Trust contributes to an organization's bottom line - Essay Example

‘Trust’ contributes to an organization’s ‘bottom line’ Introduction According to several organizational behavior studies, trust is the belief in integrity, character and ability of the leaders or the reciprocal faith in one’s behaviors and intentions (Saunders, Skinner and Dietz 76). It is the confident reliance on the justice, honesty, ability, justice and integrity of another as these standards contributes to a culture of trust within the organization. Increased trust in the organization contributes to efficiency and reduction of costs thus ultimately contributing to the improvement of the bottom line expectations such as increased productivity, increased profitability and higher satisfaction of all stakeholders.

According to Whitner et al. (1998, p 513), the factors that enhance trust between the subordinates and superiors in an organisation include the behavior consistency, integrity, delegation, communication and demonstration of respect and concern of colleagues at the workplace (Saunders, Skinner and Dietz 98). In this case, employees are capable of working as a meet and resolve any interpersonal conflicts amicably without affecting the productivity of the organization. Trust in an organization contributes to the bottom line through enhanced stakeholder satisfaction, high job performance, minimal complaints and higher organizational final productivity.

Importance of trust in contributing to organizational ‘bottom line’ Trust in organizations contributes to the ‘bottom line’ through ensuring ethical behaviors and practices through ensures proper governance and avoidance of unethical practices such as bribes and corruption that may hinder the attainment of organizational objectives. Corrupt business practices such as bribery and embezzlement of corporate assets hinder the attainment of superior organizational performance, and contribute to negative corporate reputation in the society (Saunders, Skinner and Dietz 45).

In this case, trust will enable the management to adhere with the organizational policies, procedures and ethical code of conduct in their duties due to the strong norms of integrity and values of honesty and trustworthiness in the behavior and character of the management people. Trust in an organization improves the stakeholder relationships, persons within the organization are capable of voluntarily accepting the mutual benefits of cooperation, and stakeholders with limited power are capable of being treated fairly by those bestowed power in the organization (Cook and Kramer 202).

Trust will promote fiduciary relationships and protection of the rights of others thus contributing to overall good of the entire organization. Trustable management will safeguard the welfare of consumers thus enhancing the customer loyalty and volumes of repeat sales thus contributing to higher organizational profitability. On the other hand, trusted managers will show genuine concern of employee needs thus contributing to high job performance and ultimately increase in the organizational ‘bottom line’ performance (Cook and Kramer 195).

Organizations that have high cultural trust tend to offer high quality products that meet customer expectations at lower cost since the employees are capable of attaining higher work satisfaction and make timely decisions. The employees are empowered to take risks, adhere with corporate values and display ethical behaviors in their work thus contributing to ‘bottom line’ of the organization (Cook and Kramer 136). How to create trust in the organization One of the methods of creating trust in the organization is ensuring that the leadership remains committed to its obligation and expectations towards other stakeholders in the organization.

The leaders must be capable of outlining and articulating a shared vision for the organization and influence the efforts of the subordinates towards fulfillment of the shared vision and objectives of the organization (Saunders, Skinner and Dietz 88). Accordingly, the leaders must show genuine concern for subordinates’ grievances and needs through asking for suggestions and opinions of improvement while addressing the causes of mistrust in the organization. For instance, the leadership must be capable of addressing causes of employee change resistance and high job dissatisfaction in order to demonstrate a genuine concern for the needs of their subordinates (Cook and Kramer 73).

Another factor that creates trust in an organization is implementation of two-way and open communication channels that ensures employees are informed of the ongoing operations within the company (Cook and Kramer 62). For instance, employees should be informed of the changes in the corporate goals, policies and objectives through several internal communication channels such as face-to-face meetings, informal discussions, formal channels like e-mails and conferences. Informal communication facilitates conflict resolution.

Cook and Kramer asserts that organization can create a climate of trust through empowering employees and providing challenging tasks that enable employees exercise their problem-solving and decision-making abilities (p 18). The employees will be capable of assuming more responsibility for the outcomes of their job thus enhancing their performance results. Training and reward management can create trust through ensuring employees are multi-skilled and can engage in successful job rotation and attain self-fulfillment in their work.

Furthermore, reward management aspects such as recognition for the expected behaviors and providing timely feedback after performance evaluations act as positive reinforcement of trust (Cook and Kramer 53). Another factor that creates trust in organizations is the integrity that enables the employees adhere with the prevailing corporate policies, procedures and ethical code of conduct in their tasks. The employees are able to refrain from unethical activities such as bribery and remain committed to their job performance expectations (Saunders, Skinner and Dietz 129).

Conclusion Trust contributes to the bottom line of organizations through higher employee performance and stakeholder satisfaction that is associated with higher job performance and higher economic performance of the company. Trust will ensure employees remain committed to the organizational vision and goals and cooperate in attainment of the shared objectives of the organization. Accordingly, trust eliminates unethical practices like embezzlement of corporate assets and builds a culture of higher performance.

Organizations can create trust through ensuring participative leadership, implementing open communication channels, instilling the values of integrioty and showing genuine concern for the needs of employees. Accordingly, ensuring flatter structures improves communication and coordination thus enhancing trust. Works cited: Cook, Karen and Kramer, Roderick. Trust and distrust in organizations: dilemmas and approaches. New York: Sage Foundation. Saunders, Mark., Skinner, Denise and Dietz, Graham.

Organizational trust. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2010.