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A. Oxenswärdh
A person who commits a crime must take her responsibility through paying fines
or imprisonment. She is forced to face the consequences of her action. The law has
been developed from the basic idea that one is free by choosing action alternatives,
because otherwise it would be just as meaningless to ask people to be accountable as
it is to punish machines (Mackie 1990; Permer and Permer 1994). In political science
are the terms political responsibility and civic responsibility presented. To take active
responsibility is an opportunity to free us from being held responsible/accountable.
Be assigned responsibility, to be accountable, does not automatically result taking
or acting responsibly. An assigned responsibility is a passive form of responsibility.
Taking responsibility is an active action, based on the subject’s own free will? To be
liable, however is based on future requirements. But to be held responsible for an act,
must include that the actor has understood the responsibilities that the task/mission
contains. Additionally, must the one who is held accountable had had the opportunity
and own the ability to perform the task.
The responsibility is a complicated concept, according to Ingarden (1970, 1983);
it commits us to study its different dimensions together. Lucas (1995) claims that,
before we can form us a clear idea of what the real responsibility includes, we must
also consider the circumstances in which we are not responsible.
9 Understanding the Assignment and Responsibilities
There is a certain dynamic between individuals, groups and organizations. Broadly
speaking, responsibility in any organizational context can be described as a relationship between the commissioner and the actor. Relations of responsibility constitute the arena where both the exaction and the assumption of responsibility can
take place. Responsibility/accountability is a crucial question in all organizations
working towards sustainability. Issues of accountability consequently have a direct
relationship to professional development in organizations. An essential part of the
organization’s assignment is to assume responsibility.
Different actors can understand both, the assignment and the responsibility, in
different ways. This can be described in terms of the understanding of assignment
and responsibility. The actors’ understanding and interpretation of the assignment is
significant for the way in which they assume responsibility for fulfilling what they
are commissioned to do. The understanding includes the cognitive and psychological
processes and shows in turn how the assumption of responsibility can be shaped
(Abrahamsson and Andersen 2005; Oxenswärdh 2011).
When the understanding of responsibility describes what happens to the professionals and in turn leads to heightened competence, the concept of responsibility
can also be viewed as a pedagogical concept. The understanding of assignment and
responsibility can thus be regarded as a learning process, which is in turn essential
for active assumption of responsibility. This learning process is deemed to be an
important part of the organization staff’s competence development and professional
A. Oxenswärdh
A person who commits a crime must take her responsibility through paying fines
or imprisonment. She is forced to face the consequences of her action. The law has
been developed from the basic idea that one is free by choosing action alternatives,
because otherwise it would be just as meaningless to ask people to be accountable as
it is to punish machines (Mackie 1990; Permer and Permer 1994). In political science
are the terms political responsibility and civic responsibility presented. To take active
responsibility is an opportunity to free us from being held responsible/accountable.
Be assigned responsibility, to be accountable, does not automatically result taking
or acting responsibly. An assigned responsibility is a passive form of responsibility.
Taking responsibility is an active action, based on the subject’s own free will? To be
liable, however is based on future requirements. But to be held responsible for an act,
must include that the actor has understood the responsibilities that the task/mission
contains. Additionally, must the one who is held accountable had had the opportunity
and own the ability to perform the task.
The responsibility is a complicated concept, according to Ingarden (1970, 1983);
it commits us to study its different dimensions together. Lucas (1995) claims that,
before we can form us a clear idea of what the real responsibility includes, we must
also consider the circumstances in which we are not responsible.
9 Understanding the Assignment and Responsibilities
There is a certain dynamic between individuals, groups and organizations. Broadly
speaking, responsibility in any organizational context can be described as a relationship between the commissioner and the actor. Relations of responsibility constitute the arena where both the exaction and the assumption of responsibility can
take place. Responsibility/accountability is a crucial question in all organizations
working towards sustainability. Issues of accountability consequently have a direct
relationship to professional development in organizations. An essential part of the
organization’s assignment is to assume responsibility.
Different actors can understand both, the assignment and the responsibility, in
different ways. This can be described in terms of the understanding of assignment
and responsibility. The actors’ understanding and interpretation of the assignment is
significant for the way in which they assume responsibility for fulfilling what they
are commissioned to do. The understanding includes the cognitive and psychological
processes and shows in turn how the assumption of responsibility can be shaped
(Abrahamsson and Andersen 2005; Oxenswärdh 2011).
When the understanding of responsibility describes what happens to the professionals and in turn leads to heightened competence, the concept of responsibility
can also be viewed as a pedagogical concept. The understanding of assignment and
responsibility can thus be regarded as a learning process, which is in turn essential
for active assumption of responsibility. This learning process is deemed to be an
important part of the organization staff’s competence development and professional