14. EXPERIENCE & ENTITLEMENT SYNDROME

Experience is the practical application of knowledge over time, through action, reflection, and adaptation. It includes lessons learned, skills sharpened, and judgment developed. Based on this definition, we can represent experience in the following equation:

Experience = Knowledge + Practice + Reflection (Outcome).

Therefore, knowledge without practice is often referred to as "Book Knowledge" rather than true experience. Similarly, practice without knowledge is referred to as "Flying Blind" or, as we say in Egypt "فهلوة" as slang.

Another related topic is Entitlement Syndrome in organizations, which occurs when employees believe they deserve special treatment, certain privileges, recognition, or rewards, regardless of their effort, performance, or merit. They may expect benefits just because they have been with the company for a long time (Claim of Expertise) or think they are more important than others. This attitude often comes from poor true evaluation, unclear rules, lack of criteria, or an organizational culture that does not reward hard work fairly. It can also develop if managers avoid giving honest feedback or if people are praised too much without real results. This behavior can hurt teamwork and lower motivation across the organization.

To mitigate entitlement syndrome in workplaces, especially in Egyptian culture — a widespread phenomenon that deserves to be studied there — the primary actions involve prioritizing real experience and truly effective evaluation with clear determined criteria over unearned claims and inflated self-assessments. This adjustment will allow recognition and reward systems in organizations to begin aligning success with actual work, rather than assumptions. These are not all actions, but the key actions, among others, to ensure fairness, boost teamwork, and maintain high motivation.

 Article by Amr H. Abayazeed - May 16, 2025.