NATURE OF

NATURE OF
RESPONSIBILITY
RESPONSIBILITY
Abdulrachman (2006)
• comes from the root word
“response” which accordingly
means “answer” or “compliance”
Vincent E. Barry
• “referring to a sphere of duty
or obligation assigned to a
person by the nature of that
person’s position, function,
or work”
 Responsibility means “being
able to respond to the
requirements of something or
being responsible to
 Responsibility
something else” is a bundle
of obligations that is
assigned to a person
which is according to its
job description.
 One should be morally
responsible in its
exertion of its
Will Barret
“…a capacity for making
rational decisions, which
in turn justifi es holding
moral agents accountable
for their actions...”
Thus, responsibility then
is composed of a duty to
discharge functional
obligations of an
individual role and its
RESPONSIBILITY VERSUS ACCOUNTABILITY
Geoff Huff
“… the readiness or preparedness to
g i v e a n e x p l a n a t i o n o r j u s t i fi c a t i o n
t o r e l e v a n t o t h e r s ( s t a ke h o l d e r s ) f o r
one’s judgments, intentions, acts
and omissions when appropriately
called upon to do so.
It is [also] a readiness to have one’s
actions judged by others and, where
appropriate, accept responsibility
for errors, misjudgments and
negligence and recognition for
competence, conscientiousness,
excellence and wisdom. It is a
Responsibility is defi ned as
a bundle of obligations,
functions, and moral,
associated with role, then
accountability might be
defi ned as blaming or
crediting someone for an
action – normally
associated with
responsibility -Bivins, 2006)
DIFFERENT MEANINGS OF PUBLIC RESPONSIBI

Responsibility as “capacity”

Responsibility as “accountability”

Responsibility as “liability”

Responsibility as “virtue”
RESPONSIBILITY AS “CAPACITY”
refers to the ability of the authority
of the public servant to act -
(Cedon, 1999
RESPONSIBILITY AS “ACCOUNTABILITY”
refers to the obligation that
p u b l i c o ffi c i a l s h a v e o f p r o v i d i n g
information, explanation, and/or
j u s t i fi c a t i o n s to a superior
authority – internal or external –
for their performance in the
execution of their functions
RESPONSIBILITY AS “LIABILITY”
refers to the assumption of the
consequences of one’s own acts and
sometimes, also of acts carried out
b y o t h e r s , w h e n t h e s e a c t s t a ke
p l a c e w i t h i n t h e fi e l d o f a u t h o r i t y o f
the ultimate responsible
RESPONSIBILITY
a d m i n i s t r a t o r ( CAS
e d“VIRTUE”
on, 1999
responsible actors tend to be
conscious and to have correct
attitudes towards performing their
tasks which Cedon, 1999.)
emphasized that in this spectrum,
responsible actors t a ke s into
Cedon (1999)
“ P u b l i c o ffi c i a l s , w h o s h o u l d
t a ke r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r a l l t h a t
is done in the name of the
public (responsibility as
capacity), should also be
accountable to external
bodies for what they have
done or failed to do while in
the public o ffi c e
(responsibility as
accountability) and should be
l i a b l e , l e g a l l y a n d m o r a l l y, f o r
ELEMENTS OF PUBLIC RESPONSIBILIT
moral commitment to provide servic

observance of ethical
behavior as prescribed
in the organizational
and societal norms
effi ciency in performance

responsiveness to public needs

KINDS OF PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITY
Operating Responsibility
those responsibilities that
can be delegated by an
authority or a superior
o ffi c i a l o r e x e c u t i v e
Ultimate Responsibility
those which cannot be
delegated as this
functions or duties can
only be performed by
TYPES OF PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITY

oPolitical Responsibility

oAdministrative Responsibility
oInstitutional Responsibility

oProfessional Responsibility
SECURING PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITY

External System Control

Internal System Control

Internal Individual Control