3/4/2020 8 Examples of Accountability - Simplicable

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More ... posted by John Spacey, April 13, 2016 updated on April 26, 2018

Accountability is the obligation of an organization or individual to account for activities and accept blame fo
person who is accountable may be called upon to answer and account for outcomes. The following are illustra
examples of accountability.

Business Guide

1. Actions
A customer service representative cancels a customer's account out of spite after they perceive the customer a
The customer publicizes their experience. The customer service manager is called upon to account for the inc
executive management. In this case, the customer service manager is accountable for the incident and the cus
representative is responsible for the incident.
Related Guides
Business
Compliance
Ethics
Governance
Management
Risk
Governance
Accountability
Business Ethics
Internal Controls
Stakeholders
Design

2. Work Products
A creative director leads a team of 50 creative individuals and is accountable for all of their work products. If
work product is perceived as low quality by a client, the creative director may be called upon to account for th
failure.

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3. Strategy
A Chief Information Officer develops and executes a strategy to outsource processes to a partner. If this strate
achieve the benefits outlined in its business plan, the CIO is to blame.

Creativity

4. Decision Making
A salesperson decides that a firm is not serious about making a purchase and neglects following up on the opp
soon discovered that the firm makes a large purchase from a competitor. The sales manager is called upon to
Management the practices that allowed such a large purchase to go to a competitor without contest.

5. Policies
A bank has a defacto policy that all branch staff need to upsell 50 products a month or risk dismissal. This lea
variety of aggressive sales tactics on the part of branch staff. The bank attempts to cast blame for these practic
individual employees and fails to take accountability for the policy that is the root cause of these practices.

Information Technology

6. Sourcing
A fashion brand outsources manufacturing to a developing country with low environmental and employment
Marketing The firm remains accountable for its environmental and community impact and can't outsource this accountab

7. Delegation
An IT manager delegates a highly political and risky project to a junior team member as they can predict the p
likely to fail. When the project fails, the manager attempts to avoid accountability by stating they were not inv
project. This is a poor practice as responsibility can be delegated but accountability remains.

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Governance An airline pushes maintenance, operations and pilots to avoid delays despite an overly aggressive flight sched
Industries fleet of aging equipment. Teams are rewarded for meeting the schedule but not rewarded for highlighting and
Information safety risks. These practices lead to a poor safety culture whereby it becomes normal and expected to prioritiz
Information Technology schedule over safety. When a safety incident occurs, the airline attempts to blame human error when it was th
Infrastructure the airline that caused the human error.
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Accountability vs Responsibility
Accountability is the duty to govern or manage. Responsibility is the duty to complete work. When a work pr
decision fails, both those who are accountable and responsible are to blame. The accountable individual has g
and may take all the blame if they so choose. For example, if a creative director assigns a design to an associa
that ends up disappointing the client it would be common for the creative director to take the blame as they sh
managed the quality of work outputs. It is a poor practice for leaders to attempt to avoid accountability by ass
blame to responsible individuals.

Accountability vs Authority
Authority is the power or right to direct, control and command. Authority always implies accountability. An s
grants authority without accountability is essentially broken. For example, a corporate executive who is prote
accountability by the terms of their contract may have little incentive to make decisions that are in the best in
stakeholders.
Overview: Accountability
Type Governance
The obligation of an organization or individual to account for
Definition
activities and accept blame for failures.
Governance »
Responsible »
Work Products »
Related Concepts
Strategy »
Benefits Realization »
Business Plan »
Cite

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Accountability vs Responsibility
The business difference between accountability and responsibility defined.

Corporate Governance
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8 Types of Corporate Reputation »

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An overview of fiduciary duty.

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Fiduciary vs Principle »

Precautionary Principle
An overview of the precautionary principle.

What is the Precautionary Principle? »

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What are Unintended Consequences? »

Internal Controls
A definition of internal controls with examples.

10 Types of Internal Controls »

8 Examples of Conformance »

6 Types of Decision Authority »

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Stakeholders
A definition of stakeholder with examples.

9 Examples of Stakeholders »

7 Examples of External Stakeholders »

8 Examples of Internal Stakeholders »

16 Types of Project Stakeholder »

Management Controls
The common types of management control.

20 Types of Management Controls »

Management
A guide to management techniques.

100+ Management Techniques »

Management Accounting Guide »

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Change Management Guide »

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An complete overview of management levels.

The 3 Levels of Management »

7 Examples of Line Management »

Delegated Authority
The definition of delegation of authority with examples.

7 Examples of Delegated Authority »

Management Control
The definition of management control with examples.

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21 Examples of Management Control »

20 Types of Management Controls »

Continuous Change
The definition of continuous change with examples.

7 Examples of Continuous Change »

Management Metrics
A list of common management metrics.

7 Types of Management Metrics »

6 Examples of Management Efficiency »

Management Improvement
A list of common types of management improvement.

19 Examples of Management Improvement »

Management Communication
Common types of management communication.

22 Examples of Management Communication »

4 Examples of Management Reports »

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An overview of the format, purpose and conventions surrounding meeting minutes with complete examples.

3 Examples of Meeting Minutes »

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