1. Democracy and the Workplace: Connecting Dispute Resolution with Organizational Values and Mission
Professor Richard C. Reuben
University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law
January 4, 2005

2. My central thesis
Democratic values lie at the heart of today’s workplaces. While we often think of participation as the primary democratic value, there are others that are just as significant.
Dispute resolution mechanisms in today’s workplaces should be implemented in a manner that promotes democratic values rather than diminishes them
Doing so will allow dispute resolution to contribute to the overall mission of the organization, including better worker performance, greater compliance with organizational mission, and the creation of a workplace where people want to be and stay.

3. The Transformation of the Workplace
“Old Workplace” Values: Master-Servant
Workers viewed as resources to be exploited
Loyalty – Psychological contract
Commitment to internal labor market
“New Workplace” Values: Partnership
Workers recognized as individuals to be cultivated
Mobility, flexibility and adaptability
Importance of “social capital”
The sum of an organization’s informal institutions, norms, conventions and social preferences.

4. Transformation as Democratization
Classic Democracy – participatory self-governance in the governmental context
Corporate democracy
Applies democratic principles in the corporate democracy
Generally limited to employee involvement in governance
Organizational democracy
Extends concept of corporate democracy in several ways
Not just governance, but also operation of functions, such as workplace
Not just governments and corporations, but also other forms of organization, such as the public sector and not-for-profits
Not just participation, but other core democratic values

5. Core Values of Democracy
Personal autonomy
Political values
Participation
Accountability
Transparency
Rationality
Note: Values are relative, not absolute
Legal values
Equality
Due process
Social Capital Values
Trust
Social connection
Cooperation and reciprocity
Civic virtue

6. Assessing democratic “character”: Public adjudication vs. mediation
Political Values
Personal autonomy
High
Participation
Accountability
Transparency
Rationality
Legal Values
Equality
Due process

7. Assessing democratic “character”: Public adjudication vs. mediation
Political Values
Personal autonomy
Participation
Accountability
Transparency
Rationality
Low
Legal Values
Equality
Due process
High
High
High
High
High
Low
Depends
High
High
High
Low
High
Medium

8. Implications for dispute systems designers and program managers
Programs should be structured and operated in ways that foster rather than undermine these values
Will make them democracy enhancing, rather than democracy diminishing
In so doing, will enhance their legitimacy within the organization
Doing so can be challenging, and raises fundamental questions
Autonomy – mandatory mediation?
Transparency
Caucus vs. non-caucus models
Tension with confidentiality
Due process
Who chooses mediator style?
Tip: When values collide or are in tension, look to autonomy value

9. Social Capital in the Organizational Context
Definition: The sum of an organization’s informal institutions, norms, conventions and social preferences.
All of the other factors contribute to social capital
Barometers
Trust flowing between employees and management, vertically and horizontally
Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB)
Altruism (helping behaviors)
Compliance (rules, policies, etc.)
Courtesy (gestures taken to prevent problems)
Sportsmanship (willingness to accept bumps in the road without protest)
Civic virtue (organizational spiritedness)
Norm of reciprocity leads to cycles of social capital within organization
“Virtuous cycle” when animated by constructive behaviors
“Vicious cycle” when animated by destructive behaviors

10. Social Capital Barometer 1: Trust
Trust is a function of expectations
Expectations with respect to trust are set by democratic values
Basic expectation regarding dispute resolution
Right to “day in court”
Anything I want to do other than that
Trust with respect to disputes
When disputes handled consistently with democratic values, trust in the organization is promoted
When disputes handled inconsistently with democratic values, trust in the organization is diminished
Managing trust with respect to disputes is especially important
Disputes may be a small part of overall functioning of the workplace, but they have a pervasive importance that touches all other aspects

11. Social Capital Barometer 2: OCB Compliance with Rules, Policies, Mission
What is compliance?
Willingness to accept and support rules and policies
Compliance is a function of trust (Tyler). Two key observations
As a general matter, belief in integrity of process more important than the substance of the rules, policies, etc.
Process values square with democratic values
Whether people given voice, allowed to influence outcome (participation)
Whether decisions were explained (rationality)
Whether decision maker behaved neutrally (equality)
Whether people treated with respect (due process)
As a particular matter, we begin with an “illusion of benevolence”
Tested against personal experiences
To the extent consistent, trust affirming
Stokes social capital by eliciting positive reciprocal behaviors
To the extent inconsistent, trust disconfirming
Starves social capital by eliciting negative reciprocal behaviors

12. So, what does this all mean in the real world?
Performance
When dispute resolution reinforces democratic values, it fosters OCB, which in turn enhances task performance
Study of mill workers found that helping, sportsmanship, and civic virtue enhanced task performance, measured in terms of quality, quantity of paper produced
Study of insurance agents found sportsmanship and civic virtue enhanced performance of insurance agents
When dispute resolution frustrates democratic values, it diminishes OCB, which in turn diminishes task performance

13. Real world implications
Compliance
Workplace institutions, like dispute resolution, that are consistent with worker expectations regarding democratic values will foster acceptance and support of organizational objectives, strategies, and mission
Workplace institutions, like dispute resolution, that are inconsistent with worker expectations with respect to democratic values will encourage non-compliance with organizational objectives, strategies, and mission
Reactance theory: when our “free behaviors” are limited, we tend to react destructively

14. Some concluding questions . . .
More empirical research needed to test and refine theories
E.g., surveying organizations with democratic and undemocratic dispute resolution programs, and inquiring about how that affects worker perceptions of the organization, task performance, willingness to support mission
Beyond the basic guidance I have provided, how should ADR program managers integrate these principles into their daily work?
Which daily issues and practices are implicated by the theory?
What unique challenges are raised by the governmental context?
What barriers are there to applying the theory?
How can those barrier be overcome?