Desirable consequences are those outcomes which are seen as functional to the social system and individual members of the group or society. On the other hand, undesirable consequences are those which are seen as having dysfunctional impacts on individuals or society.
The consequences of an innovation are rarely completely desirable or undesirable, so many times we must weigh and assess the functional contribution of some innovation against the dysfunctional effects. Because most new innovations have a tendency to displace the older, more established methods or technologies, we can find the weighing of desirable versus undesirable consequences difficult -- new innovations benefit some and hurt others.
For example, in the 1960's, the widespread adoption of cable television was strongly opposed by local television broadcasters. This innovation was seen as very undesirable by this group because it would very likely shrink the audience for their programs. While the economic impact on local broadcasters was dysfunctional because they would now loose their customers to cable operators, the broader availability of program options were seen as a functional outcome which would benefit a larger portion of the public. An important issue surrounding the evaluation of desirable versus undesirable consequences is that it is generally not possible to eliminate the dysfunctional effects and keep only the functional ones. We must accept the good with the bad.
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