ucts or services, planning and control are larger tasks. Large firms assign planning and control functions to many people, so that reports and corrective actions will not be too far removed from the activity being controlled.
Authority is power to direct others to perform or not perform activities. Authority is the managerial job and the basis for responsibility. It is the force that binds the organization together. Authority originates with executive management, which delegates it to lower levels. Delegation is essential tp organizational structure. Through delegation, a manager's area of influence is extended, but the manager remains responsible for delegated functions because delegation does not remove responsibility.
Responsibility, or obligation, is closely related to authority. It originates principally in the superior-subordinate relationship in that the superior has the authority to require specific work from other. If subordinates accept the obligation to perform, they create their own responsibility. The superior still is ultimately responsible for subordinates' performance. One facet of responsibility is accountbility- reporting results to higher authority. Reporting is important because it enables measurement of the extent to which objectives are reached. Usualy accountability is imposed on an individual rather than a group. This principle of individual accountability is well estblished in both profit and nonprofit organizations. If the organizational structure permits pooling of judgment, responsibility is diffused and accountability nullified.