The Unaccountability Machine
| Author | Dan Davies |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Business |
| Published | 2024 |
| Publisher | Profile Books |
| Publication place | United States |
The Unaccountability Machine is a business book by Dan Davies, a well known investment bank analyst and published author [1], who also writes for The New Yorker.[2] His recent (2024) book focuses on a flaw in society - how responsibility for decision making has become diffused - a trend that has emerged after World War II. The book explores industrial scale decision making in markets, institutions and governments, a situation where the system serves itself by following process instead of logic.[3] He argues that unexpected consequences, unwanted outcomes or failures emerge from "responsibility voids"[3] that are built into underlying systems. These voids are especially visible in big complex organizations.[4]
Davies explains what an “accountability sinks” is,[5] and how they are created. An accountability sink removes the ownership or responsibility for decisions made. The sink obscures or deflects responsibility,[6] and contributes towards a set of outcomes that appear to have been generated by a black box. [7] Whether a rule book, best practices, or computer system, these accountability sinks "scramble feedback" [8]and make it difficult to identify the source of mistakes and rectify them. A functioning accountability sink, breaks the links between decision makers and individuals, thus preventing feedback from being shared as a result of the system malfunction.[9]
The end result is protocol politics, where there is no head, or accountability. Decision makers can avoid the blame for their institutional actions, while the ordinary customer, citizen or employee face the consequences of these managers poor decision making.[9] The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions—and How the World Lost Its Mind is published by Profile Books.
Critical reception
[edit]Noted by the Financial Times as a must read book in 2024 [10]
References
[edit]- ^ Lying for Money. 2021-03-09. ISBN 978-1-9821-1495-4.
- ^ Nast, Condé. "Dan Davies". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
- ^ a b Smith, Ed (2024-07-02). "The end of accountability". New Statesman. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
- ^ Ward, I & Somerset Webb, M. (October 4, 2024) What an Ex-BOE Regulator Says Is Wrong With Big Companies. Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-10-04/podcast-what-an-ex-boe-regulator-says-is-wrong-with-big-companies
- ^ Askonas, J. (2025). THE NEW CONTROL SOCIETY. The New Atlantis, (79), 28-65.
- ^ Brown, Mandy (2024-10-16). "The Unaccountability Machine by Dan Davies". A Working Library. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
- ^ Davies, Dan. The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions—and How the World Lost Its Mind. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
- ^ Martin, Felix (2024-04-04). "The Unaccountability Machine — why do big systems make bad decisions?". Financial Times. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
- ^ a b Brown, Mandy (2024-10-16). "Accountability sinks". A Working Library. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
- ^ Hill, Andrew (2024-11-18). "Best books of 2024: Business". Financial Times. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
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