Many of the organizations we work with have a Project Management Office (PMO) to holistically manage initiatives, projects and programs across the organization. In view of increasing oversight by regulatory bodies and policy-makers, is there an opportunity for organizations to establish and build upon their EMO – Ethics Management Office?  Why is this important? What are the benefits of doing so?

In recent years, when technology has moved forward in steps, regulation and policy have been able to manage the gap to keep up. Today, technology is not moving forward in steps – it’s moving forward by leaps and bounds!  As a result, managing this gap has become more challenging for regulators and policy-makers. Tomorrow, the increasing pace of technological change will be the norm and the gap will need to be better managed.

Technological change in the form of artificial intelligence, machine learning, predictive and prescriptive analytics, comes with the potential for misuse and even abuse. By having an EMO in place, and placing this function alongside, or integrated with, the existing regulatory governance function, an organization can establish a framework for ethics, risk management and good governance. This will make the dialogue with regulators and policy-makers more constructive.

Better yet, by having these ethical principles at the heart of an organization’s data flow, compliance with changing regulations can be made easier. Meeting compliance can then be an exercise in deriving business benefits from the effort, rather than another onerous task. The reputational enhancement from having an EMO in place sits well with the Board and other stakeholder groups.

The changed circumstances with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has also resulted in many reevaluating their business models and operations. Some are using this time to also take stock of how they have adopted emerging technology and the implications moving forward. Is this an opportunity to consider how well you have set up your EMO?

Best regards,