Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 6: Trust, Justice, and Ethics

Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Trust, Justice, and Ethics Trust is defined as the willingness to be vulnerable to an authority based on positive expectations about the authority’s actions and intentions. »Justice reflects the perceived fairness of an authority’s decision making. »Ethics reflects the degree to which the behaviors of an authority are in accordance with generally accepted moral norms. Slide 6-2

Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Trust Disposition-based trust means that your personality traits include a general propensity to trust others. Cognition-based trust means that trust is rooted in a rational assessment of the authority’s trustworthiness. Affect-based trust means that it depends on feelings toward the authority that go beyond any rational assessment. Slide 6-3

Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Disposition-Based Trust Has less to do with the authority and more to do with the trustor. »Some trustors are high in trust propensity — a general expectation that the words, promises, and statements of individuals and groups can be relied upon. –Shaped from both genetics and environment »Trust propensity levels are actually relatively high in the United States, especially in relation to countries in Europe and South America. Slide 6-4

Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Cognition-Based Trust Our trust begins to be based on cognitions we‘ve developed about the authority, as opposed to our own personality or disposition. »Trustworthiness is defined as the characteristics or attributes of a trustee that inspire trust. »Driven by the authority’s “track record.” –Ability, integrity, and benevolence Slide 6-5

Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Track Record Ability is defined as the skills, abilities, and areas of expertise that enable an authority to be successful in some specific area. »Doctor, lawyer Integrity is defined as the perception that the authority adheres to a set of values and principles that the trustor finds acceptable. »“Walk the talk” Benevolence is defined as the belief that the authority wants to do good for the trustor, apart from any selfish or profit-centered motives. »Mentor-protégé Slide 6-6

Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Affect-Based Trust Often more emotional than rational. Affect-based trust acts as a leap of faith in the face of uncertainty about trustworthiness. Affect-based trust sometimes acts as a supplement to the types of trust discussed previously. An emotional bond develops, and our feelings for the trustee further increase our willingness to accept vulnerability. Slide 6-7

Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Justice Distributive justice reflects the perceived fairness of decision-making outcomes. »Employees gauge distributive justice by asking whether decision outcomes, such as pay, rewards, evaluations, promotions, and work assignments, are allocated using proper norms. Procedural justice reflects the perceived fairness of decision-making processes. »Fostered when authorities adhere to rules of fair process. Slide 6-8

Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Procedural Justice Rules Voice concerns giving employees a chance to express their opinions and views during the course of decision making. »Improves employees reactions to decisions. Correctability provides employees with a chance to request an appeal when a procedure seems to have worked ineffectively. Consistency, bias suppression, representativeness, and accuracy rules help ensure that procedures are neutral and objective, as opposed to biased and discriminatory. »Interview questions, compensation practices Slide 6-9

Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Procedural Justice Does procedural justice really matter—don’t people just care about the outcomes that they receive? Distributive justice and procedural justice combine to influence employee reactions. »When outcomes are bad, procedural justice becomes enormously important. »Procedural justice tends to be a stronger driver of reactions to authorities than distributive justice. Slide 6-10

Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Justice, Cont’d Interpersonal justice reflects the perceived fairness of the treatment received by employees from authorities. »Interpersonal justice is fostered when authorities adhere to two particular rules. –Respect rule pertains to whether authorities treat employees in a dignified and sincere manner. –Propriety rule reflects whether authorities refrain from making improper or offensive remarks. Interpersonal injustice occurs when authorities bad-mouth employees. Slide 6-11

Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Justice, Cont’d Informational justice reflects the perceived fairness of the communications provided to employees from authorities. »Informational justice is fostered when authorities adhere to two particular rules. –The justification rule mandates that authorities explain decision-making procedures and outcomes in a comprehensive and reasonable manner. –The truthfulness rule requires that those communications be honest and candid. Slide 6-12

Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Ethics Research on ethics seeks to explain why people behave in a manner consistent with generally accepted norms of morality, and why they sometimes violate those norms. »Whistle-blowing occurs when employees expose illegal actions by their employer. »76 percent of employees have observed illegal or unethical conduct on the job within the past 12 months. Slide 6-13

Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Four Component Model of Ethical Decision Making Moral awareness occurs when an authority recognizes that a moral issue exists in a situation or that an ethical standard or principle is relevant to the circumstance. »Ethical sensitivity reflects the ability to recognize that a particular decision has ethical content. »Moral intensity captures the degree to which the issue has ethical urgency. Slide 6-14

Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Four Component Model of Ethical Decision Making, Cont’d Moral judgment is when the authority accurately identifies the morally “right” course of action. »Theory of cognitive moral development argues that as people age and mature, they move through several stages of moral development—each more mature and sophisticated than the prior one. Slide 6-15

Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Four Component Model of Ethical Decision Making, Cont’d Moral intent reflects an authority’s degree of commitment to the moral course of action. »The distinction between awareness, judgment, and intent is important, because many unethical people know and understand that what they do is wrong— they just don’t really care. »One driver of moral intent is moral identity —the degree to which a person sees him- or herself as a “moral person.” –Strong moral identity increases ethical behaviors because failing to act morally will trigger a strong sense of guilt or shame. Slide 6-16

Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. How Important Is Trust? Trust is moderately correlated with task performance. Trust relates to performance because it increases an employees ability to focus, which reflects the degree to which employees can devote their attention to work. Trust also influences citizenship behavior and counterproductive behavior because the willingness to accept vulnerability changes the nature of the employee- employer relationship. Trust affects organizational commitment because that trusting an authority increases the likelihood that an emotional bond will develop, particularly if that trust is rooted in positive feelings for the authority. Slide 6-17