I've seen this play out at multiple places with staff all the way up to are managment/director level.
Yay!! A somebody else referenced Goodhard's law so I don't have to.
The concept has an extremely long and storied history. Just look up the 'Chinese Imperial Exams' for more info. Makes me really wish that Eastern History was taught in Western schools. Otherwise, we're doomed to repeat their past mistakes.
This is integral to any system, not just business. The incentives you set will dictate how the system works. This can have great effects when used correctly and disastrous effects when people who have no idea how to create a properly functioning system are the ones making the rules.
One example is that in Mexico, people don't have to pay property taxes until a building is complete, so there are many buildings with a false unfinished second floor so they can always be marked as incomplete.
> One example is that in Mexico, people don't have to pay property taxes until a building is complete, so there are many buildings with a false unfinished second floor so they can always be marked as incomplete
It seems like courts would fix the problem here, since a judge could easily see the spirit of the law and fix the letter of the law accordingly.
So, the Cobra Effect (as Wikipedia calls it)? Original story being that the colonial government offered a bounty for each poisonous snake killed (intending to reduce their numbers), but ended up increasing them because people bred cobras for the income.
Seems like the same sort of thing is playing out in companies using telemarketing.
I've seen this play out at multiple places with staff all the way up to are managment/director level.