Time to reflect on your painful memories

Kim Eun-mee
The author is a professor of communication at Seoul National University.

2023 is almost over. It is time for both individuals and organizations to cheer up by recalling the happy memories and dig into the painful memories so as not to repeat mistakes.

Belated criticism and analysis are coming out after Busan’s failed bid for World Expo 2030, and I can see the similarities to the disastrous management of last summer’s World Scout Jamboree. Even though both events were prepared for a long period and mobilized numerous people and resources, signs of danger in the lead-up were not properly processed or conveyed to decision-making officials.

If the experiences of failure are buried in other things and new issues arising day by day, the same thing will be repeated for sure. I can see the problem in the method and attitude of work rather than strategy or effort.

Organizations where many people work together are huge information processors. Organizations often have a pyramid structure because various information from the field is collected and discarded in the filtering process, and condensed information becomes the basis of decision-making. The key to the system is whether information is circulated smoothly up the chain.

Although it has improved, authoritarian and formal communication culture is still the problem. Malcolm Gladwell pointed out as much in his bestselling book “Outlier,” citing conversations between the captain and the co-pilot in the cockpit during the 1997 Korean Air crash in Guam. The stronger the hierarchical culture, the more difficult it is to disagree with one’s superiors. Even when someone begs to differ, they tend to use euphemism and weak expressions, obstructing the information and hindering decision-making.

Cultural inertia is so strong that it is difficult for one to acknowledge or correct. Either this behavior must be forcibly changed, or superiors must have stronger wills and better execution. Harms incurred when subordinates refrain from questioning their leader, but the real blame lies with superiors who fail to listen to and value differing opinions.

Even decisions made by prominent experts cannot always be correct. People from similar backgrounds face psychological pressure to minimize conflict and empathize with each other. The failed Bay of Pigs Invasion against Castro’s revolutionary government of Cuba during the Kennedy administration exemplifies the dangers of such groupthink. President Kennedy asked prominent scholars and experts about the operation at a cabinet meeting 10 days before the invasion. Each member did not speak up to oppose the plan because those around them remained silent.

But Kennedy didn’t stop there. He formally reviewed the transcripts of White House meetings and clarified what needed to be corrected so that the same mistake would not recur. He adopted a new system that would value various viewpoints, ask questions even about issues that seemed obvious, and include all parties regardless of rank. Those who organize large events like the Jamboree and the Expo bid should do the same: thoroughly record and review the processes that ended in failure.

The media has also failed to play its role. Until the final vote on the Expo bid, news outlets reported as if a last-minute overturn were possible. When media outlets face criticism, they protest that media must retain an independent voice. But they must be held accountable for their failure to conduct independent reporting from the start about Busan’s World Expo bid. They should not all reproduce the same press release again.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.