What are Wicked Problems?

1. Critical analysis of the concept of a “wicked” problem in the literature (25%)

A Wicked problem is a dilemma so complicated that it’s wicked. / Rittel and Webber ( 1973) used
this new term in 1973 to highlight the issues encountered in tackling / planning and social policy
problems. They encountered such complicated issues that they deemed it necessary to put them
in a / different scale. (Rittel & Webber, 1973)

When we talk about Wicked problems we refer to issues that require unconventional
approaches to solving them, and even through solving them you create consequences you didn’t
mean to create, possibly putting you in a worse position from where you started (Molina, Brown,
Harris, & Russell, 2011).

Because it was originally termed for social problems, Batie actually called them ‘social messes’ in
2008. Situations that only become better or worse (and never solved); or where the solution can
only be considered as good enough (at least for the moment). (Batie, 2008)

I find it easier to understand Wicked Problems if we characterize them side by side with what
they called as “tame” problems, which are problems that a more linear in terms of solution
(Pacanowsky, 1995). Like the if you have a problem that you want to bake a cake, given you have
all resources needed, you just need to find a recipe, buy the ingredients and them BAM! That’s
your solution. The problem is well defined and even though you have a few choices on how to
do it, once you find a solution, / it’s normally the end of the problem.

An example of a Wicked problem on a global scale is climate change, and in order to discuss it,
you wouldn’t really know where to start (Stang & Ujvari, 2015).

[NEW SLIDE]

However, since this is concept actually fairly common all other areas of discipline, Rittel and
Webber gave us descriptions on how to identify if the problem you are facing is actually Wicked.
 Rittel & Webber
No definitive solution
No Stopping rule
Solutions are not true or false, but good or bad
No ultimate test of a solution
Every solution is a one-shot operation (No trial
and error)
Do not have list of potential solutions
(compared to tame problems)
Every wicked problem is essentially unique
Every wicked problem can be considered as a
symptom of another problem
Wicked problems can be explained in
numerous ways by its stakeholders
The planner has no right to be wrong
Condensed
The list of possible solutions is non-
existent and each solution has a
potential of creating another branch of
problems to solve.
Solutions are not true or false, but good
or bad
The effects of the solutions can only be
theorized but not tested and each
attempt to solve it creates a new
situation.
Every wicked problem is unique and can
be explained in different ways by its
stakeholders.
Every wicked problem can be
considered as a symptom of another
problem

I don’t honestly think they provided us with a hard checklist that strictly define what a wicked
problem is, but rather I see this list as just a qualitative guide that can actually be simplified into
5:

[NARRATE THE 5 FROM THE SLIDE]

And, if I can add something to the list, I would add that a characteristic of a wicked problem that
developed in the 21st century is that every wicked problem is now worsened by the sheer
availability of all types of information (or misinformation) in social media and online sources, so
there is now a growing emergency of resolving some of the big wicked problems because of the
information each stakeholder now has access to.

2. Critical assessment of the usefulness of the concept of a “wicked” problem to a manager.

(20%)

I have mentioned before that wicked problems do not only exist on a global scale, because as
Managers we are constantly being faced by wicked problems in the workplace and one reason
for this is the overlapping human factor in both sides.

And due to its changing requirements and the challenge to reach an agreement for a solution of
wicked problems (Turnpenny, Jones, & Lorenzoni, 2011), it is important for a Manager to realize
at the very beginning that the problem they is facing is wicked one.

//NEW SLIDE
We can think of several reasons why but I would like to highlight a few:

a. Brainstorming can take ages and time can be wasted going around finding the perfect
solution. Studies actually show that over the past 50 years executives spend nearly 23 hours
for meetings in a week (compared to around 10 hours in the 1960s) (Perlow, Hadley, & Eun,
2017).
It actually makes you wonder how much of those time was spent figuring out solutions to
wicked problems?
b. Due to the additional characteristic that we added, wicked problems in the workplace are
also affected by the amount of information available at the fingertips of the employees.
Everything from industry salary data, company feedback, online recruitment are available
online and might affect whatever wicked problem a Manger is facing. And a wicked problem
has a potential to get worsened faster nowadays from inaction.
c. Knowing the characterictic of the wicked problem to be multi-faceted, it will help the
Manager to be more open-minded to different solutions, or to even consider the needs of
the different stakeholders of the issue in implementing a possible solution (Conklin, 2006)
AND be more vigilant of future developments even after implementing a solution.

3. Outline of the perceived problem situation contextualised within your chosen organisation
and its respective sector. (20%) – 400 words!

It’s best to understand this concept with an actual example that is closer to my experiences as a
Manager in an accounting firm. The Company we’re gonna talk about is a Financial Services
Company operating in Malta mainly providing accounting services to various companies in
Europe.

The supply of accountants in Malta is very limited, there is only one university which offers an
accountancy program in the island and the rest of the qualified accountants come from the
ACCA program. So in recent years, even before COVID, it is not surprising to see the influx of
accountants in Malta due to the huge demand which cannot be satisfied anymore with the
supply of qualified accountants in the island.

According to the most recent statistics, from 2015 alone, the number of employed third country
nationals belonging to the professional sector sharply increased from approximately 1,800 to
more than 9,500 (a 420% increase) in a span of 5 years to 2020 (which is a period that already
included the early impacts of COVID).

Now with that labor market in mind, the Company is still facing a wicked problem of not being
able to find qualified and competent accountants (both in and out of the island) to fill in the
available roles. For simplicity we will only cover the job opening ranging from the entry level
accounting positions to senior or management positions.

It should be noted that the following factors I will explain are mainly coming from the point of
view of an operational Manager who is a third country national and with wicked problems being
multi-faceted, I can assure that when you ask an HR Manager of even the CEO, they will give you
a different point of view of what is causing the wicked problem.

[SHOW GRAPHICS OF TWO TYPES OF POSITIONS]

1. In Malta the policy in hiring people from outside the island is that you need to present first
proof that you tried looking for candidates within. One of the issues affecting this wicked
problem is that the Company does not have the best reputation as an employer among its
competitors and it is very apparent with the lack of hires coming from new graduates who
choose to go to the Big 4 accounting firms.

This results to the company hiring fully qualified accountants (poached from other
accounting firms) with 3-5 years of senior experience for entry level positions. This band-aid
solution results to lack of engagement or even early resignations because most situations
they find that they are more experienced that their senior or even their Manager.

So in short, the solution creates additional problems that we need to resolve.

2. for Senior and Management positions, the Company limits its hires to third-country nationals
within the island to avoid the costs of relocating people to Malta. That is if no one in the
existing team is ready for promotions.

One factor that affects the Company’s wicked problem is the budget. We find a lot of
candidates not accepting the offers because the Company couldn’t meet salary expectations.
So if no one can be hired to fill in a position, the Company most of the time is faced with a
situation when they need to promote people who are not ready for a promotion.

Which affects the first factor I said because now they now need to hire someone to fill in the
entry level position left by the promotee.

This situation is also worsened by COVID, in a sense that right now due to the low supply of
accountants in the island people are having higher salary expectations that the Company
couldn’t meet. Unfortunately, increasing the budget is currently not an option due to limited
resources.

It can be said that this wicked problem can be cured by increasing employee retention and
improving employee engagement but I would say that those two things are easier said than
done and I think they even represent separate wicked problems for the company too.
3.1 Top 10 Nationalities of Employed Third Country Nationals (2010-2020)

The following illustration provides a trend of the top 10 employed Third Country Nationals over a
period of a decade. As one can notice from the below illustration, the top three nationalities
who have been increasing gradually over the period under review are persons originating from
Philippines, Serbia and India. Towards the end of 2020, the top ranking TCNs were those
originating from Philippines.
3.3 Employed Third Country Nationals by Economic Sector (2010-2020)

Third Country Nationals are mainly employed (25%) in the Professional, Scientific, Technical,
Administration and Support Service Activities sector; Accommodation and food service activities
(13%);Public Administration, Education, Human Health and Social Work Activities sector (13%);
Construction (13%); and the Wholesale & Retail Trade; Transportation & Storage; Information &
Communication sector (15%).

https://jobsplus.gov.mt/resources/publication-statistics-mt-mt-en-gb/labour-market-
information/foreigners-data
4. Critical analysis of the problem, justifying its identification as a “wicked” problem. (25%) –
400 words!

To further illustrate what makes this problem wicked, we will revisit the condensed list of
wicked problem characteristics discussed earlier along with the additional item we identified
and see if the problem is tame or wicked.

Condensed
The list of possible solutions is non-existent and each solution has a potential of creating
another branch of problems to solve.
Solutions are not true or false, but good or bad
The effects of the solutions can only be theorized but not tested and each attempt to solve it
creates a new situation.
Every wicked problem is unique and can be explained in different ways by its stakeholders.
Every wicked problem can be considered as a symptom of another problem
Even if no solution is being implemented, a situation of the wicked problem worsens or
changes rapidly due to the information heavily available to the stakeholders now

You will see that most of these characteristics were already discussed previously and would
just like to emphasize the final one. Nowadays, the situation is changing rapidly because
existing employees of the Company have access to a lot of information to compare salaries
and benefits and also to recruiters that will easily persuade them to change jobs.

At the same time, job applicants have access to the same information that gives them more
options and bargaining power that if the Company doesn’t cope immediately, the problem
of not being able to recruit the right people will persist and will actually worsen over time.

Knowing this problem is wicked, is a step in the right direction. In the end, I have noticed
that the issue is transforming from not having enough CVs to interview to the difficulties in
matching people to positions appropriate for their experience.

I hope that you have learned something about Wicked Problems in this video! In the next
slide we will show the resources that we have used to come up with the ideas used in this
presentation.
n 1973, Horst W.J. Rittel and Melvin M. Webber, two Berkeley professors, published an article
in Policy Sciences introducing the notion of “wicked” social problems. The article, “Dilemmas
in a General Theory of Planning,” named 10 properties that distinguished wicked problems
from hard but ordinary problems.

1. There is no definitive formulation of a wicked problem. It’s not possible to write a well-
defined statement of the problem, as can be done with an ordinary problem.

2. Wicked problems have no stopping rule. You can tell when you’ve reached a solution
with an ordinary problem. With a wicked problem, the search for solutions never stops.

3. Solutions to wicked problems are not true or false, but good or bad. Ordinary problems
have solutions that can be objectively evaluated as right or wrong. Choosing a solution to a
wicked problem is largely a matter of judgment.

4. There is no immediate and no ultimate test of a solution to a wicked problem. It’s

possible to determine right away if a solution to an ordinary problem is working. But solutions
to wicked problems generate unexpected consequences over time, making it difficult to
measure their effectiveness.

5. Every solution to a wicked problem is a “one-shot” operation; because there is no

opportunity to learn by trial and error, every attempt counts significantly. Solutions to
ordinary problems can be easily tried and abandoned. With wicked problems, every
implemented solution has consequences that cannot be undone.

6. Wicked problems do not have an exhaustively describable set of potential solutions, nor
is there a well-described set of permissible operations that may be incorporated into the
plan. Ordinary problems come with a limited set of potential solutions, by contrast.

7. Every wicked problem is essentially unique. An ordinary problem belongs to a class of

similar problems that are all solved in the same way. A wicked problem is substantially without
precedent; experience does not help you address it.

8. Every wicked problem can be considered to be a symptom of another problem. While

an ordinary problem is self-contained, a wicked problem is entwined with other problems.
However, those problems don’t have one root cause.

9. The existence of a discrepancy representing a wicked problem can be explained in

numerous ways. A wicked problem involves many stakeholders, who all will have different
ideas about what the problem really is and what its causes are.

10. The planner has no right to be wrong. Problem solvers dealing with a wicked issue are
held liable for the consequences of any actions they take, because those actions will have such a
large impact and are hard to justify.

Rittel & Webber Condensed

No definitive solution
No Stopping rule
Solutions are not true or false, but good or bad
No ultimate test of a solution
Every solution is a one-shot operation (No trial
and error)
Do not have list of potential solutions
(compared to tame problems)
Every wicked problem is essentially unique
Every wicked problem can be considered as a
symptom of another problem
Wicked problems can be explained in numerous
ways by its stakeholders
The planner has no right to be wrong

In 1973, design theorists Horst Rittel and Melvin Webber introduced the term "wicked problem"
in order to draw attention to the complexities and challenges of addressing planning and social
policy problems (Rittel & Webber, 1973).

Wicked problems are complex issues that resist conventional approaches to problem solving,
and for which existing solutions often create unintended consequences that only make the
original problem worse. Thus, the wicked problems that we face in the 21st century will require
ways of problem solving that go beyond the methods that we have used in the past (Molina,
Brown, Harris, & Russell, 2011).

A wicked issue is incomplete and contradictory, and it has changing requirements. There are
complex interdependencies, and it is often difficult to reach a consensus (Turnpenny, Jones, &
Lorenzoni, 2011).

Batie (2008) called wicked problems ‘social messes’ (p. 1176) that are never solved; they just
become better or worse, or the solution is deemed good enough (Batie, 2008).

There are no given alternative solutions because there is an immense space for options. Within
that space, those involved have to negotiate and collectively exercise judgements, all the while
juggling conflicting interests and priorities (Conklin, 2006). (Jobsplus, 2020)
References
Batie, S. (2008). Wicked problems and applied economics. American Journal of Agricultural
Economics, 1176 - 1191.

Conklin, J. (2006). Dialogue Mapping: Building Shared Understanding of Wicked Problems. West
Sussex, England: John Wiley and Sons.

Jobsplus. (2020, December). Foreign Nationals Employment Trends. Retrieved from jobsplus.com.mt
(accessed 27 July 2021): https://jobsplus.gov.mt/resources/publication-statistics-mt-mt-en-
gb/labour-market-information/foreigners-data

Molina, A. D., Brown, V. A., Harris, J. A., & Russell, J. Y. (2011). Tackling Wicked Problems Through
the Transdisciplinary Imagination. Public Organization Review, 11(3), 307-309.

Pacanowsky, M. (1995). Team Tols for Wicked Problems. Organizational Dynamics, 23(3), 36-51.

Perlow, L. A., Hadley, C. N., & Eun, E. (2017, July - August). Stop the Meeting Madness. Retrieved
from Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2017/07/stop-the-meeting-madness

Rittel, H., & Webber, M. (1973). Dilemmas in a general theory of planing. Policy Sciences (Vol 4), 155
- 169.

Stang, G., & Ujvari, B. (2015, November). Climate change as a ‘wicked problem’. European Union
Institute for Security Studies, pp. 1-2.

Turnpenny, J., Jones, M., & Lorenzoni, I. (2011). Where now for postnormal science? Science,
Technology & Human Values, 36, 287-306.