AUTHORITY, RESPONSIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Authority is defined as “a power or right, delegated or given.”  In this sense, the person or company that hires a leader vests him with the authority to manage or direct a particular operation. It is expected that this individual will exercise the full scope of his authority to properly, profitably, and professionally manage the operation.

Responsibility is defined as “a particular burden of obligation upon a person who is responsible.”  Responsible is defined as “answerable or accountable, as for something within one’s power or control.”  Therefore, a leader is responsible and has responsibility for the operation for which she has been given authority.

Accountability is defined as “subject to the obligation to report, explain, or justify something; answerable.”  A leader is answerable for the performance of the operation for which he has authority and is responsible.

According to Henri Fayol, "Authority is the right to give orders and the power to exact obedience."

According to Mooney and Reily, "Authority is the principle at the root of Organisation and so important that it is impossible to conceive of an Organisation at all unless some person or persons are in a position to require action of others."

According to Davis, "Responsibility is an obligation of individual to perform assigned duties to the best of his ability under the direction of his executive leader." 

Theo Haimann, "Responsibility is the obligation of a subordinate to perform the duty as required by his superior".

McFarland defines responsibility as "the duties and activities assigned to a position or an executive". 

Characteristics of Responsibility

• It always originates from the superior-subordinate relationship.

• Normally, responsibility moves upwards, whereas authority flows downwards.

• Responsibility is in the form of a continuing obligation.

• Responsibility cannot be delegated.

• The person accepting responsibility is accountable for the performance of assigned duties.

• It is hard to conceive responsibility without authority. 

The essence of responsibility is the obligation of a subordinate to perform the duty assigned.

According, to McFarland, "accountability is the obligation of an individual to report formally to his superior about the work he has done to discharge the responsibility."