How to define authorities

Authority is about the power of decision, the power of command. Responsibility is about obligation. For example, an operator may have the responsibility to perform quality control and identify the nonconforming product (he or she has the obligation to do it, he or she is expected to do it), and may not have the authority to decide what to do with the identified nonconforming product.

An organization can be modeled as a set of interrelated processes. Each process can be described through a flowchart:

Responsibilities are those activities that someone has to perform without alternatives.

Authorities are those activities where someone has the power to stop the process, has the power to make decisions about the process. For example, in the flowchart above the Production operator has the authority, has the power to decide when is the process ready to start normal production. For example, in a commercial context someone has the responsibility to write a proposal, and someone has the authority to approve the proposal before sending to the customer. For example, in a warehouse context someone has the responsibility to identify the need to order a component, and someone has the authority to approve that need, and another person may have the authority to choose the supplier.

The following material will provide you with information about roles and responsibilities:

• ISO 9001 – How to document roles and responsibilities according to ISO 9001 -https://advisera.com/9001academy/blog/2018/02/26/how-to-document-roles-and-responsibilities-according-to-iso-9001/
• Enroll for free - [free course] ISO 9001:2015 Internal Auditor Course - https://advisera.com/training/iso-9001-internal-auditor-course/
• Book - Discover ISO 9001 :2015 Through Practical Examples - https://advisera.com/books/discover-iso-9001-2015-through-practical-examples/