Making the best use of the Autopilot and routinization: How Evaluation Combats Ethical Blindness in development Organizations

Development organizations, in their pursuit of efficiency and impact, often fall into a trap of routinization. Processes become standardized, tasks are automated, and decisions are made based on predefined rules. While this approach offers benefits, it can also lead to a dangerous state of ethical blindness, where organizations become desensitized to potential ethical risks and fail to recognize the harmful consequences of their actions. As you are aware, context changes all the time, therefore operating on autopilot and relying on predefined rules, may make staff, including managers not adapt quickly to change in context. 

This is where the crucial role of evaluation emerges. By providing a systematic and objective lens through which to examine processes and practices, evaluation can act as a powerful antidote to the dangers of routinization and ethical blindness. The learning role of evaluations is aimed at addressing exactly this. 

The Perils of Routinization:

Routinization, while seemingly efficient, can create an environment conducive to ethical transgressions in several ways:

• Diminished awareness: When tasks become rote and decisions are made based on pre-existing algorithms, individuals become less likely to critically analyze continued relevance, suitability of interventions, as well as implications.

• Reduced individual responsibility: In a systemized environment, accountability gets distributed, making it difficult to identify and address individual lapses.

• Limited space for reflection: The fast-paced, automated nature of routines leaves little room for individual reflection on the consequences of actions.

Evaluation as a Beacon of Light:

Evaluation can help in making  routinization better and effective, by:

• Identifying blind spots: By systematically assessing practices and analyzing data, evaluation can uncover hidden issues that may have been overlooked in the daily routines. In mature bureaucracies, one key question that evaluations should endeavor to answer should be “Did the organization quickly identify and take advantage of opportunities as they appeared?”

• Promoting critical thinking: Evaluation encourages individuals to ask questions, challenge assumptions, and analyze the implications of their work, even within established routines.

• Facilitating dialogue and discussion: Evaluation can spark open discussions about ethical dilemmas within the organization, fostering greater awareness and engagement that might lead to right decisions to be made.

Implementing Effective Evaluation:

To effectively combat routinization and ethical blindness, development organizations need to:

• Conduct regular and ongoing evaluations: Don't limit evaluations to one-time events; integrate them into the organizational culture and conduct them regularly to track progress and identify emerging issues both internally and externally.

• Involve diverse stakeholders: Ensure individuals from various levels and departments participate in the evaluation process to gain a holistic perspective on decision making processes and how they can be made better. 

• Take action on findings: Don't let evaluation reports gather dust; develop and implement concrete action plans based on findings to improve practices.

Conclusion:

Evaluation, when wielded effectively, serves as a powerful tool for self-reflection, continuous improvement, and ultimately, building a more ethical and sustainable organizations. Evaluation should less be on accountability, but should be a key toolbox for decision making, together with other functions such as audit, research and development, and others. 

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