2 Aug 2022

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The Abilene Paradox: How to Avoid It in Your Business

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Academic level: College

Paper type: Assignment

Words: 1275

Pages: 5

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The main purpose of any investment is to have as much profit as possible through the maximization of the available resources. In most cases, investors assess an area before they risk their capital into the business to deter any losses from occurring. Through the assessment of the surrounding, investors get to understand the underlying issues that might seem detrimental to the success of the enterprise. As such, some of the business people might end up secluding a given location when it comes to risking their valuable capital. Some of the factors that affect the smooth operation of businesses in a given location might not be human-caused such that they occur naturally. In the article concerning the Abilene paradox, the author states some of the challenges that they faced while on a visit to Abilene. The hot, stormy and windy surrounding of the road to Abilene was unbearable to the author as well as some members of his family. Therefore, in this essay paper, the primary aim will be to provide a discussion of the article “The Abilene Paradox” as well as relating it to business operation in the area. 

The Abilene Paradox is a state of the unfriendly business environment that seems detrimental to the success of a given enterprise due to the emerging natural challenges. In business situations, investors do look for the problems that they can provide solutions to in the due process of operating their enterprises. Such issues as the climatic condition of a given area are important since it might result in natural calamities that might result in the loss of the invested capital. As such, the Abilene paradox is the natural factors that affect the smooth operation of businesses in a given area. In most instances, such calamities keep people away from the area thus reducing human traffic into businesses. For example, in the case of the article of the “Abilene Paradox,” the author states that going to Abilene is one of the most tiresome tasks he has ever experienced. Even after his family members decided to go, none of them seemed interested in going for the trip. 

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As such, when they went back home, each person did not want to be the cause of going for the journey. In such instances, there is a clear indication that the journey to Abilene is tiresome due to the high heat and stormy surrounding. As such, most people do not like visiting the area, which means that business would not perform well in such a location. In most cases, investors do not risk their capital in locations that seem dangerous. In the case of a tornado, the area is normally affected largely such that many businesses face losses. Therefore, despite how much the area might seem good for conducting businesses, the fact that natural calamities such as heat, storms, and wind are prone to Abilene; investors prefer to keep away from such locations. As such, the “Abilene Paradox” is a classical explanation of the various natural factors that affect the smooth operations of enterprises across the world and especially in Abilene. 

In the article, the author gives Abilene a description that shows how the area is unfavorable for conducting business. Before they even started the journey to Abilene, most of the family members were not of the idea. Although most of them seemed psyched up for the trip, they later admitted that they did it to please each other. According to the article, if it were for the choice of each family member, no one would want to go to Abilene as the author puts it. Therefore, the imagination of the author about the place before they started the journey indicated the shortcomings of the location when it comes to natural calamities. In addition, while traveling, the author says that the surrounding was an indication of nearing Abilene. He states that the wind and heat were unbearable as well as the storms. Therefore, one would know that he/she is in Abilene when there are changes in climatic conditions especially increase in temperatures. The heat in Abilene is such high that the author compares it to 104 degrees, which are unbearable for human survival. In addition, the reports of tornadoes in Abilene are another indication of the area. The strong stormy winds affect the operations of businesses in the area as well as threatening the lives people. 

According to the article, some people normally make choices that are against their desires. People make choices that make other people happy rather than what is good for them. For this purpose, they normally end up blaming each other in the case of any mistake occurring. For instance, in the article, the author states that his mother-in-law admitted that she did not want to go to Abilene after they were back from the trip. Similarly, his wife was talking as if she was not of the idea. All the members of the family started blaming each other for choosing Abilene as the destination for their trip. As such, those around them when making critical decisions normally influence people. In addition, in business situations, most people make choices that do not solemnly represent the desires of their hearts. As such, mistakes end up happening in the workplace due to depending on each other when it comes to making crucial decisions. Therefore, when making any decisions, it is important that one make a decision based on their desires rather than the thinking of the people around them. As such, the decisions made each person are independent such that one can be answerable in case of any mistake occurring. 

In my life experienced, there are certain instances of the Abilene Paradox that have occurred. In addition, at the workplace, such instances have occurred based on the operations of other employees. For instance, the issue of decision-making is the one affecting most people even when at work. In most cases, people normally make choices collectively without knowing that each person will face the consequences individually. As such, in my work organization, most of the tasks have been left undone due to people depending on each other. Without one individual commencing a given task, it is hard for others to do so due to high workmate dependency. As such, the case of Abilene Paradox has occurred in my organization when it comes to making critical decisions by employees while at work. 

Personally, the Abilene paradox at my work organization had some impacts such as undone tasks. For instance, some of the employees at work were delegated with the duty of unloading a track at the store. No one was willing to do the task due to the complexity of the job as carrying the boxes seemed tiresome. As such, no worker went to the store area to unload the track. When the manager came, he realized that the task was uncompleted which led to the suspension of the supervisor in charge since there were several instances of such reports at work. The undone tasks lead to the slow operation of businesses due to employees relying on each other. As such, in a work situation, managers should employ strategies that aid the performance of duties without having to depend on mass decision making which seems detrimental to the completion of tasks at work. 

As a leader, the most critical step to take to prevent employees from facing the Abilene situation is through the training of independent thinking. As such, through independent thought, each person would be reliable for his or her mistakes. For instance, when there are duties to be delegated, the manager or supervisor should ensure that they give each person their job such that they will not have to deal with a group of people. In most cases, when people operate in a large group, they end up making many mistakes and blaming it on each other. Therefore, the most appropriate step is to give each person his or her work, which will even be more comfortable to supervise. In case of failure in the system, it would be easy to track the root of the problem hence speeding the operations. 

In summary, any business organization should ensure that the situation of Abilene Paradox does not happen to their businesses. It is also essential that the managers have the various techniques of noticing such conditions, which will help in deterring losses due to uncompleted tasks. As such, the profits accrued by the businesses would be high due to the avoidance of the Abilene Paradox situation at the workplace as well as personal level. 

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StudyBounty. (2023, September 15). The Abilene Paradox: How to Avoid It in Your Business.
https://studybounty.com/the-abilene-paradox-how-to-avoid-it-in-your-business-assignment

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