Who is responsible?

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_Angie_

@_Angie_

Rocker

Posted: 15 years ago

Very often we see that a person in senior position , say the in-charge /head/ team leader, is held responsible for the misdeeds of a junior & then is expected to apologise or at times even face disciplinary action for something he did not himself commit.

eg 1) A junior associate or trainee's misbehaviour or at times professional negligence

2) A junior doctor forgetting to remove a gauze or scissor from a patients' abdomen during surgey

3) Inappropriate behaviour by a junior member of a political party

4) A clerk who has misplaced an imp document

Is it fair to hold the Head responsible for the misdeeds of the junior staff ? While the overall responsibility of the department does lie with the Head , can he /she be always held accountable? Would vicarious responsibility apply in all cases?

Do share your opinion on this .😊

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Summer3

@Summer3

Trailblazer

+ 2

Posted: 15 years ago

Well someone has to take the credit and blame and it should be only for work related matters. But here is depends on case by case rather than in general. If the senior guy is required to supervise and check the work done by the junior then surely the senior has to take the blame. But if the junior has an affair with another person from the same office during off duty periods then the senior person should not be blamed as it is a personal matter and hard for the manager to control.

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_Angie_

@_Angie_

Rocker

Posted: 15 years ago

Originally posted by: Summer3
Well someone has to take the credit and blame and it should be only for work related matters. But here is depends on case by case rather than in general. If the senior guy is required to supervise and check the work done by the junior then surely the senior has to take the blame. But if the junior has an affair with another person from the same office during off duty periods then the senior person should not be blamed as it is a personal matter and hard for the manager to control.

Agreed but sometimes ppl have a field day holding the Head responsible for anything spoken , done , not done by the subordinate or team member . For eg -BJP leaders asking Sonia Gandhi to apologise for a misbehaviour or rather some unwarranted comments made by a party member towards a female MP . Now I think thats downright unfair to hold the party leader responsible for things like these !

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Summer3

@Summer3

Trailblazer

+ 2

Posted: 15 years ago

Originally posted by: angie.4u

Agreed but sometimes ppl have a field day holding the Head responsible for anything spoken , done , not done by the subordinate or team member . For eg -BJP leaders asking Sonia Gandhi to apologise for a misbehaviour or rather some unwarranted comments made by a party member towards a female MP . Now I think thats downright unfair to hold the party leader responsible for things like these !

Quite true.

In Japanese corporations often we see the President of the company step down for wrong actions of the Managers.

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_Angie_

@_Angie_

Rocker

Posted: 15 years ago

Originally posted by: Summer3
Quite true.
In Japanese corporations often we see the President of the company step down for wrong actions of the Managers.

But surely every company must be having the job responsibilities well spelled out for every employee. So if the manager is at fault why shud the President have to step down ?!

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Summer3

@Summer3

Trailblazer

+ 2

Posted: 15 years ago

Originally posted by: angie.4u
But surely every company must be having the job responsibilities well spelled out for every employee. So if the manager is at fault why shud the President have to step down ?!

It is some sort of an old cuture and tradition. These Japs are pretty steeped in it.

But I guess as the younger generations come on board things are bound to change.

It is often said that if a daughter goes bad the mum is to blame and if the son then the father is at fault.

But these day kids want more space and get tired of parents nagging at them.

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souro

@souro

Alumni

+ 2

Posted: 15 years ago

The senior person is not blamed for the mistake that the junior committed. The consequences of the mistake will have to be borne by the junior himself.

The senior is blamed:
i. If the senior is a supervisor - for failing to notice the mistake and rectifying it.
ii. If the senior is a senior management guy - for choosing the wrong person for the wrong job.

However, as you correctly said, it's also not done to blame each and every error on the senior. One should also take into account the nature of the mistake and the circumstances under which it was committed.

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Debayon Dutta

@debayon

Stunner

+ 2

Posted: 15 years ago

Well, since he is in charge of the pack, he should be ready to face the consequences and therefore, train his subordinates better. That is the key to a successful and organized group: a leader who can hold his group together. The consequences should be milder for the head, but they still should apply.

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_Angie_

@_Angie_

Rocker

Posted: 15 years ago

Originally posted by: debayon

Well, since he is in charge of the pack, he should be ready to face the consequences and therefore, train his subordinates better. That is the key to a successful and organized group: a leader who can hold his group together. The consequences should be milder for the head, but they still should apply.

Wudnt it be better for the boss to kick out the less than perfect subordinates B4 he gets the boot himself 😉

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Ajnabee

@*Woh Ajnabee*

Stunner

Posted: 15 years ago

#10

No, the senior representative of any organization cannot always be held responsible for mistakes committed by subordinate members of the organization. If the clerk has misplaced an important document, then it is really the clerk who is at fault and not his supervisor. However, with great power comes great responsibility. The senior representative, or the head of the organization, is really the head for a reason. He represents his company in good times and in bad. If something goes wrong, it is his job to make things right and take any necessary corrective action. Because, after all, it is his duty to ascertain that all that is going on in his organization is procedurally correct and follows the organization's mission.

Corrective action can be a number of things, including apologizing for the loss of the document, firing the clerk for losing the document, giving more training and supervision to make sure the same mistakes are not repeated, and several other things. Although some options may be more plausible than others, in the end, it is the senior representative who needs to save the day. I'm guessing the senior staff needs to be more careful and selective when hiring junior members to the organization. ;)

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