The Character of Harms: Operational Challenges in Control

by Malcolm K. Sparrow

• ISBN13: 9780521872102
• ISBN10: 0521872103
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-05-19
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

How should we deal with societal ills such as crime, poverty, pollution, terrorism, and corruption? The Character of Harms argues that control or mitigation of 'bad' things involves distinctive patterns of thought and action which turn out to be broadly applicable across a range of human endeavors, and which need to be better understood. Malcolm Sparrow demonstrates that an explicit focus on the bads, rather than on the countervailing goods (safety, prosperity, environmental stewardship, etc.) can provide rich opportunities for surgically efficient and effective interventions - an operational approach which he terms 'the sabotage of harms'. The book explores the institutional arrangements and decision-frameworks necessary to support this emerging operational model. Written for reflective practitioners charged with risk-control responsibilities across the public, private, and non-governmental sectors, The Character of Harms makes a powerful case for a new approach to tackling the complex problems facing society.

Author Biography

Malcolm K. Sparrow is Professor of the Practice of Public Management at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Table of Contents

List of figures	p. vi
Acknowledgments	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
The nature of the control task	p. 25
Which way up, and does it matter?	p. 27
A different type of work	p. 47
Defining problems: setting the scale	p. 73
Defining problems: picking the dimensions	p. 93
Patterns of thought and action	p. 101
Puzzles of measurement	p. 123
Structures, protocols, and interactions	p. 149
Special categories of harms	p. 169
Invisible harms	p. 181
Conscious opponents	p. 199
Catastrophic harms	p. 217
Harms in equilibrium	p. 231
Performance-enhancing risks	p. 243
Conclusion	p. 255
Index	p. 261
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