Exercise: Critique the model response

In many administrative documents, accountability fog is created by using passive sentences and nominalizations, for example: saying 'errors will be corrected' instead of naming a designated employee who is responsible.

Traceable accountability in administrative documents means that each provision specifies which agency or office is responsible for implementation, and that it is possible to trace who made decisions if something goes wrong.

Collective bargaining agreements are usually written in complex legal language because the trade unions want to mislead general employees so they do not realize their rights.

Studies show that 78 percent of voters in Iceland do not trust politicians to speak to them in understandable language about the content of administrative documents.

Vague descriptions of responsibility in administrative documents can make it harder to hold officials accountable when something goes wrong, because when no one is named, it is difficult to assign responsibility to an individual.

Where left-wing political parties have been in power, public administration has been much more transparent and accountability much clearer, which is why government agencies function better under their leadership.