The Concept of accountability in the writings of Ellen G. White : a grounded theory research

Abstract

The 21st century began with a wide array of corporate meltdowns, managerial and leadership frauds, sexual scandals, and other cases of unethical behavior in the business world. Many cases are also taking place in non-governmental organizations and religious organizations. Some have argued that this is the result of failure in corporate governance (CG) systems to curb unethical behavior; and failures in CG can be construed to be failures in accountability. As directly quoted in this study, accountability has been defined not only as a means through which individuals and organizations are held responsible for their decisions and actions, but also as a means by which they take internal responsibility for shaping their organizational mission and values, for opening themselves to external scrutiny, and for assessing performance in relation to goals. Although there are general accepted accountability practices, several authors have pointed out that no single accountability model can serve all settings, hence the need for religious organizations to work under a customized approach. The Seventh-day Adventist Church, as an organization, has not developed a framework of accountability explicitly derived from its own worldview. Given the prophetic authority of Ellen G. White and that her voluminous work addresses all aspects of life, her writings are the primary data in this study. This research used a grounded theory methodology in order to identify Ellen G. White’s understanding on accountability and to propose a model with the emerged theory grounded in the data. The data was coded and classified into categories, which became more comprehensive codes. These selective codes in turn led to four overarching themes of accountability present in EGW’s writings: (a) stewardship, (b) sanctification/character building, (c) influence, and (d) final judgment. The interrelationship among these four themes resulted in the SAFE model of accountability. Whereas most models and studies in the contemporary literature tend to focus on a mechanisms-oriented approach to accountability and in impersonal standards concentrated in corporate accountability, the SAFE model is described as holistic, relational, based on virtues, and God-centered. This model is complemented by a matrix developed to represent the interplay between virtues and mechanisms in the context of individual accountability.