FIVE DILEMMAS OF PERCEPTION IN THE POLITICAL AND BUSINESS WORLDS

This article discusses five dilemmas of perception that commonly occur in the business world. The first section defines a dilemma, providing a simple example. A dilemma is characterized by two major hypothetical premises, a disjunctive minor premise, and a conclusion. The second subsection describes the dilemma of perception. The following five subsections provide examples of the dilemma of perception. First, clarity and precision versus flexibility dilemma is discussed. Second, the dilemma of the top-down versus the bottom-up methods are illustrated. Third, the process versus substance dilemma is depicted. Fourth, the confrontation versus compromise dilemma is exemplified. The final dilemma deals with the tangible versus the intangible. The conclusion observes that business decisions are not necessarily clear-cut. Choices are typically made between bad decisions and worse decisions, where there are known consequences, unknown consequences, and incidental consequences. The key to resolving a dilemma of perception is to recognize that it is an example of a Hegelian dialectic, where thesis and antithesis are synthesized into a cohesive whole.