Being accountable means that one accepts ownership of, or is liable and responsible for, the performance of tasks which one has been given the authority to complete. It involves doing a job right the first time, and doing it in a quality and timely fashion. It involves risk. People must be held accountable in order for fair and equal relationships to occur between employees. To be effective, accountability must be to individuals, not to groups, task forces, committees or organizations.
Organizations are generally reluctant to hold people accountable because of a desire for comfort.
Confrontation and conflict are often required to hold people accountable, and many managers don t like to make their employees or themselves uncomfortable. This is one of the reasons some managers and employees dread performance reviews. However, management will lose credibility by allowing low productivity or other poor performance to be seen as acceptable. Many individuals will then settle for the status quo, and stagnation will spread through the organization. Organizations with accountable employees are the most successful and productive.