Illusion

Citation

Heap, J. (2004), "Illusion", International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 53 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijppm.2004.07953aaa.004

Illusion

Illusion

I use quite a few "free" services on the Web – to help me run Web sites, bulletin boards, etc. Most of these seem very attractive at first, but as one uses them more, the limitations become evident. Then either you must upgrade to the paid-for version of the service, or find a better, free version – with all the hassle of moving – and perhaps getting others to move also. I suppose it reflects that "you get what you pay for" and it mirrors practice elsewhere – that you must analyse requirements in detail in advance before looking for solutions … but the illusion of "something for nothing" is very strong. The other lesson is that many of us compartmentalise our lives and behave differently in some compartments than in others.