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This pathway will walk us through the basics of banks, starting with some of the different types and their main functions, then starting to look at the regulation faced by the banks, both before and after the Global Financial Crisis.

Greenwashing

Greenwashing is the act of distributing false information about something being more environmentally friendly than it actually is.

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Tackling the Cost of Living Crisis

In this video, Max discusses the cost-of-living crisis currently enveloping the UK. He examines its impact on households as well as the overall economy.

CSR and Sustainability in Financial Services

In the first video of this two-part video series, Elisa introduces us to sustainability. She begins by looking at the difference between sustainability and corporate social responsibility, two terms that can be easily confused.

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Banking Essentials - Part I

This pathway will walk us through the basics of banks, starting with some of the different types and their main functions, then starting to look at the regulation faced by the banks, both before and after the Global Financial Crisis.

Greenwashing

Greenwashing is the act of distributing false information about something being more environmentally friendly than it actually is.

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Plans & Membership

Our Platform

Expert led content

+1,000 expert presented, on-demand video modules

Learning analytics

Keep track of learning progress with our comprehensive data

Interactive learning

Engage with our video hotspots and knowledge check-ins

Testing & certification

Gain CPD / CPE credits and professional certification

Managed learning

Build, scale and manage your organisation’s learning

Integrations

Connect Finance Unlocked to your current platform

Featured Content

More featured content

Tackling the Cost of Living Crisis

In this video, Max discusses the cost-of-living crisis currently enveloping the UK. He examines its impact on households as well as the overall economy.

CSR and Sustainability in Financial Services

In the first video of this two-part video series, Elisa introduces us to sustainability. She begins by looking at the difference between sustainability and corporate social responsibility, two terms that can be easily confused.

More featured content

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What are Unintended Consequences?

What are Unintended Consequences?

Paul Orlando

25 years: Systems specialist

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, or so they say. In the first video of this series, Paul Orlando lays down the basics for what a system is and explores how second-order thinking leads to unintended consequences and system surprises.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, or so they say. In the first video of this series, Paul Orlando lays down the basics for what a system is and explores how second-order thinking leads to unintended consequences and system surprises.

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What are Unintended Consequences?

6 mins 32 secs

Overview

A system is a collection of parts that relate to each other, with a boundary. Understanding what those parts are, how they are related or connected, and what behaviour we might see can be surprising - and therefore lead to unintended consequences. Unintended consequences can be defined as when we take an action and the result is something other than we expected. This is usually caused by failure to consider the outcomes of the outcomes.

Key learning objectives:

  • Learn what a system is

  • Define unintended consequences

  • Understand first and second-order thinking

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This video is now available for free. It is also part of a premium, accredited video course. Sign up for a 7-day free trial to watch more.

Summary

What is a system?

A system is a collection of parts that relate to each other. Understanding what those parts are, how they are related or connected, and what behaviour we might see can be surprising. A system has a boundary. Some systems are part of our natural world and emerged over long time scales. Some are created by people and may change rapidly but will often have a purpose. 

What is a contemporary example of a system?

The education system is a good example of a system. The number of students entering primary school, how likely they are to complete their education and apply to university, the range and availability of good career prospects they have when they graduate, what fields of study happen to be popular at the time, how well-prepared they are, the economies of different countries, government subsidies and the likelihood of students to study abroad are parts of that system. 

Changing one part can lead to a change somewhere else. Universities that expanded by attracting international students were left unable to handle the sudden collapse of international travel during COVID-19.

What do we mean by unintended consequences? 

When we take an action and the result is something other than we expected, we call that unintended consequences.

What is second-order thinking?

First-order thinking considers the direct outcomes of an action. Second-order thinking attempts to consider the outcomes of the outcomes. 

Rather than assuming that an action results in a direct response, we should know that responses create their own responses. The common lack of second-order thinking creates many system surprises. 

 

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Paul Orlando

Paul Orlando

Paul's writing on "unintended consequences" comes from his work delving into the systems that he works to impact. He is the founder of Startups Unplugged, a consulting firm devoted to helping large organizations execute with the speed of startups. To do this, Paul often builds startup accelerators and incubators, helping organizations generate more revenue and enabling communities to attract new businesses. He is adjunct professor at the University of Southern California, running the institution's Incubator and in the past built other innovation programmes globally including AcceleratorHK in Hong Kong and the Laudato Si startup incubator in Rome. Paul graduated from Cornell University and Columbia Business School.

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