The Dark Side of Optimisation

Organisations are increasingly preoccupied with quantifying and optimising every facet of their performance.

各類組織越來越熱衷於對自身績效的方方面面進行量化與優化。

Metrics promise objectivity, transparency, and a straightforward means of holding people accountable.

各種指標承諾帶來客觀、透明，以及一種直截了當的究責手段。

Yet when a measure becomes a target, it frequently ceases to be a reliable measure.

然而，一旦某個衡量指標變成了目標，它往往就不再是可靠的衡量指標。

Hospitals judged solely on waiting times may prioritise speed at the expense of thorough care.

只以候診時間來評判的醫院，可能會為了速度而犧牲周全的診療。

Schools assessed by exam results may be tempted to narrow the curriculum to tested subjects.

以考試成績來評估的學校，可能會忍不住把課程縮減到只剩考試科目。

In each case, the indicator improves while the underlying goal quietly deteriorates.

在每種情形下，指標都在改善，而背後真正的目標卻在悄悄惡化。

This is not necessarily a matter of dishonesty, but of perfectly rational adaptation.

這未必是不誠實的問題，而是完全合乎理性的適應。

The remedy lies not in abandoning measurement, but in combining it with professional judgement.

解決之道不在於放棄衡量，而在於把衡量與專業判斷結合起來。

Some of the qualities we value most are, by their very nature, resistant to quantification.

我們最看重的某些特質，就其本質而言，是難以量化的。