Accountable Roles & Interactions

The focus is now on accountable roles within a level of management, and how people in those roles requisitely function and interact. I use the term «role» rather than «post» becauseClosed the requisite work extends beyond what is usually found in job descriptions.

Accountable roles generate rather obvious interactions between adjacent levels. The downward flow of demands for responsibility for results assumes an upward flow of accountability.

Note re «Control»:Closed This term is used here to emphasize a quality of maximum responsibility. However, don't get confused: this does not suggest control of people or control of actual outcomes or control of action—all of which are impossible.

WL7: Identity Control

Roles, often only one, at the highest executive level in an organization, control its ongoing identity by establishing a coherent set of relevant values and fundamental purposes. These purposes define the mission and basic parameters for all policies and operations. They should also provide a vision and deal with culture. Even if powerful values flow implicitly from historical events or are personality-based, responsibility for them remains here.

WL6: Policy Control

Roles in the next level take given values and adapt them in terms of the actual circumstances. A sufficiently deep and wide analysis allows determination of how operations (subsidiaries) should develop, what must be taken as most important (priorities), and the organisational outcomes that define successful achievement.

Accountability between the WL7 role and WL6 roles is required for Identity Development. In this natural two-way process, the WL7 role provides the conceptual parameters and the WL6 roles provide the conceptual possibilities.

WL5: Strategy Control

Roles at this level have to shape operations by following and asserting given values. That means finding a way for parameters, priorities and strategic objectives to be implemented within the context of a particular operation and its many environmental opportunities and constraints.

Accountability between WL6 roles and WL5 roles is required for Policy Implementation. WL6 roles have the greater influence as regards to what is desired and why, while WL5 roles have greater awareness of the practical constraints and need to determine appropriate management arrangements.

WL4: Management Control

Roles at this level introduce values and exert control by overseeing all activity systems and procedural pathways associated with outputs. This involves organizing, costing and planning all programs and the multiplicity of services and departments that constitute the operations.

Accountability between WL5 roles and WL4 roles is required for Program Development. WL5 roles depend on plans to develop the operations in line with strategy, while WL4 roles have to work out those plans in detail to ensure feasible scheduling, deal with risks of cost over-runs, and still keep operations running.

WL3: Operational Control

Roles at this level control the operations on a daily basis by ensuring that systems and procedures are up-to-date, efficient and delivering quality. These roles are invariably specialised and deal directly with front-line staff and facilities where outputs occur.

Accountability between WL4 roles and WL3 roles allows for Program Implementation. While WL3 roles focus on maintaining operations systematically, they must also introduce developments spelled out in the programs and driven from WL4.

WL2: Situation control

Roles at this level handle complex situations that either exist inherently as a consequence of variability in the cases and work-flow, or arise in practice due to unforeseen events which must be promptly resolved.

Accountability between WL3 roles and WL2 roles is required for Systems Implementation. While WL3 roles must devise a variety of systems and procedures for use by all WL2 and WL1 staff, they have to be introduced, explained and adapted in everyday practice by WL2 staff.

WL1: Output control

Roles at this level generate the outputs in ways which can be completely specified in advance in all significant details. Much specification is provided by prior education and on-the-job training, so the expectations of assigned tasks is rapidly understood.

Accountability between WL2 and WL1 roles is required for Output Maintenance. The WL1 role generates essential outputs in line with demands and the operation's systems. The relevant activities require WL2 supervision to ensure output is sustained; which means dealing with disruptions, checking for quality, and ensuring that whatever is given by higher levels is respected.

Originally posted: 22-Feb-2014