Consistent and Fair Managerial Practices and Worker Trust - Coursework Example

Management Name Institution Course Tutor Date Introduction Managers are bestowed with the responsibility of leading an organisation towards prosperity and achievement of its set goals and objectives. Their capacity to create an organisational environment that is both healthy and conducive provides them with greater autonomy in resource management. Furthermore, their ability to recognise the efforts of subordinates is of paramount importance in having a good relationship with them. Trust is an element of management subordinate relationship that must be there if managers and their employees are to have a good and effective working relationship. In essence, the manager’s trust in subordinates plays a vital role in how employees perform their duties. The trust between members of the organisation allows coordination and completion of different organisational tasks (Leonard 2008, p. 197). Employees should have trust in the management, their fellow employees and the organisation in general. On the other hand, managers must trust their subordinates particularly those that they are directly responsible. Although trust is an element of management subordinate relationship with organisation, it also consists of predictability, dependability and faith amongst partners (Leonard 2008, p. 197). In order to understand management subordinate relationship, its critical elements must be first understood. This report therefore starts by defining organisation, predictability and trust. It then explains the relationship between consistent and fair managerial practices and worker trust. The relation between managerial practices worker trust and motivation is also covered. Organisation There are many definitions of organisation found in the management studies and organisational theory literature. Although the definitions has been changing or rather has been undergoing some form of modifications since 1960s, there is no universally accepted definition of the term. Organisation is defined as a union of actors working together for purposes of achieving a similar goal. This is one of the basic definitions of organisation found in the organisational theory literature. Paquette and Redaelli (2015) defined organisation as collection of people that works together for purposes of achieving a common purpose in form of division of labour. This definition describes how organisational members create and deliver products and services. It implies that organisation is made up of many people that work towards achievement of the same objective and organisations are involved in division of labour. Predictability The managerial regulations that exist in organisations help in structuring the relationship between subordinates and the management. They also exist because of the management power derived from the commanding position it occupies in the organisation. In general, managerial regulations are power regulations that stabilises the relationship between management and subordinates by creating predictability and consistency (Klikauer 2012, p. 139). This predictability involves the behaviour of subordinates in the organisation. Predictability in management subordinate relationship is very important as an increase in subordinate perceptions of managerial predictability helps in diffusing subordinate dissent. It also raises the trust between them. Predictability therefore involves the ability of employees and management to predict each other behaviour that facilitates their working relationship. Trust Trust is among the significant determinants of performance in organisations (Cardona, Morley, & Reiche 2013, p. 01). It is also a necessary result of true organisational leadership. As a result, trust is an important element that determines the outcome of many organisational processes. Therefore, establishing trust within an organisation brings a lot of benefits. It increases communication, openness, and mutual understanding between different parties (Epstein & Manzoni 2010, p. 293). The research has also shown that trust is related to the performance of an individual and that of an organisation. It increases organisational productivity as employees normally depend on each other in creation and achievement of appropriate or set goals. In today’s organisations, trust have become very important as organisations need to be open and flexible for purposes of adapting to the rapidly changing market and economic conditions. It is with no doubt that trust is important in an organisation. So what is trust? Trust is the framework where any kind of relationship is build upon it (Leonard 2008, p. 198). In an organisation, individuals have some expectations from their fellow employees. This develops into trust when they are met. Trust is a positive expectation(s) regarding other people’s expectations based on interdependencies, roles, experiences and relationships (Ellis & Shockley-Zalabak 2001, p. 383). It is an optimistic expectation of a person on behaviour of another person when that person must make a decision about an act or behaves in a situation of dependence and vulnerability. Consistent and Fair Managerial Practices and Worker Trust Aligning people and organisation is always a hard task for human resource and the organisational management (Marksberry 2012, p. 226). The research has shown that managers can depend on the commitment and loyalty of their followers when they are responsive and supportive to their different needs and goals. In other words, when employees feel supported and they have confidence of achieving their goals, they tend to be more commitment and loyal to the organisation. The managerial practices that the managers use are useful in this case. For example, when managers are more attentive to the basic needs of their employees, they reciprocate by being more effective and efficient in their work. Indeed, Henry Fayol asserted that kindliness and justice when combined produce equity. Equity is one the principles that he recommended managers to use in instilling loyalty and commitment in the organisation. Depending on the managerial practice- consistent or fair, this objective can be achieved. The management practices that foster employees’ psychological safety are clear, supportive, consistent, open and predictable (Gruman & Saks 2014, p. 468). Consistent management practices allow employees to carry out their duties without any fear of retribution or consequences. This is because management is consistent in its decision making and they entertain and encourage divergent opinions. Moreover, they do not retaliate when their positions are threatened. Consistent management practices involve consistency in the organisation’s operations. The policies and procedures regarding different functions such as disciplining, reward and recognition are conducted in a systematic and prescribed manner. They are carried out in line with values, mission and vision of the organisation. In consistent management practice, rules are applied consistently. In the same situation, the same rules are applied without any further consideration such as an individual position or any other factor. This is one of the relationships between consistent and fair management practices- application of rules in a fair, just and equal manner. Organisations should have systems that are promoting fairness and consistency regarding all the management and employees decisions. This is because their absence leads to drop in productivity and morale of the organisational members. Additionally, existence of fair and consistent management practices ensures that organisations are run as per the law as well as organisational policies and procedures. Consistent and fair managerial practices relate to each other as both incorporates employees input. The ‘voice’ and employees concerns are taken into consideration in making decisions that affects them directly and those affecting the entire organisation. The element of trust in very important in these management practices. It is an important component of organisational relationships (Tzafrir 2005, p. 1600). A positive managerial expectation from employees through consistent and fair managerial practices leads to creation of a close relationship between employees and management. Open communication is encouraged by both consistent and fair managerial practices. Management is always open to dialogues that promote fairness and co-existence. Employees feel that their managers are supportive and are open to listen to their grievances and suggestions regarding different decisions. There is also an equal concern for all employees, their skills and personal goals in both managerial practices. Managers are equally concern about the employee’s welfare and there is no favouritism. Managerial Practices Worker Trust and Motivation Managers are expected to create an environment and conditions that help organisational members perform their work in an effective manner. This environment and conditions should be capable of satisfying the individual needs of employees and assist in achieving their best output. The managerial practices play a vital role in determining whether this can be achieved or not. Managerial practice involves setting high standards of ethical behaviour that governs organisational members. In turn, ethical behaviour builds trust among management and employees which is important in achieving high performance. A high performance can only be achieved through some set of quality elements that depends on worker trust. These are teamwork, problem-solving, communication, conflict management and employee involvement and empowerment (Mohanty 2008, p. 419). Due to the importance of trust to quality performance and employee motivation, managers should be good trust builders in their managerial practices. The only way this is possible is if managers have the capability to establish themselves as trustworthy individuals. Indeed, trust, motivation and development are the three major human aspects of the manager’s job (Mohanty 2008, p. 419). They are all interrelated in some way. When there is no trust, no motivation can exist, and development of workers can only succeed when managers totally involve them in the work. Worker trust is a valuable organisational resource that can significantly determine if an organisation will achieve its objectives or not. Trust is a source of competitive advantage for organisations and foundation of quality interpersonal relationships (Tan & Lim 2009, p. 45). Worker trust facilitates openness in communication that aids in work processes and therefore results in a better organisational performance. An employee will focus on deriving optimal performance when he or she believes that managers and co-workers can be trusted. This is because they will be no need to use more time and energy in trying to protect themselves from the perceived mistrust. The managers should have the ability to create mutual trust between them and employees and between co-workers. Indeed, Fayol noted that the managerial ability depends on certain qualities. These include mental qualities that involve ability to understand, learn and judged (Wren & Bedeian 2009, p. 214). On the other hand, Barnard contends that an organisation should provide adequate inducements to its members to forego joining other memberships and instead devote their energies, skills and knowledge to the organisation. Therefore, managers should have knowledge of the needs of its employees and do all it can to satisfy them. In doing this, they should attempt to gain their trust which results in more effectiveness in their job performance. At the end, employees will be more motivated as they have a good working relationship with the management. References Cardona, P, Morley, & Reiche, Manager-Subordinate Trust Relationships across Cultures, in P Cardona, MJ Morley, & BS Reiche (eds), Manager-subordinate trust: A global perspective. New York: Routledge. Ellis, K., & Shockley‐Zalabak, P. (2001). Trust in top management and immediate supervisor: The relationship to satisfaction, perceived organizational effectiveness, and information receiving. Communication Quarterly, 49(4), 382-398. 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