The Importance of Accountability - Essay Example

The Importance of Accountability [Type the [Pick the Introduction When a person enters into an organization he is signs a contract, which defines his/her place within that organization. In accordance to the contractual act a person is assigned a certain set of duties, along with a list of forbidden acts; omission from his/her duties or performance of forbidden acts lead to the breach of contract. Thus while analyzing the true spirit of contract; both the parties entering into a contract are liable to each other. Therefore, it is the right of all the parties to a contract to ask for account of conduct. The act or statement, which is presented in justification of any action or omission of an act, is referred to as accountability. It is the process or procedure by which a party accepts its responsibility and validates its conduct. The three essential components of accountability are loci, domain and procedure (Emanuel & Emanuel, 1996). Accountability can vary in type as well; it can be professional, financial or political (Brinkerhoff, 2004; Emanuel & Emanuel, 1996). Generally, accountability is treated with a negative notion; people consider it as a warning or an alarm of being indulged in an illicit act. However, this is not true; accountability is a mode of establishing transparency, developing belongingness towards a system or an organisation and easing out two way communications within a setup. It’s a channel of delivering information; moreover, it paves the way for healthy learning and overall progress of an organisation (Brinkerhoff, 2004; Emanuel & Emanuel, 1996). Effects of accountability in an organization and various methods of ensuring it The purpose of forming an organization is to pursue a particular set of goal, and sharing the workload. In this respect every member of an organization becomes a unit of production. Thus a mutual relationship is developing between different units of an organisation, and it becomes their duty to carry out their share of work. Synchronization of work is inevitable for success of an organization, and if one unit fails to perform, the others have to suffer as well. Therefore, it is imperative to develop a culture of accountability within an organization. Every individual must know his part of the job, and he/she should strive to contribute towards attaining the collective goal set by the organization. When people know their duty, they can decide their working plan; they can find ways to solve the shortcomings and can share their problems with others. This improves communication and promotes unity within an organization. This paves way for regular monitoring and balancing of the work under commission (Davies, Nutley, & Mannion, 2000). To manage a successful organization, it is important that the conduct of the organization is regularly monitored, and where ever any anomaly arises it should be catered right there and then. The first check is usually applied by the board of directors; it is their duty to direct their department in a proper direction, with honesty and fair play (Brinkerhoff, 2004; Lessing, 2009). For managerial staff it is important to look into the matters that may hinder their job, and they should report employees whom they think are not following the prescribed protocol. Regular auditing of staff and organization, use of adequate legal procedure and performance appraisals are some of the commonly used tools of maintaining check and balance within a healthy organization (Lessing, 2009). Importance of accountability and its mode of conduct in the health care industry An individual employed by the healthcare industry can be held accountable on three major lines that are financial, professional and political. Financial and political accountabilities mainly involved surgeons, consultants and administrative staff. However, professional accountability is most commonly demand at every level (Chin & McNichol, 2000). Accountability is very important in the healthcare industry because minor negligence may put lives of others at risk. Therefore, there is no margin of error, and every individual employed by the health care industry must need to be aware of his/her responsibility. Accountability basically demands justification for a particular conduct. Therefore, the basic question is to whom one is answerable, and for what reason he needs to justify. The performance of an individual in the healthcare industry is measured against universal standards that are established to provide sound protocol of conduct. In health care system there are eleven loci in which a person can be held accountable; moreover, there are six major domains, and two procedures of accountability. By loci it refers to the field of operation it may be nursing, surgery and etc. Domain refers to the nature of action; it may be professional, financial, ethical and etc. Meanwhile, the procedure may be formal or informal; however, both follow two basic steps that are evaluation of performance by authority, and justification by the person held liable (Brinkerhoff, 2004; Emanuel & Emanuel, 1996). How does accountability apply to ethical considerations in leadership and management? The purpose of accountability is more of reformation than deterrence. There are some ethical notions that leaders and managers need to take in account while performing their duties. One must not get personal or use foul means while treating a subject, who has been held accountable for an act. Moreover, proper procedural protocol and unbiased approach is required on the part of the team leaders when dealing with a person who is held liable for misconduct. Further, leaders must not abuse their position or authority in providing their own account of conduct, not they should transfer the blame of their incompetency onto the shoulders of others. Leaders should try to lead from the front in order to maintain a transparent and conductive environment, which offers other team members to present themselves upright, and allow them to share their shortcomings and problems faced by them (Davies, Nutley, & Mannion, 2000). How to maintain a positive working culture and avoid a working culture of blame? Transparency in an organization is compulsory; otherwise it is very likely that it will fall into a scandalous mob. Blame game is one of those things that ruin the whole structure of an organization. To prevent such undesired consequences, an employer or manager should lead from the front. He must ensure fair and unbiased conduct. Employees should be hired after proper scrutiny, there should a way to generate a sense of belongingness in them. Favoritism should be avoided; employees must be encouraged on their merit based achievements. There should be proper way for managing work-life balance in an organization (Wachter, 2013). Above all honesty still remains the best policy to maintain positive work culture and preventing scandal mongering. Conclusion A healthy organisation is one, in which every unit works in synchronization with the other. No unit is independent; therefore, the success of a team depends on the performance of every team member. Therefore, accountability becomes an imperative feature of a healthy organization, because if employees know their duties and responsibilities, and they understand that the success of the team relies on their performance, only then they can perform efficiently, and will try to avoid undesired consequences. References Brinkerhoff, D. W. (2004). Accountability and health systems: toward conceptual clarity and policy relevance. Health policy and planning, 371-379. Chin, H., & McNichol, E. (2000). Practice Development Credentialing in the United Kingdom–A Unique Framework for Providing Excellence, Accountability and Quality in Nursing and Healthcare. Online journal of issues in nursing, 1-13. Davies, H. T., Nutley, S. M., & Mannion, R. (2000). Organisational culture and quality of health care. Quality in Health Care, 111-119. Emanuel, E. J., & Emanuel, L. L. (1996). What is accountability in health care? Annals of Internal Medicine, 229-239. Lessing, J. (2009). The checks and balances of good corporate governance. Corporate governance ejournal. Wachter, R. M. (2013). Personal accountability in healthcare: searching for the right balance. BMJ quality & safety, 176-180. Read More