Components Of Accountability

Accountability is the obligation to demonstrate effectiveness in carrying out goals and producing the types of services that the organization wants and needs (Segal and summers 2002). Lack of accountability creates opportunities for corruption. Brinkerhoff (2004) identifies three key components of accountability, including the measurement of goals and results, the justification or explanation of those results to internal or external monitors, and punishment or sanctions for non-performance or corrupt behavior.

Strategies to help increase accountability include information systems which measure how inputs are used to produce outputs; watchdog organizations, health boards or other civic organizations to demand explanation of results; performance

incentives to reward good performance; and sanctions for poor performance. In South Africa, a district health planning and reporting system was used to improve management control and hold government agents accountable for their decisions. By combining financial and service data, the reporting system drew attention to clinics and programmes that had unusual indicators, and helped officials to explore root causes for performance differences, including possible corruption (Vian and Collins 2006).

From a business perspective, implementing scalable communication infrastructures such as wide area networks (WANs), LAN, accommodates the various types of services organization require on a day to day basis, including provision of broadband internet access for online services and internal collaboration, handling administrative data.

Wymer and Regan (2005) have indicated that, Employees may neither engage in, nor give the appearance of engaging in, dishonest or unethical actions. Both are injurious to the public’s perception of honest government. As a government employee, you might have access to procurement and other nonpublic information that could affect a contract bid or the award process. Wymer and Regan, 2005)also noted that improper disclosure of such protected information could violate numerous laws, as well as ethics rules. It also could subject you to administrative actions, as well as civil or criminal penalties. Management in contracting authorities should ensure that there is an appropriate focus on good practice in purchasing and, where there is a significant procurement function that procedures are in place to ensure compliance with all relevant guidelines.

Officials involved in procurement must not make improper use of their position (Tan et al., 2009).

Officials may have access to very confidential and/or market sensitive information. It is unethical to use inside information provided to the agency as part of a tender process, either for the material benefit of the official or for another person. Criminal sanctions apply to such behavior (Ngugi & Mugo 2011)

According to Wee (2002) ethics refers to the moral principles or values that guide officials in all aspects of their work. Ethical behavior encompasses the concepts of honesty, integrity, probity, diligence, fairness, trust, respect and consistency. Ethical behavior includes avoiding conflicts of interest, and not making improper use of an individual's position. Ethical behavior is important in public procurement as it involves the expenditure of public money, and is subject to public scrutiny. Public officials should always behave ethically and fairly, including in their business undertakings.

Wee (2002) on the other hand indicated that Ethical behavior supports openness and accountability in a procurement process and gives suppliers confidence to participate in the Government marketplace. Ethical behavior can also reduce the cost of managing risks associated with fraud, theft, corruption, and other improper behavior; and enhance confidence in public

administration.

Today, with fifteen of the largest hotels in Las Vegas located on the Strip with room availability of 62,000, each hotel company is looking to be more attractive than their competitors (Tse, 2009). In an industry which is labor intensive many hotels are forced to make bolder and more visible moves in costs reduction to their operations. It comes as no surprise that much of these costs cutting efforts have been focused on payroll and other employee associated costs, like hiring freezes, cuts in employee perks, reduction of bonuses, and reductions in base salaries (Jones, 2009).

A company’s competitiveness and profits is highly dependable on how procurement is handled within the company.

Among the issues of concern to the procurement officer which are being addressed in this study are; the level of accountability, the adherence to professionalism and ethics and the adoption and use of ICT technologies in the organization. There is a direct influence on the profits because procurement stands for such a large part of the company’s costs. There is also an indirect influence on the performance due to the large part of the internal costs affecting what happens in the interface between the company and its suppliers (Gadde and Hakansson,

2001).