MGT 3620 Chapter 7 Flashcards

Key Terms and Concepts

1. Trust – The willingness to be vulnerable to an authority based on positive expectations about their actions and intentions​.

2. Justice – The perceived fairness of an authority’s decision-making​.

3. Ethics – The degree to which an authority’s behaviors align with accepted moral norms​.

4. Trust Propensity – A personality trait that reflects a general willingness to trust others​.

5. Trustworthiness – Judged along three dimensions:

   • Ability – Skills, competencies, and expertise​.

   • Benevolence – A genuine desire to do good for others​.

   • Integrity – Adherence to values and principles acceptable to the trustor​.

6. Types of Trust:

   • Disposition-Based Trust – Rooted in personality rather than experience​.

   • Cognition-Based Trust – Based on rational assessment of a person’s track record​.

   • Affect-Based Trust – Based on emotional attachment​.

7. Four Dimensions of Justice:

   • Distributive Justice – Perceived fairness of outcomes (e.g., pay, promotions)​.

   • Procedural Justice – Perceived fairness of decision-making processes​.

   • Interpersonal Justice – Perceived fairness in treatment by authorities​.

   • Informational Justice – Perceived fairness of communications and explanations​.

8. Four-Component Model of Ethical Decision Making:

   • Moral Awareness – Recognizing an ethical issue​.

   • Moral Judgment – Deciding the right course of action​.

   • Moral Intent – Committing to an ethical course of action​.

   • Ethical Behavior – Acting on moral intent​.

9. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) – A business perspective that integrates economic, legal, ethical, and citizenship responsibilities​.

Answers to Learning Goals

7.1 What is trust, and how does it relate to justice and ethics?

Trust is the willingness to be vulnerable to another party based on positive expectations about their actions and intentions. It is closely related to justice, as fair decision-making can increase trust in an authority. Ethics also plays a role since ethical behavior by an authority fosters trust, while unethical behavior diminishes it​.

7.2 In what three sources can trust be rooted?

Trust can be rooted in:

1. Disposition-Based Trust – Based on personality traits and general propensity to trust others​.

2. Cognition-Based Trust – Based on a rational evaluation of a person’s trustworthiness (ability, benevolence, and integrity)​.

3. Affect-Based Trust – Based on emotional bonds and relationships​.

7.3 What dimensions can be used to describe the trustworthiness of an authority?

Trustworthiness is assessed through three dimensions:

1. Ability – The skills and expertise of an authority​.

2. Benevolence – The extent to which the authority cares about others' well-being​.

3. Integrity – The authority’s adherence to values and principles​.

7.4 What dimensions can be used to describe the fairness of an authority’s decision-making?

There are four key dimensions of justice:

1. Distributive Justice – Fairness in outcomes (e.g., pay, promotions)​.

2. Procedural Justice – Fairness in the process used to make decisions​.

3. Interpersonal Justice – Respectful and dignified treatment of employees​.

4. Informational Justice – Honest and thorough communication of decisions​.

7.5 What is the four-component model of ethical decision making?

The model includes:

1. Moral Awareness – Recognizing that an ethical issue exists​.

2. Moral Judgment – Identifying the ethically correct course of action​.

3. Moral Intent – Demonstrating commitment to act ethically​.

4. Ethical Behavior – Executing the ethical decision​.

7.6 How does trust affect job performance and organizational commitment?

• Job Performance – Trust has a moderate positive impact on performance by allowing employees to focus on their work rather than being concerned about unfair treatment​.

• Organizational Commitment – Trust has a strong positive correlation with commitment, as employees who trust their leaders are more likely to stay with the organization and go beyond their job roles​.

7.7 What steps can organizations take to become more trustworthy?

1. Demonstrate Justice – Implement fair decision-making processes (distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational justice)​.

2. Act Ethically – Uphold ethical standards in leadership and corporate policies​.

3. Engage in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) – Fulfill economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities to society​.

4. Promote Transparency – Clearly communicate decisions and rationales to employees​.

5. Develop Leadership Integrity – Train managers to display ability, benevolence, and integrity​