MODULE 2: ACCOUNTABILITY

What is Accountability?

You hear a lot about responsibility and accountability in safety and health, and sometimes people speak as though the two terms have the same meaning. But, as used in OSHA standards and generally in safety and health management, these two terms have very different meanings. Let's find out why.

Take a look at a dictionary. You'll find responsibility and accountability defined something like:

o Responsible - expected or obliged to account for or answer to; involving obligation or duties. Responsibility - able to account for or answer to.

o Accountable - responsible; liable; subject to giving an account (or explanation), answerable. Accountability - able to give account or answer to.

If you examine these two definitions, it's understandable why we might conclude these two terms have virtually the same meaning. However, when applying them as management concepts in the workplace setting, they take on very important and distinct differences in meaning and application.

o Responsibility may be thought of as the "obligation to fulfill a task."

o Accountability may be thought of as the "obligation to fulfill a task...or else."

To be responsible, you need only be assigned a duty by someone in authority. On the other hand, when you are held accountable, the assigned performance in fulfilling a duty is measured against some specific criteria that results in certain positive or negative consequences.