Dealing with celebrity and accountability in the top job

✍ Scribed by Annette L. Ranft; Gerald R. Ferris; Alexa A. Perryman

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2007
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 121 KB
• Volume: 46
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0090-4848
• DOI: 10.1002/hrm.20187

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Today, human resource executives assume prominent leadership roles in their firms and play important roles in the strategy process. Along with the expansion and evolution of the HR function, the responsibilities of coordination, control, and accountability for organizations and their leaders, particularly the CEO, remain. Forming strong relationships with CEOs thus is viewed as one way to encourage HR's prominence in the firm's overall success, particularly its financial health. In recent years, CEOs' presence in the mass media has surged as well, with some CEOs achieving celebrity status. Celebrity status has the potential to increase CEO discretion, decrease CEO accountability, and expand firm resources. As such, achieving celebrity status can affect the relationship between CEOs and HR executives in regard to accountability. In this article, we discuss accountability as a key job demand and address some of the complexities and dynamics of CEO accountability. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.