Managing for Accountability: Preserving the Public Trust in Public and Nonprofit Organizations.

Kearns, Kevin P.

San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, 1996. (255 pp)

Reviewed by Barbara K. White, Assistant Director, Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of State Audit, Nashville, Tennessee, and member of

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Kevin Kearns' book presents a practical rather than an idealistic approach to accountability, an approach that is broad and flexible enough for many different types of organizations. Kearns accomplishes this flexibility by linking the idea of accountability to the methods of strategic management. Strategic management became an accepted practice in the corporate sector to increase profitability, market share, and technological competitiveness, and public and nonprofit organizations also are beginning to see the advantage of strategic management as a way to enhance cost-effectiveness and service quality.

Kearns' book introduces the concept of an "accountability environment" which contains specific types of strategic threats and opportunities for public service organizations. His approach leads to a fundamentally new conceptual framework for defining accountability, clarifying issues and choices, and developing strategies and tactics. He presents his approach in three parts.

Part one presents the accountability environment facing public and nonprofit organizations. Kearns embraces a broader concept of accountability than the narrow view of answering only to a higher authority in the bureaucratic or interorganizational chain of command. Instead, accountability applies to a wide spectrum of public expectations dealing with organizational performance, responsiveness, and morality. He says these expectations often include implicit as well as explicit performance criteria related to obligations and responsibilities. The range of people and institutions the organization is accountable to include not only those inside the organization, but also the general public, news media, donors, other similar agencies, and many other stakeholders.

Part two presents tools for managing accountability. Kearns believes the five essential steps that all models for strategic management have in common are 1) looking backward, 2) looking forward, 3) looking outward and inward, 4) thinking strategically, and 5) developing strategies. He focuses most of his attention on "looking outward," a concept achieved with what he calls "SWOT Analysis." The term SWOT means to identify the organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. First the organization must recognize that its accountability environment has two dimensions: a set of accountability standards and a response. Public and nonprofit organizations are held accountable for at least two types of performance or accountability standards - explicit and implicit standards. Explicit standards are based on laws, regulations, contractual obligations, etc., while implicit standards are often ill-defined, shifting notions of what constitutes responsible or appropriate behavior. Kearns believes there are two ways for the organization to respond to accountability standards - the tactical approach and the strategic approach. Using the tactical approach, decision makers simply respond reflexively to pressures to take action, whereas using the strategic approach, the organization attempts to anticipate and position itself within a changing environment.

Superimposing these two dimensions, Kearns creates a matrix with four cells: 1) legal accountability (compliance), 2) negotiated accountability (responsiveness), 3) discretionary accountability (judgment), and 4) anticipatory accountability (advocacy). Legal accountability is defined in terms of compliance with explicit legal standards. Negotiated accountability requires a tactical response to external forces, generally requiring negotiation. Discretionary accountability allows managers to exercise their judgment and discretion and usually is assessed based on their expertise. Anticipatory accountability causes decision makers to become advocates for the public interest. Each of these cells can be used to develop the SWOT Analysis by taking a particular segment of the accountability environment and isolating specific types of opportunities and threats.

Next, Kearns turns the organization to "looking inward" and discusses conducting an accountability audit. This process requires examining an organization's accountability resources: financial resources, human resources, information resources, legal mandate, networks, image, and management controls and governance processes. These resources are then fed into the matrix and the SWOT Analysis begins.

Part three presents tactical and strategic approaches to accountability challenges, with an emphasis on relating theory to practice. Case studies of Orange County, California and Pressley Ridge Schools, Pennsylvania, demonstrate how use of SWOT Analysis could have foretold problems.

Kearns concludes with a discussion of leadership. He argues that leadership for accountability must originate in an organization's governing board and work its way downward through top management and supervisors to the individual worker. Useful strategies include capturing the attention of leaders, getting them to make formal commitments to the organization, and requiring them to make continuous recommitment. These strategies, Kearns believes, are essential if an organization is to serve the public trust and ensure accountability.

A special resource section provides key summary questions, in worksheet form, that decision makers should ask about their accountability environment and their organization's strengths and liabilities. These worksheets are an excellent tool for understanding the concepts presented in the book.

Managing for Accountability was thoroughly researched, as evidenced by the many references to other publications, and provides an organized approach to reviewing your accountability environment. Even if you do not choose to devote time to the entire process presented, reading the book will provide much food for thought about the challenges of managing a public or nonprofit organization.

Managing for Accountability: Preserving the Public Trust in Public and Nonprofit Organizations is available for $28.95, plus $5.50 shipping, from Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, 350 Sansome Street, San Francisco, CA 94104 (800/956-7739).