Building Trust with Front Line Employees
Communication in organizations
INTRODUCTION
Building trust with front line employees is
perhaps the single most difficult challenge facing management during the transition to a
effective organization. The challenge becomes
even greater when the level of trust was low before the previous stage.
Most
front line employees will feel a sense of great personal and professional disruption and
loss by the transition to competition. Even if
a high level of trust existed between management and front line employees previously, the
transition is seen as threatening by most front line employees. Fears of the unknown – new management, new
performance expectations, new ways of compensation – will dominate their thinking. Unless these issues are tackled, they can lead to
negative psychology and unproductive behaviors. In
an environment of competition, employment will seem less secure and work requirements will
seem more demanding. Past assurances of
lifetime employment vanish. More is expected,
and, in the minds of many, far less is provided. Unions
typically reinforce the message that front line employees are at risk seeking compensating
benefits. "Unions typically reinforce the message that front line employees are at
risk seeking compensating benefits." The main responsibility of unions is to look out
for the economic and social welfare of the workers. When
a organization undergoes major change such as transition from public to private or monopoly to
competition there will be work and employment disruptions.
In these circumstances, unions will typically highlight the risks (real or
imagined) of these changes to frontline employees and seek additional protections (e.g.,
job security) or compensation (e.g., severance pay) for the workers.
The practical experience of front line employees
makes their fears reasonable and grounded in reality.
Management has to address employees’ fears and concerns through
unprecedented communication and cooperation in order for the transition to be smooth and
to succeed.
The transition to competition can vastly expand
income and career opportunities for many employees. Yet,
for many others, it leads to loss of status and opportunity, and possibly a loss of the
job itself. Management cannot ignore the
concerns of front line employees regarding their jobs and job security.
This Module reviews how management can provide
the information, communication and support to front line employees to help facilitate
their successful transition to a effective environment.
This means investing more in front line employees – in training, in
attention and in communicating timely information – than every before. It also means seeing more feedback and acting upon
it.
A
hallmark of a successful effective organization is a motivated, informed, trusting and
empowered front line workforce, trained and at ease with new technologies and
knowledgeable about project/programme purpose decision-making.
I.
Introduction-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1
II.
Building
Trust: Concepts and Challenges------------------------------------------------ 4
A.
What do we
Mean by Trust?--------------------------------------------------------
4
B.
Is Trust
between Management and Front Line Employees Different in a Monopoly than in a effective
Environment?-----------------------------------------------------------
5
C.
What Happens
to Trust During the Transition to Competition?-----------------------
6
D.
How does
“Resistance to Change” Figure in All of This?----------------------------- 7
E.
Question: Why do Employees Resist Change?--------------------------------------- 7
III.
Overcoming
Resistance to Change?------------------------------------------------------
9
A.
Managers as
Change Agents---------------------------------------------------------
9
B.
Empowerment-----------------------------------------------------------------------
10
C.
Tools of the
Change Agent: Communication, Education and
Information
Sharing----------------------------------------------------------------------
10
IV.
Building
Trust: Getting the Message Across Effectively---------------------------------- 12
A.
Communication----------------------------------------------------------------------
12
B.
Participation
in Decision-Making-----------------------------------------------------
12
V.
Training ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14
A.
Facilitation --------------------------------------------------------------------------
14
B.
Technical
Training-------------------------------------------------------------------
14
C.
project/programme purpose
Education------------------------------------------------------------------
15
D.
Training
Methods--------------------------------------------------------------------
15
VI.
Use
of Rewards and Incentives----------------------------------------------------------
16
VII.
Personal
Challenge for Managers in Building and Maintaining Trust
with Front Line Employees--------------------------------------------------------------
17
VIII.
Assignments-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
18
IX.
Bibliography-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
22
X.
Glossary---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24
XI.
Interview
(Q&A)------------------------------------------------------------------------
26
Page with references to Your Organization, IMU, etc.: 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12,
13, 16, 17
II.
BUILDING TRUST: CONCEPT AND CHALLENGES
Building trust with front line employees is a
complicated and essential activity for any organization.
For a organization transitioning from monopoly to competition it represents
an essential task and challenge for the senior management responsible for the
transformation. In the first part of this
study unit, we will focus on the concept of trust itself – its meaning and a review
of the form it takes as a organization occupies different points on the monopoly to competition
continuum. Let us begin with the development
of a working definition. Trust has both a
common meaning in everyday language and life and it has a somewhat different meaning when
applied to the world of work and organizational life.
[Note
to IMU: At
this time, students should read Stephen Covey’s Article, “High-Trust
Cultures”. This article highlights the
fundamental importance of trust in successful effective organizations.]
A.
What do
we Mean by Trust?
We
might begin with the definition of trust as found in the dictionary. Webster, the most used dictionary in the English
language, tells us that trust involves a reliance on the character, ability, strength, or
truth of someone or something. It is something
in which confidence is placed and on which you can depend. Psychologists conclude that
there are several characteristics or traits that are essential to trust: honesty, reliability, loyalty, competence and
sincerity.
Extrapolating
from the dictionary definition we can conclude that trust is a fundamental element of
every healthy work organization. It exists
when employees feel confidence towards their organization.
Perhaps more importantly, trust exists when employees feel reliance and
confidence in senior management, as representatives of the organization. Employees depend on the organization for their economic
security and the wellbeing of themselves and their families.
organizations, in turn, expect performance and loyalty for the paychecks they
provide to the employees. The foundation for
development of trust (or its opposite, distrust) is embedded in the everyday work
experiences of employees and in the interactions they have with their managers. Reciprocity is the basis for building of trust.
[Notes
to IMU: (1) At this point it might be a good idea to have
learners do a bit of self-reflection in the chat room by sharing perspectives on trust in
their work setting. The ability to trust
others is closely related to the ability to trust oneself.
Only after developing a personal sense of trust, can a manager proceed to
build trusting relationships with others and with the organization or project/programme purpose unit. How do they view trust in themselves and in others?
(2) Also at this time, it would also be very
useful for learners to turn to Assignment Number 1 and complete the exercise, “What
is the Level of Trust I Inspire in My Subordinates?]
B.
Is Trust between Management and
Front Line Employees Different in a Monopoly than in a effective Environment?
Yes, building and
maintaining trust between management and front line employees is a substantially different
matter in a monopoly than in a effective environment.
Maintaining trust takes on especially crucial importance during the
transition from monopoly to competition – because without it the transition will not
achieve its objectives. We can proceed to
explore these issues.
In
a monopoly situation, front line employees typically have a great deal of employment
security. In many organizations this security
fairly can be described as lifetime employment. What
this means is that employees will typically spend their entire career with the same
organization. Often employees start working at one
organization right out of high school, vocational training or university. In other words, their first real job turns into a
lifetime career relationship. Promotion
through the ranks may be slow, but it is predictable.
And most employees probably retire from the same organization where they started
their careers. Their career prospects may not
be very ambitious, but a reasonable livelihood is assured by the lifetime employment
relationship with the organization. In a monopoly
type organization, there is an implicit contract between the organization and all its employees. The organization provides a lifetime of security. In exchange, front line employees give their
trust and loyalty to the organization.
[Note
to IMU: In the Required
When a organization transitions from a
monopoly culture to a market economy organization, the foundation of the former trust
between management and front line employees will be challenged.
High uncertainty and ambiguity mark
the transition period. There generally are
many rumors about downsizing and layoffs. The
words (and more importantly the behaviors) of managers at all levels will be scrutinized
with special diligence for signals of what is likely to happen in the future. Unease and fear can quickly replace the previous
sense of security and predictability unless concrete measures are taken. Many front line employees will feel unsure about
how long they will have a job. They often do
not know what to expect or what they can do to demonstrate their loyalty and
contributions. For the first time in their
careers, they may feel a sense of uncertainty about their jobs and their ability to
guarantee a livelihood for themselves and their families.
In this kind of environment, employees (as well as many managers) easily
lose their trust in the organization and senior management.
This in turn will lead to a reduction in motivation and low work
performance.
[Notes to
IMU: (1) At this time, learners should read the article,
“Preserving Employee Morale during Downsizing,” in Sloan Management Review.
(2) This is a good place for an
assignment in which the learners share personal knowledge and experience about trust in a
situation of rapid change. They should be
asked to write a short autobiographical statement of this experience or knowledge. (3) Learners could now complete the trust self-test
in Assignment Number 2, “How Much Do I Trust my Subordinates?”]
As we have already learned, the
transition from monopoly to competition can be a profoundly disruptive change for many
front line employees. Many research studies
have demonstrated a very close relationship between a breakdown of trust in the
management-employee relationship, as well as employees’ resistance to change. The resistance to change that front line
employees’ experience can take many forms: active
or passive, direct or indirect, open or hidden. There
is almost no limit to the kind of devices employees can invent to thwart the changes that
management wants to make when trust between them does not exist.
E.
Question: Why do Employees Resist Change?
We will now look more closely at
the specific conditions under which workers are most likely to resist change.
1. When established habits have to
change: People universally tend to be creatures of
habit. Changing habits is challenging and
uncomfortable. We fear the unknown (most
people do not have an explorer mentality) and instinctively resist new and untested ways
of doing things. It is unsettling to feel
uncertain about what tomorrow brings especially when one’s job is at stake. When uncertainty and ambiguity about ones
livelihood replace the previous predictability and familiarity, it is quite human and
expected to resist the unknown, hence to resist change.
2. When economic and security needs
are threatened: People have many needs, ranging from lower basic
needs such as food, shelter, and security, to the higher needs such as social life and
self-esteem. Money buys food and pays the
mortgage or the rent. In this way, pay for
work makes people feel safe and secure. But
employment also enables satisfaction of many higher needs, as well. Jobs provide social interaction, especially strong
and important in a organization where one might spend ones’ entire career. Jobs also are a source of self-esteem, enabling
people to feel good about themselves and their abilities.
Work enables people to perform and accomplish many things. Thus, jobs are a source of self-worth and
self-esteem. This is why, the prospect of
losing a job can be highly threatening and destabilizing.
3. When employees lose confidence in
their organizations and in themselves: When faced with an array of issues that major
change produces, individuals can easily lose their confidence in management and in the
organization, especially where the organization had previously been viewed as a second family. Faced with uncertainties and ambiguities,
individuals can also lose confidence in themselves, as they lose their sense of control
over their lives. Loss of confidence,
self-esteem, and sense of control can be incapacitating with highly negative consequences
for the affected employees and for the organization. In
these circumstances motivation and productivity also suffers. Employees become anxious about the prospect of a
new position, even within the same organization. The
anxiety is even higher when the job may be at a different organization.
We have now gained a better understanding of
what actually happens to people caught in the midst of major change, and why their first
reaction is to resist change. The next
question we want to discuss is: What can
managers do to overcome resistance to change?
Obviously,
in cases where the proposed changes do not have integrity nor are in the best interests of
the organization and its employees at heart, there is probably little that management can do to
overcome resistance to change. However, when
the vision for the future of the organization has been communicated with force and clarity, one
of the most important things each manager can do is to build trust and empower employees. Each manager should become a change agent.
[Note
to IMU: By this time, learners should have read the John
Kotter article originally referenced in Module 2, “How to Get Aboard a Major Change
Effort: An Interview with John Kotter,”
which deals with managers as change agents. In
addition, course tutors should be available for discussion of the issues articulated in
the article.]
A.
Managers
as Change Agents
What
does it mean for managers to become change agents? In
part it means that managers need to fully understand the new project/programme purpose environment, as well
as the nature of the effective organization. They
need to have a comprehension of the future of their organization and of the new roles they are
going to have. Only after they have undergone
a personal transition and feel ready to tackle the challenges ahead, will they be in a
position to help their subordinates to adapt and navigate the change they have to undergo
to survive and succeed in the new environment. Adaptation
and change are what will enable both the management and front line employees to survive
the transition and succeed, as the organization becomes a effective organization.
This endeavor is complex and
challenging. Front line employees need to be
closely informed about what is happening in the organization and why it is happening. The challenge will be to get them to adapt to the
new environment (organization). This kind of
adaptation has to be accompanied by the acquisition of new skills and knowledge, as well
as by empowerment, enabling them to regain their confidence and self-esteem. This way, employees will build trust in themselves,
as well as in their superiors, coworkers, and in the organization as a whole.
Empowerment
represents an important aspect of trust building, and we will turn to it now.
B.
Empowerment
Managing
by empowerment represents a powerful management advantage in effective organizations. It means sharing responsibility in decision-making
with lower echelon employees.
Training
and education, by enabling employees to gain knowledge and skills, also empowers
employees. Making employees knowledgeable and
aware develops confidence in themselves, as well as trust in the organization. Incentives also provide an empowerment tool as they
directly link employee effort to organization performance.
An open forum of shared information needs to be created for empowerment and
trust to prevail. Personal goals need to be
well defined, preferably through participative decision-making. Feedback should be ample and proactive, and when
possible, positive. The manager in an
empowered environment plays the role of a coach, who helps employees improve their skills
and performance and who creates a positive environment.
As a coach, the manager is the team leader, representing and protecting the
team in the organization and community.
[Note
to IMU: Learners should be instructed to read the Suzy
Wetlaufer article, “Organizing for Empowerment: An
Interview with AES’s Roger Sant and Dennis Bakke,” referenced in the
Bibliography.]
C.
Tools of the Change Agent: Communication, Education and Information Sharing
Management has to develop a process
of education and communication as a first step in the change process. Employees need to know what is going on. Remember sincerity and openness are compulsory
elements for gaining trust. Employees should
be updated and informed all the time of what is going on.
They should be told about the logic of change, why it is taking place
(causes) and what are the consequences (outcomes).
[Note
to IMU: The draft message below is only suggestive. It will need to be tailored to the specific current
conditions and circumstances of Your Organization.]
The message managers should try to
communicate: “The project/programme purpose environment
has changed. The utility market in
Once the decision is made on the
essential elements of the message, manages need to communicate it effectively to front
line employees.
A.
Communication
Managers must communicate, communicate, and
communicate, using all channels of communication available.
Personal contact tends to be the most effective. In addition to the main message, employees need to
be kept abreast of new developments and current news.
It is advisable to hold regular project/programme purpose unit meetings. In this way, employees and managers can develop a
sense of routine and normalcy despite ongoing change.
At meetings, in addition to managers’ updates, a session of questions
and answers is recommended. In addition to
meetings, employees should receive memos and reports, detailing the latest events. Face-to-face discussions represent a highly
effective means of communication and education. Group
discussions have the little recognized advantage that they become open forums, where
employees participate in a give-and-take environment.
In this way, proactive management evolves.
[Note to IMU: The
communication issues will be developed in detail in the Communications Course.]
B.
Participation in Decision-Making
Participation in decision-making has a wide
range of meanings and varies greatly in how it is implemented and appreciated in different
work cultures. Many managers pay lip service
to participation by front line employees in the decision-making process, but do not make
it a practical reality. Employee participation
in decision-making can be a highly effective way to get the benefit of their knowledge and
at the same time to overcome the concerns and fears generating resistance to planned
change.
Participation brings employees into
the process of change itself. Participation
represents a management commitment to share management responsibilities and duties with
lower echelon employees through the decision-making process.
Front line employee participation
in a organization undergoing major change can release tensions and builds morale. This kind of involvement will make employees feel
important to the organization, becoming a part of the change process itself. Management will benefit because employees will
offer their ideas, thoughts, knowledge, which can be invaluable change elements.
Employees need access to
information. At the same time, employees
should be encouraged to offer suggestions and recommendations, which should weigh
significantly in the decision-making process.
Participation in decision-making
(if seriously committed to by management), represents a highly sophisticated tool of
empowerment and of trust building. As a
consequence, it minimizes employees’ resistance to change. In order for decision-making to become truly
participatory employees and managers alike need to learn new skills and acquire new
knowledge which enables them to become valued contributors to the effective organization.
[Note to IMU: Good place for chat room discussion of how much
participation in decision-making by front line employees actually exists in the managers
own work units.]
V.
TRAINING
Training programs are a major and
costly activity for organizations to operate at the cutting edges of technology and market
penetration in an increasingly integrated global economy.
The extent to which individual organizations assume responsibility for the
skills development of all employees depends in part on the training policies and programs
of the country in which the organization is located. Whether
provided directly by the organization or through some kind of partnership between the organization
and the government, training and education can be a major positive factor in building and
maintaining trust with front line employees.
For organizations, training and
education provide the means to help their employees gain the skills required by the
effective organization and to develop a market-economy trained (sensitive) workforce. Gaining new skills and knowledge enables employees
to restore their trust in the organization and themselves.
They regain their confidence, as they feel useful and capable of
contributing to the effective organization. They
also feel empowered.
Below are listed several different
kinds of training and educational activities that have an important role in building trust
between management and front line employees.
A.
Facilitation
This kind of training responds to the heightened
stress levels and anxiety acorganizationing major change efforts.
As has already been indicated, employees benefit from being educated about
the changes taking place. In addition, support
groups may be considered, including counseling and therapy.
It may be advisable to have seminars led by psychologists in tandem with
change specialists to facilitate and ease the psychological adjustments that will be
required. Career counseling is also relevant
in these circumstances.
B.
Technical Training
Technical training can encompass both management
and front line employees. A big component of
technical training is acquiring a full awareness of the technical demands placed on
employees as the organization transitions to a effective organization. Undoubtedly, increased knowledge of computers and
associated technologies will be a large component of a technical curriculum.
C.
project/programme purpose Education
As a organization transitions from a monopoly culture
to a effective organization, many rules of the project/programme purpose game change as well. It is very important for front line employees to
learn about the new ways of doing project/programme purpose. Among
other things, they need to be knowledgeable about the new project/programme purpose practices in their
organization in order to be able to be productive, efficient and to participate in the
decision-making process. Managers have an even
tougher challenge, as they need to undergo a profound transformation to become competent
to manage in a effective environment. They
will need to learn modern project/programme purpose disciplines in a new way:
subjects such as strategy, marketing, finance, organizational behavior and
human resources will gain a new relevance. Both
managers and front line employees need to be competent at decision-making and problem
solving in the new effective environment.
D.
Training Methods
Training methods fit into two general
categories: on-the-job and off-the-job. Each approach needs to be tailored to the specifics
of the training requirements. Job rotation and
understudy or apprenticeship are especially common on-the-job approaches. Common off-the-job approaches are lectures, videos,
simulation, and, increasingly, Internet-based training.
Lectures imply delivery in a classroom setting, where an instructor delivers
information, similar to a university. Training
videos can be useful in complementing the lecture or stand on their own. Simulations are very useful, as they require the
dynamic participation of trainees in the exercise. Complex
simulations teach employees intricate technologies. Internet-based
training is the most recent development in organizational training.
Training and education allow
employees to gain skills and knowledge, making them more valuable to the organization. In addition to new skills and knowledge, employees
can rebuild their trust, sense of control and self-esteem in order to become effective
performers. Empowerment, positive
reinforcement and motivation, as well as participative decision-making lead to confidence
and self-esteem. This way, employees are not
only knowledgeable and able to perform new jobs, but they also are confident and trust
themselves and the organization.
VI.
USE OF REWARDS AND INCENTIVES
In a monopoly organization, employees
at the same level generally receive about the same pay, irrespective of their performance. Pay increases and bonus payments are often based
(in practice even if not in theory) on seniority, and less often, on individual or organization
performance. In a effective
organization, this approach will not work over the long run.
Employees should be compensated, at least in part, based upon their
individual performance and contribution to the overall organization performance.
There are several approaches that
can be considered to tie organization performance with individual performance. Employee stock ownership plan and profit-sharing
plan are available to implement the linking of organization performance with individual work
payment and financial rewards. These methods
tend to be empowering and trust-building. It
will help employees feel and experience a direct link between their own performance and
that of the organization. Big dividends result
if front line employees become convinced that the better the financial performance of the
organization, the greater their personal financial rewards as well.
[Note to IMU: At this time, learners
should be advised to read Douglas Smith’s article on trust, “Are Your Employees
Bowling Alone? How to Build a Trusting
Organization.”
VII.
As
we have learned in this Module, building and maintaining trust with front line employees
is a complicated and, if done well, a supremely rewarding challenge. In order for managers to build trust, they have to
be perceived as trustworthy by front line employees. What
follows are specific suggestions for mangers as they go about the task of developing a
personal strategy for building trust with front line employees.
·
Be a coach:
work with employees to help them improve and become more efficient,
create a positive atmosphere, enable and facilitate change.
·
Make sure that your interests coincide with
those of the organization and employees.
·
Be a team player. Reward team members and defend their interests.
·
Keep channels of communication open: inform, update on issues and problems.
·
Be objective in evaluation, financial rewards
and praise.
·
In addition to conveying hard facts to your
subordinates, convey your feelings.
·
Be consistent.
Once you make a decision, follow through.
Make sure your decisions are based upon facts, values, beliefs and fairness.
·
Work to maintain the respect of your
subordinates by your competence, expertise, project/programme purpose knowledge and acumen, as well as
management skills.
·
Be fair and keep confidences.
·
Be a team leader as demonstrated through
representation to the outside world. In this
role, act as a troubleshooter, conflict manager and coach.
·
Share power and responsibility, demonstrate
trust, set clear goals and give positive feedback.
[Note to IMU: At this time, learners should proceed with
Assignment 3.]
VIII. ASSIGNMENTS
There are two parts to this test.
Part 1
Read each question and circle the corresponding
number. This is a “ 1 to 7 ” scale,
where “ 1 ” means “I strongly agree” and “ 7 ” means “I
strongly disagree.” There are no right or
wrong answers. Do not spend too much time
thinking before you answer these questions.
1. My
subordinates confide in me regarding professional issues.
1 2
3
4 5 6 7
2. My
subordinates confide in me regarding personal matters.
1 2
3
4 5 6 7
3. My
subordinates often seek my professional advice.
1 2
3
4 5 6 7
4. My
subordinates lend me books.
1 2
3
4 5 6 7
5. My
subordinates believe in what I tell them or promise them.
1 2
3
4 5 6 7
6. My
subordinates believe that I will stand up for them.
1 2
3
4 5 6 7
7. My
subordinates are content with the performance evaluations I give them.
1 2
3
4 5 6 7
When you are done, add up all the numbers you
circled. Divide them by seven. The lower the score, the higher your perception
that subordinates trust you is. For instance,
a “ 1 ” means that you perceive your subordinates to trust you totally. A “ 7 ” means that your subordinates do
not trust you at all.
Part 2
Go back to the questions in the self-test in
Part 1. Please write a short statement from
your actual experience that illustrates each item in which you scored “ 5 ” or
higher. Submit these statements to the Course
Tutor who will organize a group discussion based on the statements.
B. Assignment Number 2
There
are two parts to this test.
Part 1
Read each question and circle the corresponding
number. This is a “1 to 7 ” scale,
where “ 1 ” means “I strongly disagree” and “ 7 ” means
“I strongly agree.” There are no
right or wrong answers. Do not spend too much
time thinking before you answer these questions.
1. I
openly share information with my subordinates.
1 2
3
4 5 6 7
2. I
freely delegate to my subordinates important tasks and responsibilities.
1 2
3
4 5 6 7
3. I
make important unit decisions in collaboration with my employees.
1 2
3
4 5 6 7
4. I
often seek my employees input and advice.
1 2
3
4 5 6 7
5. I feel that it is my responsibility to protect my
subordinates in their dealings with the organization.
1 2
3
4 5 6 7
6. I
use objective measures in evaluating the performance of my subordinates.
1 2
3
4 5 6 7
7. I
keep secrets that subordinates confide in me, provided the information does not threaten
others.
1 2
3
4 5 6 7
8. I
make a point of following through on promises that I make.
1 2
3
4 5 6 7
When you are done, add up all the numbers you
circled. Divide them by eight. The higher the score, the higher your level of
trust in your subordinates and the level of trustworthiness you exhibit towards them. For instance, an “ 8 ” means that you
totally trust your subordinates and that you display highly trustworthy behavior towards
them. A “ 1 ” means that you do not
trust your subordinates at all and do not display trustworthy behavior towards them.
Go back to the questions in the self-test in
Part 1. Please write a short statement from
your actual experience that illustrates each item in which you scored “ 5 ” or
higher. Submit these statements to the Course
Tutor who will organize a group discussion based on the statements.
C. Assignment Number 3
Summary Case
[This is best used as a team or
group assignment.]
You
are in charge of implementing major change strategies in your project/programme purpose unit and must act
as a change agent. You should assume that the
level of trust with front line employees in your unit has eroded. In order to succeed, you need to start a trust
building program in your unit.
With
help from the other members of your group, answer the following questions:
1. Briefly describe the actions you
plan to take in order to rebuild trust in your project/programme purpose unit.
2. What do you expect these actions
to accomplish?
3. What, if any, changes do you plan
to make in your own management style as a result of this program?
IX.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
A. Required
Covey, Stephen R. “High-Trust Cultures,” Executive
Excellence, September 1999, 16(9): 3-4.
Covey asserts that organizations need high-trust
cultures in order to survive and succeed in today’s global project/programme purpose environment. For him, organizations are organic, living
ecosystems. Trust starts with a highly
principled leadership and with enabling employees to derive meaning from their work and
reach their potentials. Covey recommends using
the
360-degree performance appraisal as one of the tools
to develop results-oriented performance.
Hirakubo, Nakato. “The
End of Lifetime Employment in
This article explores the changing employment
situation in
Mishra, Laren E; Spreitzer, Gretchen M;
Mishra, Anneil K. “Preserving Employee Morale during Downsizing,” Sloan
Management Review, Winter 1998, 39(2): 83-95.
This article explores downsizing and its effects on
organizations, management and employees. It
concludes that maintaining and building trust, as well as empowerment, are essential
factors in today’s rapidly changing project/programme purpose environment. Downsizing is an organizational phenomenon in
Wetlaufer, Suzy. “Organizing for Empowerment: An Interview
with AES’ Roger Sant and Dennis Bakke,” Harvard project/programme purpose Review,
January-February 1999, pp: 110-123
This article is the outcome of an interview with
Chairman Roger Sant and CEO Dennis Bakke of AES organization, a global electricity organization
located in
Smith, Douglas. “Are
Your Employees Bowling Alone? How to Build a Trusting Organization,” Harvard
Management Update, 1998. (Product
#U9809C).
This short, albeit pertinent article emphasizes the
importance of trust for successful organizations and outlines some trust-building
strategies.
B. Optional
Bartolome, Fernardo. “Nobody Trusts the Boss Completely
– Now What?” Harvard project/programme purpose Review, March-April 1989. (Product #89203).
This article, using many examples from the project/programme purpose
world, examines the trust issue at the interpersonal, manager-subordinate level. It analyzes the delicate balance that creating and
maintaining trust entails. The author defines
trust as a “long chain of positive experiences,” such as important assignments,
support and objectivity in evaluations. The
author also reiterates the importance of information and its use as a tool for building
trust in organizations.
Bennis, Warren. “Recreating the organization,” Executive
Excellence, September 1999, 16(9): 5-6.
The
well-known leadership guru, Warren Bennis, advises leaders on the main factors of success
in the current fast-changing global environment. Generating
trust represents a major role of leadership.
Cole, Michael; Cole, Larry. “Trust: An Integral Contributor of Managerial
Success,” Supervision, October 1999, 60(10): 3-4.
This article describes trust-generating behaviors. They include dependability, empowerment by
recognizing individual and group accomplishments, open and constant communication,
confidentiality at employers’ request and competence.
Shaw, Robert B., Trust in Balance – Building Successful
Organizations on Results, Integrity, and Concern,
This
book represents a comprehensive explanation of organizational trust, as well as an
in-depth approach to trust building in organizations.
The author, a lecturer and an experienced consultant, utilizes first-hand
examples, such as the
Spreitzer, Gretchen M; Mishra, Anneil K. “Giving up Control Without Losing Control: Trust and Its
Substitutes’ Effects on Managers Involving Employees in Decision-Making,” Group
& Organization Management, June 1999, 24(2): 155-162.
This article represents a scholarly view on trust
building; an issue of utmost importance as decision-making has increasingly become a task
of the lower echelon employees. The authors
hypothesize that trust based upon competence and openness, performance information, and
performance incentives enables effective decision-making at all levels, thereby, enhancing
motivation and performance.
Zemke, Ron. “Can You Manage Trust?,” Training,
February 2000, 37(2): 76-83.
This article emphasizes the importance, as well as
the intrinsic challenges of the trust building process.
The author also offers practical guidelines to generating trust in
organizations.
X.
GLOSSARY:
Change Agent: Persons
who take responsibility for implementing actions leading to change and become enablers or
facilitators of change.
Compensation:
Empowerment: When
power and responsibilities are shared with subordinates.
The leaders provide vision but trust subordinates with decision-making
activities. When leaders act as coaches they
motivate and encourage the empowered employees to achieve their best.
Hierarchy of Needs:
The famous psychologist Abraham Maslow determined that individuals are
motivated by needs’ fulfillment. According
to him, there are two categories of needs, lower order and higher order needs. The lower order needs are physiological (hunger,
thirst, shelter) and safety (security and protection).
The higher needs are social (affection, friendship, belongingness), esteem
(self-respect, achievement, status) and self-actualization (ultimate growth, developing
one’s full potential). Work enables
individuals to satisfy most needs. The
paycheck fulfills lower order needs. The
career and work environment enables fulfillment of social needs (social interaction) and
other higher order needs.
Loyalty:
Adding another
variation to a product line, also can include brand extension, when an established brand
name is used in a new product category.
Research has shown that it can be up to
six times more expensive to acquire a new beneficiary than it is to retain an existing one
and so beneficiary loyalty is extremely important.
Benefits
of beneficiary loyalty: 1) New beneficiary more
expensive than existing one, 2) Long-term links - stability to organization, 3) Increased
contact and knowledge of beneficiary needs - long-term planning of output, 4) Clear
understanding of beneficiary needs fewer returns and complaints, 5) Positive 'word of
month' recommendations . improving organization. s effective position, 6) Well-serviced and
satisfied beneficiaries is less sensitive to price.
Improving
beneficiary loyalty: 1) Identify and segment
beneficiaries (80/20), 2) Select and target those beneficiaries deemed suitable for the
relationship marketing approach (not very price sensitive), 3) Staff should be trained in
the relationship approach and offered relevant incentives., 4) beneficiary care targets
should be allocated and monitored, 5) Pricing policy should be revised to reward loyal
beneficiaries, 6) Specific beneficiary needs should be identified by sales staff, 7) Innovate to
meet beneficiary needs
Resistance to Change:
The main causes of resistance to change in work organizations are: habit, security, loss of self-confidence and loss
of confidence in the organization and in managerial superiors.
Skill:
Training programs:
1) Identify areas
where training will be beneficial, 2) Set training objectives, 3) Decide on the training
method, 4) Compare the cost and benefits of the proposed course, 5) Introduce a pilot or
test scheme, 6) Implement the schedule in full, 7) Monitor the results to check that: (i)
training works and (ii) benefits exceed costs
Trust: The
belief that the organization, management and other employees are honest, competent, consistent,
loyal and open. Trust exists when employees
have confidence in their organization and management, knowing they can rely on them, for issues
ranging from career to paycheck.
XI.
INTERVIEW
(Q&A)
A. Question 1:
Why is trust so important in the workplace?
Answer 1: Trust
in the workplace is the single most enduring component of the most successful organizational
giants that drive the global economy. When you
think about the organizational giants of our time – Microsoft, General Electric, Procter
& Gamble – all of these organizational giants trust their people, up and down the
line, to “do the right thing.” In
each of these leading organizations, and probably in any successful organization that has to
compete, they trust their employees, at all levels, to do whatever is necessary to delight
beneficiaries, exceed expectations and deliver results.
B. Question 2:
What are the key things that a organization needs to do to obtain the trust of
its employees?
Answer
2: Well there are many things, but here
are some central points. First, employees need
to be informed; otherwise they cannot exhibit the level of trust that the best
performing organizations routinely get. Second,
trust only works where there is support up and down the hierarchy. One of the keys to exhibiting support is being
willing to tolerate failure. Third, trust is not
blind. Blind loyalty is not trust. Trust does not mean that you cannot be critical. But it should mean that you are a loving critic.
C. Question 3:
Everybody seems to be in favor of increased participation by employees in
decision making, but in reality it never seems to take place. Why is there this large gap between promise and
reality?
Answer 3: Obviously,
many factors enter into this question but here are a few of the more important
consideration that shape the effectiveness of participation in decision making. First, effectiveness will depend on the desire of
the employees to have greater participation. We
should not automatically assume that every employee wants it. Some just like to do their work and be left alone. Second, the type and extent of decision in which
employees are allowed to participate will be a key factor.
In general, it is more fun to participate in decisions that have a large
impact and where your input truly matters. Third,
the amount of information the organization is willing to share with employees will have a large
impact on how effective participation is going to be.
Employees cannot participate effectively if they are not told what is going
on. Fourth, participation will not amount to much unless supervisors and mangers take it
seriously. Fifth, the matters around which the
participatory process takes place must be real. You
cannot manufacture issues and situations for participation.
It has to be real and perceived as real by those who are expected to
participate.