Responsibility definition
/What is Responsibility?
Responsibility is the obligation to perform a task. Responsibility is assigned to a person by someone in a superior position, to whom the person reports. The person in the superior position has the authority to get the assigned task done, and so can assign responsibility for it.
Authority and responsibility should be paired, so that authority gives someone the force to achieve a task. When a person has authority but is not held responsible for his actions, there is a strong risk that the person will act in a tyrannical manner. When a person has responsibility but no authority, the person must rely on persuasion to get work done, which may yield minimal results.
Impact of Delegation on Responsibility
The chain of command becomes more efficient when managers vested with authority and responsibility are willing to delegate it to positions lower in the corporate hierarchy. The efficiency improvement comes from the greater speed with which decisions can be made at the local level, rather than waiting for decisions to be made by a more senior manager. This approach is especially useful in very competitive industries, where decisions need to be made quickly and at the local level in order to counteract the actions of competitors.