Romzek, Barabara S. and Melvin J. Dubnick, “Accountability.” In THE INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PUBLIC POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION, edited by Jay M. Shafritz (Westview Press, 1998), volume 1, pp. 6-11. Reprinted in DEFINING PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: SELECTIONS FROM THE INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PUBLIC POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION , edited by Jay M. Shafritz, (Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 2000), pp. 382-395.
AI-Generated Summary:
Concept and Importance of Accountability
- Accountability involves holding individuals or agencies answerable for their performance.
- It is a fundamental social relationship across various contexts, including public sector governance.
- Accountability influences the daily operations of government and democratic administration.
- Mechanisms for accountability include delegation, verification, responsiveness, blame assessment, and responsibility allocation.
Historical and Functional Aspects of Accountability
- Accountability originated from the need to delegate tasks in governance.
- It involves establishing expectations, overseeing performance, and maintaining responsiveness.
- Verification methods include record-keeping and audits, especially for public finances.
- Responsiveness ensures officials act in accordance with expectations and remain answerable to rulers.
Cultural and Social Dimensions of Blame
- Accountability is influenced by cultural settings, affecting blame attribution.
- Four cultural types range from formal answerability to scapegoating.
- Formal answerability requires a causal link between actions and outcomes.
- Blame can be assigned even without empirical blameworthiness, leading to scapegoating or political scapegoating.
Challenges of Multiple Accountability Systems
- Modern governments involve dispersed authority among many officials and agencies.
- Multiple accountability systems create conflicts and complicate performance assessment.
- Agencies face the problem of many masters, with diverse and sometimes conflicting expectations.
- Managing multiple accountability demands strategic, adaptive, reactive, or passive responses.
Managing Under Accountability Dilemmas
- Public managers adopt different roles: passivity, reaction, adaptation, or strategic influence.
- Effective management involves shaping expectations and influencing accountability relationships.
- The complexity of accountability systems requires ongoing adaptation and strategic planning.
- The core challenge remains ensuring public officials pursue valued goals amid diverse expectations.