ACCOUNTABILITY VS.

RESPONSIBILITY

Responsibility and accountability are two concepts that are frequently used
interchangeably and are typically considered identical. They do, however, have very different
connotations. While accountability relates to what happens after something has occurred,
responsibility refers to someone's obligation to complete a task. As a result, accountability is
concerned with the repercussions of someone's acts rather than their initial responsibility to carry
them out. Being responsible for one's actions, behaviors, performance, and decisions is what it
means to be accountable. It's also linked to a boost in worker dedication and morale, which lead
to positive outcomes. You'll learn what makes owners, employees, consumers, and suppliers
accountable and responsible for their duties in the sections below.

Accountable vs. Responsible Owner

A responsible business owner is the one who sees the company's long-term goals, and the
person in charge of determining the company's direction. He or she also understands how to
achieve the company's goals and how to guide his or her employees toward those goals. He or
she is aware of the measures that must be taken in order to pursue the company's vision, mission,
and objectives. An accountable owner, on the other hand, will accept responsibility for any
setbacks and milestones that his or her company encounters on its way to achieving its goals. An
accountable owner will learn from the experiences of the company, and will evaluate the
performance of the business if the deadlines, previous promises, budget, and many other
variables are reached during the operation.

Accountable vs. Responsible Employee

During a business project, for instance, a responsible employee understands his or her job
duties and responsibilities. As a result, a responsible employee will carry out his or her
responsibilities in accordance with what is required in his or her job description. An accountable
employee, on the other hand, is confident in his or her work performance. She/he is dedicated to
his/her job and contributes significantly to the success of the project. Hence, he or she
understands that regardless of the outcome of their business project is, she/he will own the results
and will not throw other coworkers under the bus.

Accountable vs. Responsible Customer

A customer is about to pay for the Apple’s newly released model of iPhone. A
responsible customer will pay close attention to the information and guidelines that the sales
clerk will be explaining, such as the technical details that need to be understood in the phone,
how to properly used it, things that will damage the phone, warranty of the phone, and many
other things. A responsible customer will also meticulously check if the phone is really in a good
condition before purchasing it.

An accountable customer will follow those guidelines and maintain the safety of his or
her newly obtained iPhone because he or she understands that it is already his or her obligation.
Since the sales clerk has already discussed everything with the customer, an accountable
consumer will not blame the seller of the iPhone if damages occur due to reasons that are purely
the customer's fault.

Accountable vs. Responsible Supplier

A responsible supplier, for example, will not deceive its customers by selling items at an
unjustified price. A responsible supplier provides high-quality products to a distributor or retailer
for resale at a reasonable price. If there are any issues with their supply chain, such as defective
materials being supplied to the client, an accountable supplier will acknowledge what happened,
apologize, investigate how a defective product reaches its customers, and offer solutions to the
problem. An accountable supplier will take full responsibility for the incident.

ACCOUNTABILITY VS. OWNERSHIP

Accountability is the state of being accountable. The person accountable for something is
obliged to answer for anything regarding their responsibility if something goes south. In contrast,
ownership implies that I have an obligation to the organization concerning results, as well as an
obligation to follow up on the issues that influence those outcomes. I might have to frame a
group to help me in accomplishing my objectives, however eventually, I should be responsible
and answerable for the results of my exercises.

In lieu of the definition above, here are the differences between accountability and
ownership using different scenarios.

Accountability vs. ownership as an owner

For example, you own a makeup store. However, you got scammed by a manufacturer or
supplier for your product. In that scenario, you are accountable for your negligence and hasty
decision. This means that you are given the responsibility of accountability for what happened.
In the same scenario, being the owner of the makeup store holds ourselves responsible for our
duties. Rather than transferring blame or blaming faults to others, you as a business owner must
apologize and reflect on the characteristics you aim to portray. Furthermore, you assure the
people at work that it will not happen again and that you will make up for your terrible judgment
by being more cautious the next time you make a decision and helping to improve or have a
positive impact on the shop. As taking ownership implies holding ourselves liable in all of our
operations and activities.

Accountability vs. ownership as an employee

 During duty, as an employee, you are accountable for every action you do while at work,
whether it affects the workplace positively, negatively, or it doesn't affect it at all. For example,
if you are an accountant who manages a company's finances and the balance sheet accounts do
not balance during the financial statement, the employee should be held accountable for this
rather than blaming others. Meanwhile, ownership as an employee applies when you offer to take
the task given by your boss. You take the initiative to achieve great results is what ownership
entails. In addition, an employee can also offer help to other people in doing office works that is
also her/his expertise without asking anything in return.

Accountability vs. ownership as a customer

Accountability while being a customer applies to your attitude and the actions you have
done. You, as a customer, are accountable for the transactions you did and the contracts you have
made. Ownership as a customer arose when one ordered the wrong product. Rather than creating
excuses, you will continue to be eager to learn from your mistakes, embrace new challenges, and
create good possibilities in the case of failure.

Accountability vs. ownership as a supplier

As a supplier, the accountability lies when an agreement/contract is made. The supplier is

accountable to the diligence they will apply to the thing to be delivered. In addition, the supplier
is accountable if the obligation incurs delays, deterioration, improvement, and loss of the thing
(unless caused by a fortuitous event) while the thing to be delivered is in possession of the
supplier. Ownership applies when the supplier send the wrong quantity or product to the
customer. Taking responsibility for his/her actions helps them to be more self-aware of the
quality of the output while also providing clients with the possibility to attain the best standards
achievable. Thus, they should take the effort to honestly explore how they may improve while
taking concrete measures toward achieving those adjustments, as they demonstrate ownership.