On Defining Exigencies

---

Dr. Stuart Blythe
Department of English & Linguistics
Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne

 

What are "exigencies"?

Exigencies are situations that demand our attention, that we ignore only at some cost. They are situations that can weaken our physical, financial, psychological, cultural, or spiritual well being. They are often considered to be problems, but sometimes are really opportunities.

In each of the following situations, an individual or group faces an exigency:

• A firm relies on proposals to generate new business, but it hasn't had a new proposal accepted for almost a year. Their existing projects are about to be completed, and soon they will have no new work for their staff.

• A neighborhood association doubts that the city's recent water quality reports are accurate. Members of the association fear that a health risk is being overlooked.

• A hospital would like to take part in a national research study, but it needs funding and approval to do so from the National Institutes of Health.

• An industrial engineer believes that the defect rate for a car part produced by her company could be reduced by 20%, if management were willing to invest in training and new equipment.

In each case, people face situations that are difficult to ignore, either because one's livelihood is at stake, or because they stand to make or save money if something is done. In each case, people face exigencies.

This handout presents a few guidelines for creating and using effective exigencies.

The value of defining exigencies carefully

You may well ask, "What's the big deal about defining exigencies?" The big deal lies in the power of a good definition to set you in right direction. A well-defined exigency is valuable because it can

• help you identify a need or opportunity as exactly as possible.
• keep you from jumping too quickly to proposing a solution.
• suggest strategies for research.

Guideline 1 - Remember the "A but B" formula

Problems and opportunities can be described most often by comparing an ideal situation (A) against reality (B). Consider the following examples:

We would like to meet growing client demand for furnaces that run at 96% efficiency (A), but currently our most efficient furnace runs at 92% efficiency (B).

We would like to have 98% of our produce harvested and sent to market for sale (A), but for the past two seasons we've harvested and sold only 45% of our produce (B).

Notice that each statement has a clearly set goal (A) and a clearly defined sense of the current situation (B). This means that the best definition may not be feasible at first. It may take a little initial research to get a good sense of an ideal goal and the current situation, so your sense of an exigency is likely to change a bit as more data comes in.

Guideline 2 - Focus on the exigency, not the lack of a solution

The biggest mistake people make in most projects is to jump to a solution too soon. We all want to find a way to end the uncertainty that a problem poses, or to take advantage of an apparent opportunity, so we're likely to focus on the lack of a solution rather than the exigency itself. Compare the example below to the two examples in the previous section:

Our warehouse needs a computerized tracking system in order to reduce time spent on record keeping (A), but currently it lacks such a system (B).

Compare the ideal (A) as stated in the three examples offered so far. Notice how the ideal in the last example refers to a solution (i.e., "a computerized tracking system") rather than a problem or opportunity. By focusing immediately on a solution, the writer of this statement shuts off all other possible solutions. The statement leads readers towards a feasibility study on implementing computerized tracking systems.

However, the actual problem seems to be that workers in the warehouse are spending too much time on record keeping. If that's the case, then a different definition needs to be developed, one that focuses on how much time should be spent, ideally, on record keeping versus how much time actually is spent.

Guideline 3 - Use your definition of an exigency as a springboard for your research

Notice how each definition points readers towards certain kinds of research. The poorly worded definition locks readers into a solution (i.e., a comparison of computer systems), whereas the statements about furnace efficiency and harvesting offer no obvious solution.

A problem statement is valuable when it opens up avenues for research. Notice how the statement about furnace efficiency can prompt all sorts of questions:

• Is 96% efficiency possible?

• What efficiencies have our competitors' furnaces achieved?

• How have we improved efficiencies in the past?

• Will we lose customers if we don't improve efficiency?

There are many more questions one could pose. The important thing is to look at the ideas contained in an exigency definition and to try to pose questions about them. Please refer to the handout on asking questions for more tips on posing research questions.

Questions?

Be sure to contact me at 219-481-6770 or blythes@ipfw.edu with your questions.