The Concept of Accountability - Case Study Example

The fast changing social values and rapid globalisation has made developmental issues a highly relevant field and an intrinsic part of the socio-economic development of the society. Sociologists, philosophers and psychologist have, all tried to explain and premeditate the human actions under various defined and undefined circumstances. Rokeach, Professor of Sociology in Michigan University in 1968, said that behavioral pattern of the people directly correlates with the values and value system of the person and his environment. Accountability in their actions has become one of the most crucial aspects of modern behavioral pattern. In a work environment, values that are either inherent or inculcated, directly or indirectly influence the overall attitude of the person which determine the attitude and actions and reactions of the persons in his work place. The values carried by people are thus important factors that may determine the extent to which people personally hold themselves responsible for their actions. In the recent times, the scope of accountability has widened to include the emerging new paradigms of changing social values and issues which have significant impact on the overall socio-economic development of the society. The concept of accountability therefore, has undergone tremendous transformation. The initial definition of holding a person accountable for his actions needs to include a host of other issues so as to meet the challenges of the emerging new pluralistic society which is increasingly becoming common issue in the rapid globalization. According to Mulgan, the scope and meaning of accountability ‘has been applied to internal aspects of official behaviour, beyond the external focus implied by being called to account; to institutions that control official behaviour other than through calling officials to account; to means of making officials responsive to public wishes other than through calling them to account; and to democratic dialogue between citizens where no one is being called to account’ (article, 2000). The scope of accountability has gone beyond the rhetoric to encompass the transparency in the work process. The changing environment of values and work ethics has necessitated that the parties involved must be responsive to the impact that their decisions, actions and behaviour have on the people at large. Man being a social animal, his responses to other people and circumstances differ widely as per the values and the principles that he follows in his life. Each person develops certain characteristics or attitude which is unique to him. There are various means through which persons imbibe the values that they carry all through their life. Some of them may be through the socio-religious culture that they follow and others might be inculcated by their association with their peers during growing years and still others might be acquired through changing paradigms of the work environment that is in perpetual influx. Therefore it is imperative on the part of the person maintain transparency that would facilitate correct reflection of ethical and professional attitude of the people. Social work is a highly specialized field that makes efforts to promote general welfare of the society and works towards developmental issues that have significant impact on them. It helps facilitate support to the people who require care and help so that they are able to access the facilities and participate in the development of the society. The government through various agencies contributes to the socio-economic development and encourages participation from all segments of the society so that everyone is able to benefit from the welfare programs of the government non-government agencies. The social accountability of the individuals and agencies must be incorporated as intrinsic part of their work culture whereby they are able to contribute towards the welfare and development of the society and help create necessary platform that would facilitate participation of people in designing and implementing schemes that best suit their requirements. A community has various needs, part of which, are met by the government and others may require proactive participation of the people for a healthy and peaceful co-existence within the community. Hence it is important that all efforts that extend towards the development of the society are not only sincere in their intention but their approach must be accompanied by a deep sense of responsibility and accountability that ensure transparency. According to World Bank report ‘social accountability is defined as an approach toward building accountability that relies on civic engagement, i.e., in which it is ordinary citizens and/or civil society organizations that participate directly or indirectly in exacting accountability’ (2005). The social workers are therefore accountable to the public for the way they execute their duties as well as to the specific group of people for whose development they are working for. One of the most important consequences of the globalization process has been the multi-cultural environment of the communities. It has therefore made the role of social worker is a highly desirable and essential one. In such case, social accountability can be defined as the sincere efforts of the corporate bodies or agencies and individuals who work towards designing and implementing programs for public welfare such that they can be called upon to be accountable for the effectiveness or lack of it. The consequences of the actions and the decisions of the social workers are highly relevant issues that have long lasting impact on the society and therefore, making accountability a major factor in the work ethics and environment of the social workers. Concept of accountability is an extremely important factor in the social work because of various interacting elements which have significant influence on the overall development processes of the society. The main reason that accountability has high stake in the social work is because the social workers, work for that vulnerable segment of the society that genuinely needs help. The empowerment of the vulnerable segment of the society, so that they become part of mainstream society and help contribute towards its development. Poor people report that state institutions are “often neither responsive nor accountable to the poor” and “not accountable to anyone or accountable only to the rich and powerful” (Narayan et al. 2000, pp. 172 and 177). The social workers have the important function of facilitating the support and resources for the intervention needed to empower the marginalized population so that they can become fitting partner in the socio-economic development. According to Singh ‘poor people are most reliant on government services and least equipped to hold government officials to account, they have the most to gain from social accountability initiatives’ (Singh & Shah, 2003). Another major reason is that accountability in the actions and policy decisions facilitates better governance that strives to meet the challenges with more sincerity and efficiency. It promotes a work culture which is focused and highly result oriented. When people know that their decisions and actions are under scrutiny, they are more cautious and make concerted efforts to include the interests of the people in all their decisions, which in turn lead to better programs and strategies in the various areas of development in the public welfare issues. The concept of accountability is hugely responsible for the high efficiency and effectiveness of all the development issues that are designed to benefit the public, especially that segment of the society that needs the support and facilitating resources for their social integration in the mainstream society. The important mechanisms of delivery of goods and services to the target population, are crucial factors that not only require streamlined efforts but necessitate a sensitive approach that understands the needs and requirements of the people for whom the services are designed. Hence, accountability can be constituted as one of the most important factors in the social work. One of most significant characteristics of a social worker is his sensitivity towards the issues and paradigms of the vulnerable segment of the society. The work of the social workers was therefore considered to be ideally honest and laudable. In the past, accountability was not a vital issue in the field of social work because people got involved into the social work voluntarily as they genuinely wanted to make a difference in the lives of the people. In the modern times, the fast changing environment of globalization and advancing technology are creating new values that are influencing the work culture. The emerging paradigms have made it imperative that a more professional approach is adopted by the social worker that not only makes them accountable but that new strategies are developed to meet the demands of changing society. Cases of Victoria Climbie and Cleveland child abuse are cases in point where the authorities either deliberately ignored the signs of child abuse or they themselves have been the perpetrators of child abuse. In the year 2000, case of Victoria Climbie was brought into limelight when social service, hospital authorities and even police protection failed to identify severe child abuse of eight years old Victoria by her guardians Kouao and Carl Manning that finally led to her death on 25 February, 2000, in London. The case outraged the public sensitivity and a public enquiry was launched which found the guardians guilty of the crime and sentenced them to life imprisonment in 2001. The ironical part was that the enquiry made thorough investigation into the case and confirmed gross negligence on part of all agencies like social service department of Ealing district, Brent district and Haringey district, Central and North Middlesex Hospitals, police and even the churches that her guardians visited! Each of them had noticed the condition of the little girl but the matter was not pursued and passed on from authority to authority forcing the judge to declare their behaviour as ‘blinding incompetence’. Unfortunately, apart from the guardians, none of the individuals from the various government authorities were actually held accountable for the death of the innocent child. After the verdict had come, BBC reported the new and profoundly declared that ‘But Victoria need not have died‘ (28 January, 2003). One good thing that emerged from this was that major changes were made in the child protection policies leading to enactment of Children Act 2004 and creation of separate office of children’s commissioner that was headed by children’s commissioner. In contrast, 1987 Cleveland Child sexual abuse case, two pediatricians, Dr. Higgs and Dr. Wyatt found 121 cases of suspected child sexual abuse, most of which were dismissed by the judges as wrongly diagnosed and few resulted in removal of children from the parents’ care permanently. Intervention of media led to public enquiry which reaffirmed the appropriateness of techniques in the assessment of sexual abuse used by the pediatricians that contradicted the initial judgments. Ten years later, on a TV lifestyle show ‘This Morning’ affected people and doctors came together and revealed their experiences. According to Dr. Higgs in the program, there might have been more than 121 cases! This case is particularly important because vital documentary proofs were left out or ignored, both by the judges and the media that showed utter lack of concern towards the seriousness of the cases by the authorities and though media played important part in launching of fresh public enquiry into the case but it also overlooked the children’s families’ history of abuse, while reporting. The comment made by Pragnell, head of RMIS In Cleveland in 1987,regarding the Cleveland case is highly revealing when he said ‘perhaps the most lasting effect has been the climate of fear which was created and engendered in the parents of young children by events in Cleveland in 1987, not only in Cleveland but the rest of the U.K. (Pragnell, 1987). The cases were prime example of gross neglect and lack of accountability on the parts of the authorities made it difficult to ensure adequate protection to the children on a consistent basis. These are few of the cases which make it imperative for the reevaluation of strategies and policies so that effective regulations are enforced that make people accountable for the implementation of the policies and programs in all sincerity with positive results. Accountability is strongly supported by the theories that espouse the various modules of practice that are adopted by social workers in their work areas. The mechanisms of social accountability rely on effective communication and dissemination of information that helps to promote trust building and understanding the delicate nuances of social issues that have significant impact on the population and the development of the society. The sustainability of mechanisms of accountability is important for effective delivery of services in the social work. It must be understood that all states have some sort of mechanisms for accountability, even though, their enforcement may not be so stringent. ‘Systems of accountability that are internal to the state, are often referred to as “horizontal” mechanisms of accountability’ (Schedler et al. 1999). They mostly comprise of political constraints, administrative regulations, fiscal mechanisms and legal mechanisms and help to exert pressure and accountability in the correct implementation of policies and programs. The concept of accountability has wide ranging implications and therefore can be defined in ways to suit the organizational aims and objectives while taking due account of the circumstances within which it is practiced. According to Ackerman ‘principles of accountability should ideally be applied before, during and after the exercise of public authority’ (Ackerman, 2004). Some argue that accountability must be assessed with the responsiveness of the implementation practices that are adopted according to the changing situations. According to Fox, ‘civil society demands for state accountability matter most when they empower the state’s own checks and balances’ (2000, p. 1). It is seen that when the mechanisms of social accountability are institutionalized, it promotes transparency in the work place which is open to civic engagement. Goetz calls such type of accountability as ‘“transversal”, “hybrid” or “diagonal” accountability (Goetz and Jenkins, 2001). The tools of social worker that facilitate accountability mechanisms are effective communication skills, maintaining information database and practice of report writing that includes periodic assessment of the progress of the ongoing projects and programs. Sometimes it is observed that personal values of the social worker directly conflict with the values of the social work that are being undertaken. It is especially true in the cases of anti-discriminatory issues that are taken up by social workers. In the multicultural society, cross cultural values play important role in the successful implementation of programs of social work. Gender issues often obstruct and delay the projects where target population has diametrically different perspectives of gender roles. Patriarchy, race and gender are few of the anti-discriminatory practices that produce conflicts in the social work arena. Social workers are important arms of society whose contributions must be acknowledged by people across all segments of the society. Reflection is vital to social work practices mainly because it helps to analyze the various perspectives of the same issues and provides more options and strategy innovation to meet the challenging situations. Gillie Bolton has described the reflective activity as something beyond the physical superficiality of the disability and encompasses the situation and its affects on the wider perspective. According to her ‘reflective practice is a process of learning and developing through examining our own practice, opening our practice to scrutiny by others, and studying texts from the wider sphere’ (Bolton, 2001, p.4). Through the use of reflective activities, support workers are able to learn more deeply about the problems faced by everyone who is affected and thereby help evolve new strategy and action plan to overcome their barriers of socio-psychological problems. As Donald Schon says in his book The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action (1983), ‘a kind of reflection on their patterns of action, on the situations in which they are performing and on the know-how implicit in their performance. They are reflecting on action and in some cases, reflecting in action’ (1983, p.55). Reference Bolton, G. (2001). Reflective Practice: Writing and Professional Development. London. Paul Chapman. BBC News. 28 January, 2003. Available from: [8 April, 2008]. Goetz, Anne Marie and Rob Jenkins (2001). “Hybrid Forms of Accountability: Citizen Engagement in Institutions of Public Sector Oversight in India,” Public Management Review, Vol. 3, Issue 3, pp. 363- 83. Fox, Jonathon (2000). “Civil Society and Political Accountability: Propositions for Discussion,” presented at the conference Institutions, Accountability and Democratic Governance in Latin America, The Helen Kellog Institute for International Studies, Notre Dame University, May 8, 2000. Narayan, Deepa, Raj Patel, Kai Schafft, Anne Rademacher and Sarah Koch-Schulte (2000). Voices of the Poor: Crying Out for Change. Washington: World Bank. Pragnell, Charles. (1987). An Abuse and Misuse of Professional Power. Available: [8 April, 2008]. Rokeach,Milton.(June, 1968).Beliefs, Attitudes, and Values (1968) Jossey-Bass Inc Pub. Richard Mulgan (2000) 'Accountability': An Ever-Expanding Concept? Public Administration 78 (3) , 555–573 doi:10.1111/1467-9299.00218. Schedler, A., L. Diamond and M. Plattner (eds.) (1999). The Self-Restraining State: Power and Accountability in New Democracies. Boulder, CO: Lynne Reinner. Singh, Janmejay and Parmesh Shah (2003). Making Services Work for the Poor: The Role of Participatory Public Expenditure Management. World Bank, Social Development Note No. 81. Schon, D. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York. Basic Books. World Bank. (2005). World Bank operations and evaluation department report(2005) ‘The Effectiveness of World Bank Support for Community-Based and -Driven Development’ Available: [8 April, 2008]. Read More