Re: Deming and accountability

[Myron Tribus <mtribus@scaup.prod.itd.earthlink.net>]

>On 7/5/99 11:08 AM  Myron Tribus said:
>>In short, you may delegate RESPONSIBILITY for an activity but you cannot
>>delegate ACCOUNTABILITY.  You remain accountable for what is done by those
>>to whom you have delegated responsibility.

Wayne J. Levin then wrote:
>I was very pleased with Myron's thoughts but I am uncertain about the
>origins of accountability.
>
>To use Myron's example, why is the Superintendent accountable and not the
>Superintendent's superior - who passed responsibilty down to him/her? In
>other words, where is Accountability's origin in the respondibility
>delegation chain? Can that be defined operationally? Can Accountability
>be propogated at all?
>
>Your answer to these questions, Myron, would help me understand better
>the distinction between Accountability and Respondibility.
>

In the 'chain of comman', each person delegates responsibility downward but
retains accountability upward.  Accountability is not delegated.

This is why Dr. Deming said that quality begins in the boardroom.

If a manager delegates responsibility to a subordinate, that manager
remains accountable for the results.  Since the manager is in charge of the
system, the manager should look to changes in the system if there are to be
changes in the results.

Myron Tribus,  350 Britto Terrace,  Fremont, CA 94539
Phone:(510) 651 3641  Fax:(510) 656 9875   e-mail: mtribus@earthlink.net
Youth is not a crop to be winnowed.  Rather it must be developed, for it
carries the seeds of our future.
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