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Accountability Re-examined: Evidence from Hull House
Leslie Oakes, University of New Mexico
Joni J. Young, University of New Mexico
ABSTRACT. This paper employs an archival case study to explore how accountability was conceptualized and put into action at the Hull House settlement, a nonprofit organization established in Chicago at the turn of the century. Hull House was an important and influential nonprofit organization in the United States that left a significant mark on public policy. Our study draws upon pragmatism and feminist theory to organize and interpret our data. These theoretical perspectives provide insight into alternative conceptions of accountability, conceptions at odds with the prevailing and dominant emphasis on quantitative performance measurement. Our research suggests that this limited view severely narrows our understanding of organizational “success.” The case encourages us to reconsider existing assumptions about goals, to explore the significance of the concrete, to stress the role of narratives, to question the existing overemphasis on hierarchy and to posit a necessity for self-critique.
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