Responsibility
Responsibility refers to an obligation to perform certain functions in order to achieve certain results.
The term responsibility has two different senses in management literature. Some writers explain it as a duty or task assigned to a subordinate on the basis of his position in the organization. Responsibility is also the obligation of an individual to perform the duty or task assigned to him. Let us understand what is responsibility and its characteristics in a detailed manner.
Responsibility refers to the state or fact of being accountable or answerable for one’s actions, decisions, or obligations. It involves a sense of duty or obligation to act in a certain way and to take responsibility for the consequences of one’s actions.
Responsibility can take many forms, including personal responsibility, social responsibility, and professional responsibility. Personal responsibility refers to the responsibility that individuals have for their own actions and decisions, while social responsibility refers to the responsibility that individuals and organizations have to contribute to the welfare of society. Professional responsibility refers to the responsibility that professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, and accountants, have to act in the best interests of their clients or patients.
Taking responsibility can be challenging, as it often requires individuals to admit their mistakes and take steps to rectify them. However, it is an important characteristic of a mature and ethical individual, and is essential for building trust and maintaining healthy relationships with others.
Responsibility means being dependable, making good choices, and taking accountability for your actions. A responsible citizen looks out for the well being of others and understands we all have a part to play in making the world a better place. For a five-year-old, responsibility might look like getting themselves ready for school in the morning, helping with specific household chores, or helping care for a pet – in other words, age-appropriate tasks that contribute to the well-being of their family.
The nature of responsibility
Being responsible refers to our ability to make decisions that serve our own interests and the interests of others. We first need to be responsible for ourselves before we can be responsible for others. In learning to be more responsible it is important that we know our limitations. It does not matter how smart we are, there is only so much responsibility that a person can handle. It is also important to remember that we are not responsible for things that are out of our control, for example, how other people feel or how they react to ourselves or others. Sharing responsibility for both success and failure can lead to the increased responsibility to oneself and others. When you hear the word “responsibility,” what do you think of first? Many people think of the word BLAME, as in, “Whose responsibility is this?” I think of responsibility as seizing what’s in front of you, exerting a choice, and taking control. The real meaning of responsibility is the ability to respond. It’s going out and creating what you want through personal choices.
The responsibility that each of us has is that we are complete, 100% responsible for how our lives turn out. If you think that being responsible at all times is too hard or too easy, think again; the truth falls somewhere in between. Being responsible involves having some skills, a caring and open attitude, and a good sense of what we can and cannot do. We have a choice to pick out “duties.” But I’m “responsible” for myself. You can’t drink a glass of water for me. You cant eat a sandwich for me. You could cook a beautiful steak and put it in front of me, but you can’t eat it for me, is that correct? And you can’t go to the bathroom for me. So I’m responsible” for all that. I’m responsible for how feel. You can’t think for me. You can’t act for me. You can’t do any of those things.
Responsibility can be summed up in a number of different ways. Most notably so by keeping hold of one’s duties and by being accountable of one’s actions. A person who is responsible has a variety of tasks at hand at many given moments, and must be trusted to competently complete them through his/her own doing. Therefore, should a person fail to complete one of these said tasks, or he/she does so in a substandard manner, he/she is demonstrating a lack of responsibility with the given task. A person is then irresponsible when this becomes a definable pattern in their behavior. Responsibility also means to be accountable. When a person fails to uphold the standard in any given way, that person must be held accountable for their actions. To make excuses or even to deny blame demonstrates a lack of accountability, and thus responsibility. To deny blame for a fault does not even occur to a person who is naturally responsible. Without responsibility, one cannot expect to be placed in a position of leadership; as such placement involves increased responsibility. One also cannot expect to be relied upon in the future by his/her colleagues, superiors, or subordinates.
Personal responsibility in life is one of the most important traits a person can have. A responsible person has accepted that they are in control of the choices they make in life and cannot blame other people for those choices. It also means that when they are responsible and can accomplish anything, including experiencing success in college and any other challenge put their way. What does personal responsibility mean? To me personal responsibility means that I am responsible for what I choose in life. I have to hold myself accountable and cannot blame others for the choices I make. Jake Lawson wrote on the Livestrong.com website, “Accepting personal responsibility includes but is not limited to: acknowledging that you are solely responsible for the choices in your life and accepting that you are responsible for what you choose to feel or think” (Lawson, 2011). That statement is very profound and powerful.
It is easy to place the blame on others but all that really does is hold us back from finding our true potential. We cannot use scapegoats to hide the fact that we possibly make bad decisions in life. Whichever direction my life heads, I am the captain of this ship and I cannot let others control what I do. I have control over my emotional responses to outside interference and must live with the consequences of my actions. In the Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 89 (Issue 4), 497-515, Dana Klein wrote ‘people are responsible when they act with the ability to do the right thing for the right reasons, or a good thing for good reasons. (Klein, pg. 497) What exactly does that mean? It means that if we choose not to do the right thing or make bad decisions, they have not shown personal responsibility. I have to be willing to improve myself professionally, academically and personally in life. I can never be complacent or else I will never accomplish more and continue to grow as a person. There is more to being responsible then just making the right choices.
Personal ethics is also a large part of personal responsibility. If I do not make ethical and moral choices, I am not showing personal responsibility. When it comes to determining a specific course of action, I have to take my personal ethics into account. First, I have to look at the action and what, if any, the moral repercussions of that action will be. Even if the course of action potentially could be beneficial to me, I have to be aware that it could hurt someone else.
