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Winning Employees to drive Strategy - Role of Organizational Justice

 

 

"Organizational Justice" refer to the extent to which employees see workplace procedure, interactions and outcome to be fair within the workplace. This is said to influence attitudes and behavior of employees which in turn impact outcomes such as, such innovation, increased learning behavior, organizational trust, ethical behavior, organizational commitment and work performance. These will in turn have a negative effect on the execution of strategy within the organization by its employees.

Types of Organizational justice

There are 4 types of perceived fairness within organizational settings:

Distributive justice – this is the perception of the fairness of decision outcomes, such as promotion opportunities, pay, positive performance appraisals

Procedural justice – this is the perception of fairness within the processes that lead to outcomes, for example performance calibration or procedures for allocating promotional opportunities

Interpersonal justice – this is the perception (positive or negative) of interpersonal interactions and treatments during the decision-making process

Information justice – relates to perception of adequacy, reasonableness and honesty of the explanations given to justify a decision



How can line managers affect employee perceptions of fairness in evolving working models



Organizational Justice in Practice

  • Selection of candidates for jobs

Relevant questions and criteria: For procedural justice to follow, the candidates presume that the business will put questions and screening tests as per the requirements of the job.

Satisfactory opportunity to perform: This ensures that the candidates are allowed sufficient scope to make a case for themselves with ample time in interviews (Truxillo et al., 2001).

  • Performance Evaluation

Give Adequate notice: This helps to inform people about the timeline and criteria of work assessment. In addition to this, the participation of employees in establishing performance standards can raise trust between the employees and employer.

Keeping it non-Personal: It means to restrict the performance estimation analysis to work place evidence, instead of personal thoughts. Employees should also be provided with an opportunity to explain their side of the events.

Judgment based on evidence: Clear standards should be set for evaluating employees, and sufficient information should be assembled before basing decisions regarding their performance.

  • Employee Rewards

Rewards systems by default should satisfy two criteria: motivate personal fulfilment and sustain group unity. However, this is not always easy to do.

Nevertheless, it sometimes becomes difficult to follow both at the same time. On the one hand, rewards for individual performance may disrupt group harmony, and on the other, capping the salaries of high-performing employees to maintain internal inequality that leads to employee dissatisfaction. This imbalance can be corrected by utilizing a combination of organizational justice procedures.

To maximize the benefits of implementing a reward scheme in a business organization, managers should align the reward scheme and the actual needs of workers. This alignment is necessary to increase the probability of motivation.

Managers must evaluate workers’ needs and expectations before developing any reward scheme. This action ensures that the reward scheme accounts for the actual conditions and distinctions of the workplace. The resulting alignment helps identify obstacles and increase the likelihood of the reward scheme’s ability to overcome such obstacles in motivating employees.

Reward schemes should be viewed as recognition for achievements. Recognition of achievements can address esteem needs and motivate employees, according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Also, according to Herzberg’s Two-Factor theory, recognition is a hygiene factor that helps facilitate motivation.

  • Conflict management

Settling employee disputes becomes complicated when one or both parties are uncooperative. Even after spending a reasonable amount of time, managers are not always successful in arriving at a conclusion. If an arrangement is imposed on the parties in the form of a settlement, that behavior is termed as autocratic. Nevertheless, disagreements can be worked out by following procedural justice.

Implications of Organizational Injustice

Employee perception and attitudes affect smooth operation and useful management of business.

  • Unfair or unjust practices will give rise to malpractices on the employee’s part. 
  • Promote job dissatisfaction, inefficient work environment, distrust, and disapproval of the organization. 
  • The absence of justice gives rise to retribution, lower performance, and hurt morale. 

References

Organisational Justice - Institute for Employment Studies (no date). Available at: https://www.employment-studies.co.uk/system/files/resources/files/mp73.pdf (Accessed: April 21, 2023). 

The impact of organizational justice on employee innovative work behavior: Mediating role of knowledge sharing. Available at: https://www.elsevier.es/en-revista-journal-innovation-knowledge-376-pdf-S2444569X19300538 (Accessed: April 21, 2023).

CLAIRE A. SIMMERS & ADELA J. McMURRAY (1970) Organisational Justice and managing workplace innovation: Ho, International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim). World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd. Available at: https://ideas.repec.org/a/wsi/ijimxx/v23y2019i03ns1363919619500269.html (Accessed: April 21, 2023).

Apa PsycNet (no date) American Psychological Association. American Psychological Association. Available at: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2009-21289-005 (Accessed: April 21, 2023).

Effect of justice on employee performance in the banking sector of Pakistan (no date). Available at: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/188277/1/pjcss334.pdf (Accessed: April 21, 2023).

Pan, X. et al. (2017) The effects of organizational justice on positive organizational behavior: Evidence from a large-sample survey and a situational experiment, Frontiers. Frontiers. Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02315/full (Accessed: April 21, 2023).

The effects of organizational justice on positive organizational ... (no date). Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327117546_The_Effects_of_Organizational_Justice_on_Positive_Organizational_Behavior_Evidence_from_a_Large-Sample_Survey_and_a_Situational_Experiment/fulltext/5a5617d4aca272bb6963bc81/The-Effects-of-Organizational-Justice-on-Positive-Organizational-Behavior-Evidence-from-a-Large-Sample-Survey-and-a-Situational-Experiment.pdf (Accessed: April 21, 2023).

- Rangana Prasad Naotunna

Comments

  1. The article enhances the overall organizational performance Ranga . An organizational strategy is a long-term plan that allocates how a company plans to use its resources to support business activities. It serves as guidance for how a company can achieve its objectives. Companies use these strategies to help them meet their goals and develop strategic plans. Firstly, an organizational strategy can organizations clearly define their business directions and set their priorities. Secondly, an organization's strategy motivates the entire workforce toward a common business goal. Further, an organizational strategy can simplify the business's complex decision-making process.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Nilushika,

      Reading your comment truly highlighted the importance of strategy. I hope you agree that organizational justice has a big role to play in achieving such strategy.

      Delete
  2. A design complete with valuable features. "Organizational justice" actually refers to the extent to which employees perceive workplace procedures, interactions, and outcomes as fair in the workplace. This is said to influence employees' attitudes and behaviors, thereby influencing outcomes such as innovation, increased learning behavior, organizational trust, ethical behavior, organizational commitment, and performance. This in turn will have a negative impact on the implementation of strategy within the organization by its employees. I quote this saying for comment. When an organization starts its development, the employees should act according to the affection, mercy and conscience that they show towards their organization. When laying the foundation for innovation, each variable nature of employees must be understood. I appreciate your design.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Sineth. The way things are done in the workplace and how people are treated must have transparency and leave no room for debate. Only then can the whole organizational team be motivated to move in one direction towards achieving the strategies.

      Delete
  3. Organizational justice is an employee's perception of fairness in the workplace. It's whether people believe their organization's processes, decisions, and norms are fair and equitable. Organizational justice promotes positive attitudes of job satisfaction, commitment and trust. This article provides a comprehensive overview on this topic.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The principle of organizational justice has several advantages for employees. When employees perceive that their interactions, procedures, and outcomes at work are fair, they tend to have more positive attitudes and behaviors. These behaviors include a greater inclination towards ethical conduct, increased learning, and better job performance. Additionally, when employees feel that their workplace treats them justly, they tend to develop greater trust in their employer and become more committed to their organization.

    For line managers, the implementation of organizational justice can lead to improved productivity and better execution of organizational goals. This is because when employees feel that they are being treated fairly, they are more likely to be motivated to work towards the achievement of organizational objectives.

    ReplyDelete

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