Explain accountability as a characteristic of healthy groups.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Accountability means all group members are held responsible for adhering to the group norms and working toward the group’s goal. This means a group will penalize a member who violates a group norm. The severity of the penalty depends on the importance of the norm, the extent of the violation, and the status of the person who violated it. Violating a norm that is central to a group’s performance or cohesiveness will generally receive a harsher penalty than violating a norm that is less central. In addition, violations by newcomers to the group are generally punished less severely than violations by veteran group members. Group members who have achieved higher status in the group also tend to receive more lenient penalties-or even escape them altogether.
Being accountable can mean changing counterproductive norms. For example, suppose a few folks spend more time socializing than seriously discussing community services at the Lions Club meetings. If the group does not effectively control this behavior, then it could become a counterproductive group norm. As a result, work toward the group’s goals could be delayed, set aside, or perhaps even forgotten. If counterproductive behavior continues for several meetings and becomes a norm, it will be very difficult to change.
A group member can help a group change a counterproductive norm by (1) observing the norm and its outcome, (2) describing the results of the norm to the group, and (3) soliciting opinions of other group members.