ABSTRACT
Responsibility management can be quite complex; however, the general framework for responsibility management is very similar to other management systems with which managers are already familiar, including quality and environmental management systems. Managing responsibilities goes well beyond traditional 'do good' or discretionary activities associated with philanthropy and volunteerism, which are frequently termed 'corporate social responsibility' and sometimes associated with narrow definitions of corporate citizenship. Total responsibility management (TRM), using continual improvement tools creates feedback loops that foster innovation and improvement in management systems. Once a company begins using the TRM framework, no system goes unchanged: the effects of managing responsibility ripple throughout the system. In the most progressive companies, managing quality is everyone's responsibility, not just the responsibility of a quality expert somewhere at the end of the line. In reality, companies manage their responsibilities to stakeholders and the natural environment through the operating practices and strategies they evolve to accomplish their goals.
