Define the terms: Authority, Responsibility, and Accountability? What are the sources of authority?
4 years ago
Principle of Management
- Authority refers to the scope and amount of discretion given to a person to perform a certain task or make a It may also be referred to as the right to influence the behaviour of others. The organisational structure shows the hierarchy and authority derived from the positions.
- Responsibility refers to the obligation to perform a particular task or the liability of a person to account for his/her It may also be referred to as “the duty” to carry out a particular task.
Unlike authority, responsibility cannot be wholly delegated; the manager maintains the ultimate responsibility for the performance of tasks.
- Accountability refers to “answerability” or the extent to which an individual is answerable to the results of his It entails the credit for desirable results and taking the blame for unfavourable consequences. It is also used to refer to the obligation to report to superiors and it is associated with the scalar chain: the reporting levels, the subordinate remains accountable to the superior in that he has to report to him. Generally accountability of results rest with the manager.
The sources of authority are as follows:
- The top-down authority: - it is the authority conferred on the manager by virtue of his position in the organisational hierarchy.
- Bottom-up authority: - It is the authority conferred on the leader by those he leads e.g. elected leaders has bottom- up authority conferred to them by those who elected him/her.
- Rank Authority:- Authority originates from your rank in an organisation
- Personal Authority /Charisma: - Some leaders acquire authority through their charisma, personal Charismatic people can influence the behaviour of others in one way or the other.
- Traditional Authority: - This emanates from tradition g. family elders have authority over their junior counterparts.
Authority may also be examined from two contrasting views, the classical and the acceptance view.
- The Classical View: - The leader has ultimate, unquestionable authority, and the subordinate is compelled to The leader issues commands and the subordinate obeys them without questions.
- The Acceptance View: - This view maintains that authority is on the basis of the In this case the leader (manager) issues commands and the follower (subordinate) considers and decides either to accept or not.
Susmita Sah
Jan 13, 2022