Accountability

Persons with disabilities, as well as the general public, are increasingly demanding greater accountability from politicians, government bureaucracies, teachers, public school systems, physicians, and health care organizations. The term accountability is widely used by the public in diverse and changing contexts, which conveys different meanings of the term at various times and places. Although there are numerous definitions of accountability, in general, it is commonly understood to mean the giving of an explanation for the discharge of responsibilities entrusted to individuals or organizations. In short, accountability is a reckoning, or a justification of conduct.

To have accountability, three mechanisms are required: the identification of the specific responsibilities given to an individual or organization, the provision of information about the actions that were or were not taken, and the availability of appropriate sanctions. Accountability provides a set of constraints on actions or omissions because someone or some organization is held responsible. Accountability also implies an implicit or explicit set of criteria against which comparisons are made, and then penalties or rewards are applied.

Individuals and organizations frequently deal with multiple, overlapping, and sometimes conflicting accountability systems. Some of the more common types of accountability systems include political, legal, bureaucratic, economic, moral and ethical, and professional accountability.

Political accountability refers to the democratic process by which national, state, and locally elected officials periodically submit their past actions to an electorate. Democratic control is based on ballot counts and the overall preferences of the voters. If a political official is viewed as having increased the public's well-being through appropriate actions and services, he or she will be elected to office again, if not, the person will be voted out of office.

Legal accountability systems are generally based on the relationships between an individual or organization and an outside controlling party. The outside party may be an individual or group in a position to impose legal sanctions or assert formal contractual obligations. Typically, these outsiders make the laws and other policy mandates, which the individual or organization is obligated to enforce or implement. Legal accountability relationships emphasize compliance and external oversight of performance. These systems typically use contracts, audits, inspector generals, oversight hearings, and court proceedings.

Bureaucratic accountability refers to large government and private sector organizations that require subordinates to both formally and informally answer to their superiors. The functioning of bureaucratic accountability systems requires an organized and legitimate relationship between superiors and subordinates in which the need to follow “orders” is unquestioned. Subordinates are under close supervision for meeting standards of performance, and they must follow explicit organizational directives, rules, regulations, and standard operating procedures. In these systems, the relationship is hierarchical and based on the ability of supervisors to reward and punish subordinates.

Economic accountability refers to the market relationship of consumers and providers. The marketplace operates on a supply-and-demand basis, with both consumers and providers expected to economize if buying and to maximize profits if selling. One type of economic accountability is corporate accountability. This type of accountability requires managers and board members of for-profit corporations to prudently and wisely use the human and capital resources of the firm to return a profit to the corporation's owners and stockholders.

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