Organizational Justice, Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility

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CHAPTER 2 • ORGANIZATIONAL JUSTICE, ETHICS, AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 49 High 6 Distributively unfair pay promoted insomnia 5 Underpaid/Untrained Mean Insomnia Rating 4 Insomnia was unchanged when pay remained distributively fair Supervisory training in informational and interpersonal justice lowered insomnia among nurses Underpaid/Trained 3 No Change/Trained No Change/Untrained 2 Low Month 1 Distributively unjust pay introduced Month 2 Month 3 Supervisors trained in informational and interpersonal justice Month 9 FIGURE 2.4 Losing Sleep over Injustice Can be Overcome A recent study by one of the authors found that nurses suffered insomnia after their pay was changed in a manner that left them paid less than before (i.e., a distributive injustice). However, these insomnia reactions were reduced among nurses whose managers were trained in ways to promote interpersonal justice and informational justice. Source: Adapted from Greenberg, 2005; see Note 18. This is important to know because it has profound implications for managers. Although managers generally can do very little about distributive injustices because pay and fringe benefits are determined by organizational policies, they can do a great deal to promote informational justice (e.g., by explaining things) and interpersonal justice (e.g., by showing dignity and respect). Thus, there are specific things managers can do to promote organizational justice. Extending this idea, we now will consider several ways of promoting organizational justice. Strategies for Promoting Organizational Justice Treating people fairly on the job surely is a noble objective. Although many people are concerned about being fair for its own sake, of course, there’s also a good practical reason for treating employees fairly. Specifically, individuals who believe they have been unfairly treated in any or all of the ways described respond quite negatively. We know, for example, that people who feel unfairly treated are likely to do such things as work less hard, steal from their employers, do poor-quality work, or even quit their jobs altogether—and then sue their former employers. 19 Naturally, managers are likely to seek organizational justice to avoid these problems. In addition to minimizing such negative reactions managers also are likely to seek the positive reactions associated with being perceived as fair. For example, fairness has been associated with such desirable behaviors as helping one’s fellow workers and going along with organizational policies. 20
50 PART 1 • INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR As if these benefits aren’t sufficiently convincing, think about what it would be like if entire departments or work groups were composed of employees who felt unfairly treated. The cumulative impact would be dramatic, and that is precisely what was found by scientists conducting a recent study. 21 Analyzing 4,539 employees from 783 departments in 97 different hotels, they found that departments composed of employees who felt unfairly treated suffered significantly higher rates of turnover and lower levels of customer satisfaction than those composed of employees who felt fairly treated. And, of course, these factors have enormous impact on a hotel’s success. In view of these findings, there is good reason for managers to go out of their way to promote justice in the workplace. Fortunately, what we know about organizational justice points to some useful suggestions for doing so. Pay Workers What They Deserve The practices of saving a little money by underpaying employees—or informally discouraging them from taking vacation days they are due, or asking them to work “off the clock”—are doomed to fail. Paying the “going wage” in your community for work of a certain type and not cheating workers out of what they have coming to them are far wiser investments. After all, workers who feel cheated out of their pay are unmotivated to perform at high levels (see Chapter 7). Fortunately, to help in this regard surveys are available revealing the prevailing rates of pay for various jobs. For example, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides useful information on wages for various jobs in various regions of the country (for a summary of some of the highest-paying and lowest-paying jobs for various occupational groups, see Table 2.2). 22 Paying prevailing wage rates and sharing this information with employees is a good way to promote justice. Just as importantly, a company paying below-market wages is likely to lose because the best workers will be disinclined to remain working there, or even to accept jobs there in the first place. Not giving workers what they have coming to them clearly is “penny wise and pound foolish,” as the saying goes. fair process effect The tendency for people to better accept outcomes into which they have had some input in determining than when they have no such involvement. Offer Workers a Voice One of the best established principles of procedural justice is that people will better accept outcomes when they have had some input into determining them than when they are not involved. 23 This is known as the fair process effect. Often, promoting fairness in this manner is accomplished simply by conducting regular meetings with employees to hear what they have to say. The benefits of doing so result not only from making better-quality decisions (because it taps workers’ expertise), but also from merely involving workers in the process. After all, workers whose input is solicited are inclined to feel better accepted as valued members of their organization than those who are ignored (this is the group-value explanation noted earlier). As shown in Figure 2.5, this leads them to perceive both that the resulting outcome is fair and that the procedure used to determine it is fair. And, as noted earlier, perceptions of distributive justice and procedural justice are quite beneficial to organizations. What can be done to promote voice in organizations? Although there are many good possibilities, here are some of the most widely used methods. Meet regularly and invite input. Discussing how to do things—especially things that affect the individuals involved—is one of the most effective ways to promote voice. This gives people input into the making of decisions, promoting the perceived fairness—and acceptance—of those decisions. With this in mind, many managers hold regular meetings in which they solicit input from everyone. Conduct employee surveys. Companies conduct surveys among employees for many reasons. Among the most straightforward is to collect and systematically share employees’ ideas about how to do things better. FedEx is one company that has made widespread use of this technique. Keep an “open door policy.” Probably the easiest and most straightforward way to give employees voice is by letting them know that you are always available to talk. Managers who use such an “open door policy” send a strong message that they are
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