Organisational disease: auditism. A condition where ill-fitting management systems and practices are propagated

An upcoming summary explores an organisational “imagined disease”, termed by the author as “auditism” [** I love this term].

It’s noted that we’re surrounded by auditism, and have been convinced that what we do at work must be documented, to “prove that we did what we should have done”.

Auditism is said to emerge “when and where the idea of audits shapes how work is structured, performed, or talked about in a working environment”, differing from the intention of auditing (e.g. ensuring the governing qualities of a system etc).

It’s said in order to be seen to be accountable, they audit, so tasks are documented and standardised to become auditable.

“Auditism is demonstrated clearly when organisations implement systems that are auditable, even if the system is not meeting its goals or supporting the core work.”

Symptoms of auditism are said to be:

·        Safety clutter, and

·        Illegitimate Core Tasks

Auditism contributes to additional safety work (or clutter), perceived as the “opposite of working safely”. Investigations and audits further contribute to the addition of tasks and processes, seen by some to cover the backs of managers.

Auditable tasks “thus create a parallel trail of tasks, alongside the un-auditable core tasks”, or as the organisations “suffering from auditism would understand it: The core tasks go on outside the managed part of the organisation, undocumented and often despite the safety management system. This creates a gap between formal rules and informal practices, which may be overlooked in audits”.

Hence, a “symptom of auditism is to not recognise that ill-fitting management systems might work against the objective of the system.”

The author then provides some suggestions on moving forward.

Author:  Størkersen, K. V. (2024). Auditism: Symptoms, Safety Consequences, Causes, and Cure. In The Regulator–Regulatee Relationship in High-Hazard Industry Sectors: New Actors and New Viewpoints in a Conservative Landscape

Study link: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-49570-0_9

LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benhutchinson2_an-upcoming-summary-explores-an-organisational-activity-7166917341988028416-K14d?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop