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Accountability in project management. Let's take a closer look. Authority is a limit. Authority, Responsibility, and Accountability Introduction There is a definite relationship between authority, responsibility and accountability. Published in New Zealand Management, June 2015. In a recent interview about scaling businesses with Verne Harnish we talked through the differences between Accountability, Responsibility and Authority in some detail. A person cannot become free from responsibility even if he delegates the authority to others. As we pursue our responsibility, we distribute our authority and accountability to talented team members so they can engage and help achieve the goals. Robbins) So now we talk about responsibility, authority, and accountability in detail. Without a clear understanding of this relationship, effective functional management, with clear lines of reporting … Accountability versus responsibility. With accountability, someone is held to account and the action must result. Responsibility that is NOT connected to an accountability can be a recipe for disaster, because noble action may be taken without regard for a defined objective. (Henri Fayol) Similarly, Authority is the right to act or command others to act towards the attainment of organizational goals.(S.P. Accountability vs. responsibility vs. authority. By: Leigh Paulden, 10 April 2015. By contrast, responsibility is more values driven, coming from within. Here’s how the two are different. Responsibility. Defining Authority, Responsibility and Accountability To get a better understanding of the various roles in an office, it would help to define some key terms. Authentic body of an organization is top-level management, top-level management direct the subordinates. In the process of delegation, the superior transfers his duties/responsibilities to his subordinate and also give necessary authority for performing the responsibilities assigned. Meaning of authority, responsibility and accountability. Responsibility is an ethical concept that refers to the fact that individuals and groups have morally based obligations and duties to others and to larger ethical and moral codes, standards and traditions. They really go hand in hand with each other. Accountability: Accountability is the personal answerability for decisions, actions and result of a subordinate to his superior. Authority requires the ability to give orders properly. Authority is necessary to perform the work. What do we really mean when we assign responsibility, make someone accountable or give authority? These three terms are almost always confused, interchanged and usually poorly understood. Authority and accountability are a series in which parts are distributed to other team members. Departmental managers and other personnel take the direction from top-level management to perform the task. Stop confusing: Accountability vs. Responsibility vs. Authority! We are stronger as a collaborative group than a self-absorbed individual. The definition of accountability … Accountability isn’t the easiest term to grasp, and there’s often a tendency to confuse it with responsibility. Responsibility vs Accountability: Definitions and Reflections . Concepts of Authority, Responsibility, and Accountability: Authority: Authority is the right to give order and the power to exact obedience. Authority, Responsibility and Accountability are Inter-related They need proper consideration while introducing delegation of authority within an Organisation. Although they look and sound different, they are often interchanged haphazardly. 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