Broken Windows Theory
I guess it would not be wrong to see people as beings who are easily affected by external factors and who easily adapt to environmental conditions without even realizing it.
Let’s give a simple example of getting used to and keeping up with that habit. Let’s say you bought a chocolate bar from the grocery store and it melted slightly. You ate your chocolate, enjoyed it. The remaining packaging is in your hand. You look for a trash can to throw away, but unluckily there’s no trash around! You are in a hurry too. You will immediately take a taxi. Ow! You see, there is some trash stacked on top of each other. Excellent! You leave the chocolate bar packaging on top of the puddle and continued on your way with peace of mind, making sure that it wouldn’t go down immediately. There is no guilt, anyhow someone else started it?
It’s evening, you’re back. You see, your trash turns into a pile of garbage! Anyway, they will take it while collecting the garbage. No problem(!)
You look in the morning, and the garbage is gone. Good. You came back in the evening, what is that! This time, there is garbage on the ground, both where you used to throw garbage and also one on the opposite sidewalk. Is this weird? I don’t think so, and as you read the story I think you’l also agree with me.
In the case of a recurring situation, the habituation associated with it stands out. Our daily behaviors, thoughts and psychology now act and adapt to this situation.
Well, while the concepts of habit and ordinary sight are obtained so easily, how do the places we live, the workplaces we work, the people around us, the food we eat, the places we go to affect us? How does it affect society?
I want to talk about a theory that makes me ask these questions;
Broken Windows Theory
Broken Windows Theory, simply, is the view that in a situation where disorder exists, it is inevitable for it to become ordinary and widespread.
Seen as simple and small; it puts forward the thesis that events ignored by society lay the groundwork for bigger crimes / problems.
These little events are ignored by people. In fact, they cannot even be noticed.
This theory was first proposed by two criminal scientists named James Q. Wilson and George Kelling.
According to Wilson and Kelling, if a window is broken and left un-repaired, people get the impression that it is ignored by everyone. More windows break in a short time and this situation starts to spread to the whole street. It turns into a situation that is considered ‘normal’ by everyone.
When we look at the world: an increase in beggars on the streets, a decrease in green areas, concrete everywhere, impatience, harassment, climate chance, and the like, unresponsiveness to such problems and a belief that “such things happen, it is normal” is arguably present.
Broken Windows can however be repaired. Let’s take a look at historical past “broken windows” that aren’t so broken anymore. Let’s review the theory that crime rates can increase in parallel or even exponentially with an example …
Once Upon a Time in New York
Compared to the 1980s, when crimes such as murder, assault, and drug violence peaked, the crime rate in New York City started to decrease considerably in the 1990s. There must be a certain underlying reason for this drop. So what is this reason? Here is the story…
ENTER MALCOM GLADWELL
The New York Transport Administration hired Kelling as a consultant in the 1980s. To manage the planned repair project on subways, Kelling hired David Gunn as asubway manager.
In the 1980s, the most dangerous places in New York were considered subways.
Gunn envisioned subways to be reliable before renewal and argued that graffiti found in subways should be cleaned first to ensure this safe environment. He says: “The graffiti was symbolic of the collapse of the system… When you looked at the process of rebuilding the organization and morale, you had to win the battle against grafitti. Without winning that battle, all the management reforms and physical changes just weren’t going to happen. We were about out new trains that were worth about ten millions bucks apiece, and unless we did something to protect them, we knew just what would happen. They, would last one day and then they would be vandalized. “
If you are wondering, you can find 1980s New York subway photos here…
Gunn then establishes a center to clear these writings and all wagons begin to be cleaned. If a wagon arrives dirty, it will not be taken out of service without being cleaned, and it will never, ever be used together with dirty wagons. It is important to ensure consistency and maintain the image of clean wagons from now on.
Gunn’s grafitti cleanup took from 1984 to 1990.
On these dates, the Transportation Authority puts William Bratton in charge of the security guards. In Bratton, his eyes are on the problem of illegal travel. Bratton saw smuggling, like graffiti, as one of the small irregularities that would trigger the broken windows theory and invite greater crime. In one day, 170 thousand passengers were using the subway without buying tokens. When a few people enter the subway in this way, other people say, “If he does, why not do I?” He could take on his psychology and this situation was exacerbated by the snowball effect.
I’m sure you got on the subway. In general, there is no coin buying and disposal system, turnstiles like in our country. Everyone consciously buys their ticket and gets on the subway. But you may have come across people who think, “Oh, what is it? I don’t get caught in buying tickets anyway” because there is no control. In fact, they are generally tourists. They may seem innocent because they are tourists. But at the end of the job, it is a movement aimed at breaking the order. It is very likely to be made and spread. Lets continue…
To prevent this, Bratton begins searching and arresting people who ride without tokens. Looking at the criminal records of these persons, it is revealed that one out of eight persons had a previous criminal record and one out of twenty persons carried some type of weapon.
Between 1990–1994, arrests continue to increase.
Bratton is later appointed head of the New York Police Service and begins to apply the same strategies throughout the city. As a result of this practice, trying to wipe the windows of vehicles, toilet on the streets, throwing garbage on the streets, etc. all behavior decreases. Serious crime rates, which are thought to be triggered, also experience a serious decrease.
Of course, the subways have become safe now.
As a result; Minor, seemingly insignificant irregularities set the stage for larger crimes. When these irregularities were curtailed, decline in crime rates followed.
Imagine the neighborhood you live in, the work environment you work in, the streets, and the people you meet during the day. Actually, consider how many small factors affect our lives.
Isn’t it surprising how many situations that we don’t like but which we are unwittingly accustomed to and seen as ordinary? I am sure that these reflect negatively on our thoughts and behavior. Maybe it’s making us more impatient, rude, more unhappy person.
So what do you think are the broken windows in our life?
Are there any examples of this in business life?
What can be done to recognize, or even overcome, these?
A subject worth thinking about and taking action…
* This story is based on the book “The Tipping Point” by Malcom Gladwell.
