Section 8 Company ISO 9001:2015

Accountability and Responsibility Audit Framework for Higher Education Institutions

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Accountability and Responsibility

Responsibility

Responsibility relates to tasks and projects. Being responsible for something means that it's your duty to carry out the related tasks. More than one person can share a responsibility, such a team being collectively responsible for the implementation of a project or handling a situation. Responsibility is therefore often tied to a required outcome, such as the completion of a particular task or series of tasks. Responsibility is also self-managed, meaning that you choose to take on a responsibility and fulfil it, as it cannot be forced upon you.

What is responsibility in the workplace?

What are some aspects of responsibility in the workplace?

Responsibility is essentially the duty to respond to and complete tasks.
It can be shared among a team – multiple people can be responsible for achieving a specific outcome by working on the same task, or have different tasks they are responsible for that lead to the same goal.
Responsibility cannot technically be assigned to someone. A person must choose to take responsibility for something themselves.
It is specifically task-focused – it can include: who has what role, what that entails, and what must be done in order to be successful.

Accountability

While responsibility refers to someone's duty to carry out a task to completion, accountability generally refers to what happens after something has happened. Accountability is therefore concerned with the consequences of someone's actions, rather than their initial duty to carry these actions out. Accountability is also more often confined to a single person. This is because accountability is about the ownership of consequences and the possibility for subsequent redress. If accountability was shared among a group of individuals, a 'blame game' could ensue.

What is accountability in the workplace?

How is accountability in the workplace defined?

Accountability is literally the ability and/or duty to report (or give account of) on events, tasks, and experiences.
Accountability for a specific task, process, service, etc. should be assigned to just one person
If more than one person is accountable for the result of a task, there is a much higher risk that each person will think the others are taking charge, leading to no one taking accountability.
Tasks should be assigned based on an individual’s skills and competencies.
Whereas responsibility is an ongoing duty to complete the task at hand, accountability is what happens after a situation occurs.
It is how a person responds and takes ownership of the results of a task.
Being accountable often means that the person is liable to face consequences from some authority if the task isn’t completed successfully
However, not always – sometimes the accountability can also be at play when the “accountable” person communicates the objective isn’t being reached.

Key Differences of Responsibility vs Accountability

Responsibility in the Workplace	Accountability in the Workplace
The duty to complete tasks; not doing so is a failure of responsibility	The duty to give an account of tasks after they are completed
Ongoing while final goal is being worked towards	Happens after a situation occurs ( or in the form of status update)
Specifically, task-focused	Specifically results-focused
Can be shared among a team; many people can have the same task, or different tasks that work towards the same goal	Should be assigned to just one person to avoid thinking someone else will be doing the job
Cannot be assigned to someone. Each person must take responsibility on their own (more behavioral)	Is assigned (ideally to one person) – they are held accountable for results and potential consequences of not reaching desired results
Responsibility can be shared	Accountability cannot be shared
It can be at any level of hierarchy	It is most likely at top and middle level of the hierarchy
Responsibility is the state of having duty, to do whatever it takes to complete the task.	Accountability is the condition, wherein a person is expected to take ownership of one's actions or decisions.
Obligation to perform the delegated task.	Answerability for the consequence of the delegated task.
It is generally Assigned	It is more likely to be Accepted
Arises from Authority	Arises from responsibility
Delegation is Done but not entirely.	Delegation is not possible.
Performance of the responsibility can be measured	Performance of the accountability cannot be measured

Indicators	Qualitative Matrix
Goals	What are the purposes of the accountability system? Why are you implementing the system? What are the primary goals you are trying to accomplish with an accountability system? What are you hoping to accomplish? What accountability decisions will be made and with what consequences? In what systems are you working? What are the main legal and policy constraints or specifications? What are the schools/students/others to be held accountable for?
Performance Indicators	What data are available and will be used in the accountability system? Which students should be included in the system? When should indicators be collected? How do you ensure the data for the indicators are interpreted correctly and/or produce valid results? What technical issues and additional analyses will need to be addressed in developing a valid set of indicators?
Design Decisions	Who is held responsible? What accountability model best serves your purpose? How will data from multiple measures and indicators be combined to categorize schools and make an accountability judgment? What is satisfactory progress? How do we balance reliability and validity concerns in making decisions about schools?
Consequences	What consequences (positive and negative) can the accountability system support? What rewards and sanctions are effective in obtaining the goals of the accountability system? Who will the consequences affect? When and how will the consequences be applied? How will the State ensure the consequences are applied appropriately and effectively? How will the State determine if the consequences are effective?
Communications	How will accountability results be reported? How will parents and the public be informed as to the goals and limitations of the system?
Support	How will the State provide the schools with the support needed to improve the results required in the accountability model? What are the necessary trade-offs between quality and cost? What support do administrators need to implement the accountability system? What support/ do teachers need to implement the system? To what degree does the system support high-quality instruction and student access to education?
System Evaluation Monitoring and Improvement	How will the accountability system be monitored and evaluated? How can the intended and unintended effects of the accountability system be evaluated? How will the results of this monitoring and evaluation be used to improve the system? How will the system design incorporate the need for revisions over time?

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