A group is formed to handle a perceived type of problem - a committee or task force. They triage and rank these problems, then deal with them in decreasing order of determined importance.

Solving each problem has costs, such as disruption to other people's lives - both involved parties and bystanders, but this disruption is seen as a necessary evil. Below a certain threshold of problem, solving problems becomes too expensive, and the cost is greater than the problem-removal benefit. These groups rarely dissolve when they are past this point, due in most cases to the ego of an individual human or small group.

This is a generalization of many concepts, but I've never been sure what to call it.