Those involved in program operations and program support need to know what they are directly accountable for and what they are indirectly accountable for. This is of particular importance as the emerging organization moves the service delivery component as close to the client as possible and works to develop a team approach. Definition of Accountability Organizational effectiveness can be undermined by a lack of understanding and an inability to pinpoint where specific accountabilities reside. For an organization to be successful it is important to ensure that its managers and employees are working with the same definition and that they can, with ease, determine where individual accountabilities reside. This is of particular importance to organizations involved in the management of a safety-related program where the consequences of ineffective program delivery may be serious.
Accountability is a critical component of good governance and a touchstone in all organizations.
The principles would serve as the basis for validating organizational relationships as an accountability framework is implemented. For example, a specialist within a particular function may not be directly accountable for the provision of a service, however, may be indirectly accountable for the delivery of information critical to the performance of the service. However, due to the scope and breadth of program operations and support tasks, this may not always be possible. The proposal explored in this paper presents an integrated cross-functional approach to the management of accountability which will assist in the completion of the mapping process. It advocates the use of the accountability definition and principles to assist management, support functions and operational specialists in identifying organizational accountabilities and the adaptation of the matrix detailed in Aviation Regulation Handbook .