science

Responsible position

Responsible position is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Responsible position rather than just read about it. In short: A responsible position is a post where the individual is expected to work without supervision or a higher authority, usually for a political purpose or a civil service position. Whether a particular position is a responsible position or "least difficult" is not a dichotomy, but rather "relative" and a continuum.

Key takeaways

Responsible position belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Responsible position to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Responsible position from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A responsible position is a post where the individual is expected to work without supervision or a higher authority, usually for a political purpose or a civil service position. Whether a particular position is a responsible position or "least difficult" is not a dichotomy, but rather "relative" and a continuum. This is in contrast to a job or police/military post, where there is a superior officer to answer to and who holds the right to direct work. For example, a shop steward and a member of parliament are in responsible positions; the former is responsible to the workers, the latter to the electorate. Working in a responsible position may be unpaid, or if there is some compensation, it may not be considered a taxable salary. For example, the compensation of an MP is tax-free. The related term position of trust refers to any kind of position, whether supervisory or not.

See also Dress code Hierarchy Peter principle

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Responsible position

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Responsible position claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Responsible position before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Responsible position ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Responsible position

In research: Responsible position appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Responsible position in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Responsible position is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Employment classifications, Occupation stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Responsible position outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Responsible position in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Responsible position means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Responsible position out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Responsible position in simple terms?

Why does Responsible position matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Responsible position?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Responsible position.