Opportunistic behavior of children and businessmen, or How to sell an elephant

The Bolsheviks fought against the opportunists, it was one of their favorite occupations. Those who happened to study the history of the CPSU clearly understood that they, as well as the Trotskyites, deviators and revisionists, were not good people, but they did not always know why. However, this is usually the teachers did not require.

So what is opportunistic behavior and what is its pernicious nature? It's time to figure it out, and at the same time determine how to deal with it.

Beginning with kindergarten, not to mention the school years, each person becomes to some extent an opportunist. It appears that any situation in which his role is unattractive, he tries to portray in the most favorable light for himself. For example, a first-graded boy, who fought with a fellow practitioner at a break, explains his behavior as follows: "He was the first to start, and I just gave up!" However, the hooligan wisely ignores previous events and the initial circumstances of the conflict when he teased his future victim or Offended her differently, provoking and tugging.

In other words, opportunistic behavior consists of one-sided or incomplete provision of information with a profitable purpose. Adults do this much more often than children, sometimes showing miracles of resourcefulness, but the general principle remains the same, kindergarten. It's unfortunate, but it's almost impossible to do without this method.

Most often, the opportunistic strategy is manifested in the behavior of business people. The sale of goods is accompanied by a sharpening of the buyers' attention on its advantages and merits. Without this, it is impossible, but, in essence, this is one-sided information. The most sophisticated businessmen even create an appearance of objectivity, pointing out some shortcomings, immediately, however, explaining how they can be leveled in the process of exploitation.

Opportunistic behavior of the seller became the topic of a funny story about a man who bought an elephant. After listening to laudatory speeches about what a cheerful animal is, how it entertains children, blowing water jets, and so on. Acquiring it, the new owner with horror realized all the devastating consequences of his act. The clumsy and huge elephant trampled everything, ruined the house, crushed the car ... Frustrated, the man came with a complaint to the seller and heard the advice: "With such a mood as you, it is difficult to sell an elephant".

But not only when selling reveals opportunistic behavior, in business, it has many uses. Distort objective realities in a profitable direction for themselves and employers, and hired professionals. The first focuses on what benefits employment promises to their firm, and the latter seek to impress the very valuable cadres and superqualified specialists. Both those and others are often exaggerated somewhat.

In the process of work, opportunism is shown by employees whose form of payment does not stimulate initiatives. The main principle of those who "sits on bare salary" is to create the effect of ebullient activity, spending at least a minimum of effort. By flaunting the task fulfilled, such a "toiler" distracts the attention of the authorities from the fact that he spends most of his working time.

The best way to motivate an employee to work effectively is to correctly materially and morally stimulate his activities, create an interest in the end result and join him. This is how the founders of the future industrial and financial giants acted, making workers, engineers, clerks shareholders.

In addition, the costs of opportunistic behavior have painful consequences for the lazy people themselves. When their futility becomes obvious, they replenish the army of the unemployed.