Accountability in the Public Sector
Lessons from the Challenger Tragedy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6366226 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Barbara S Romzek, Melvin J Dubnick (0000-0002-5140-8706) |
| Year | 1987 |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 227-227 |
| Publication date | 1987-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Public Administration Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0033-3352 • E-ISSN: 1540-6210 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.2307/975901 |
| OpenAlex | W2062691115 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 351 |
| References cited | 1 |
This chapter offers an alternative explanation which addresses institutional factors contributing to the shuttle accident. On January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded in mid-flight and seven crew members lost their lives. The chapter provides types of accountability systems: Bureaucratic accountability systems, legal accountability, professional accountability and political accountability. In the American political system, all four accountability types offer potentially legitimate means for managing institutional level expectations. Accountability is a fundamental but underdeveloped concept in American public administration. Scholars and practitioners freely use the term to refer to answerability for one's actions or behavior. Legal Accountability is similar to the bureaucratic form in that it involves the frequent application of control to a wide range of public administration activities. The professional accountability system was evident in the three centers under the Office of Manned Space Flight (OMSF): the Marshall Space Flight Center, the Manned Spacecraft Center, and Kennedy Space Center
Accountability · Business · Political science · Public sector · Social science · Sociology · Tragedy (event · Law · Public Administration · Regulation and Compliance Studies
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Accountability and legitimacy dynamics in an Islamic boarding school
Accountability, Democratic Theory, and Higher Education
Midiendo la rendición de cuentas de la acción de gobierno
Low-stakes accountability and public service turnarounds
The Perils of Partial Reform
Self-blocking in defense procurement
Advancing Accountability in Unsettled Times
Dynamic capabilities in institutionalized public services
Citizens’ expectations about public services
Learning, Compliance, and Psychological Burdens When Undocumented Immigrants Claim In-State Tuition Policy
Legitimizing Postcrisis Policy Change
Ambiguity, appraisal, and affect
A validated measurement for felt relational accountability in the public sector
Two logics of democracy in collaborative governance
Unpacking the accountability cube and its relationship with blame avoidance
Why officials are held strictly accountable
How quality reporting reduces accountability deficit and overload
Does politicization influence senior public officials’ work attitudes? Different forms and effects of politicization in the civil service
The impact of accountability systems on public employee well-being and the moderating effects of role clarity and job autonomy
Aligning accountability arrangements for ambiguous goals
After the applause
Does accountability improve government performance? Evidence from the U.S. state fiscal monitoring and intervention systems
Navigating Complex Accountabilities
Admissions Officers’ Perceptions When Undocumented Students Seek In-State Resident Tuition Policy
The accountability paradigm post-NCLB
Virtual forums for public accountability
Entrepreneurship‐driven public management reforms in Southeast Asia
A glimpse of light in darkness
Does oversight structure matter for restraining police use of force and enhancing public legitimacy? Disconfirmatory case studies on South Korea, Ontario (Canada), and South Africa
Understanding Accountability Overload
Democratic Governance
Results-oriented Culture and Organizational Performance
Citizens’ Behaviour and Accountability
Mechanisms of perceived accountability in Korean NPOs
Life imitates art
Accountability Arrangements in Non-State Standards Organizations
Los estados latinoamericanos frente a los desafíos de la globalización
Accountability in artificial intelligence
We built the wrong AI for the right problems
Democracy or Accountability? Governance and Social Spending in Africa
Finance Managers' Propensity To Save
Examining bribery in Papua New Guinea's public sector
An Overview of Accountability Mechanisms in Public - Private Partnerships in South Africa
Enhancing Organisational Accountability
The Oxford Handbook of Public Accountability
Exploring how individual and shared accountability shape risk management approaches in public service delivery
Changing the narrative
Seeking Legitimacy Through Accountability
Symbolic Representation in Police Traffic Stops
Overlooking the obvious? Understanding patterns of policy inaction in organizational decision-making
Wotum zaufania – referendum odwoławcze – wybory
Learning accountable governance
Accountability in outsourced public service delivery
Individual, organizational, and institutional accountability
Message-sidedness in performance information disclosure and citizens’ perceived accountability
Program Accountability as an Emergent Property
Public Administration in a Global Context
Management of Multiple Accountabilities Through Setting Priorities
Pathologies of Accountability
Accountability in Governance Networks
Unprecedented Challenges, Familiar Paradoxes
Democratic Accountability in Public–private Partnerships
A comparative study of governance changes on the perceptions of accountability in Fire and Rescue Services in England
Accountability and organizational performance in the public sector
Who should we pay more? Exploring the influence of pay for elected officials and bureaucrats on organizational performance in South African local government
Network tasks and accountability
The Impact of New Public Management Reforms on Public Servants’ Ethics
When do societal stakeholders matter for agency‐CEOs ? The role of stakeholder arrangements and social media attention
Public Value Creation by Cross‐sector Collaborations
Tension in democratic administration
Dissecting multiple accountabilities
Accountability’
Organizing e‐participation
Public value creation and appropriation mechanisms in public–private partnerships
Understanding Accountability in AI Use Within the Public Sector
Formalization and consistency heighten organizational rule following
Defining subnational open government
Accountability for policy decisions
On credit and blame
Introduction
Public accountability and the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability tool
The relationship between transparent and participative government
Accountability and the management of public authorities in the United States
Accountability of immigration administration
The new Charter System in Ghana
Legitimacy and the Use of Natural Resources in Kruger National Park, South Africa
A Primer on Privileged Omissions
Gender Ramifications of a Weberian Bureaucracy
Making Sense of Performance Regimes
Conceptual Bases of Employee Accountability
Learning from Our Mistakes
Account-Holding Intensity
A Framework for Assessing Accountability in Collaborative Governance
Creating change in government to address the social determinants of health
| Unique citing works | 351 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 9,49 |
| Citation span | 1989 - 2026 (38) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | Yes |
| Citation types | Neutral: 350 |