A concise research done on how important it is to build effective trustworthy environment in an organization.

1. Building Organizational Trust
A Research paper by,
Harleen Gujral
Rashmi Nagpal
Lavina chhabria
ABSTRACT
In thispaper, we studythe role of trust inenhancingasymmetricpartnershipformation. First, we
brieflyreviewthe role of trust.Thenwe analyse the state-of-the-artof the theoreticalandempirical
literature ontrustcreationandantecedentsforexperiencedtrustworthiness. The purpose of the
paperis to explore the interrelationsbetweenorganizationaltrustandethicsmanagementtoolsas
well asethical organizationalpracticesinapost-socialistcontext.
Introduction
Trust withinanorganizationisfurthercomplicatedbythe factthatpeople use the word“trust”to
referto three differentkinds.The firstis strategictrust—the trustemployeeshave inthe people
runningthe showto make the rightstrategicdecisions.Dotopmanagershave the visionand
competence tosetthe rightcourse,allocate resourcesintelligently, fulfil the mission,andhelpthe
companysucceed?The secondis personaltrust—the trustemployeeshave intheirownmanagers.
Do the managerstreat employeesfairly?Dotheyconsideremployees’needswhenmakingdecisions
aboutthe businessandputthe company’sneedsaheadof theirowndesires?The thirdis
organizationaltrust—thetrustpeoplehave notinanyindividualbutinthe company,itself.Are
processeswell designed,consistent,andfair?Doesthe companymake goodonits promises?
There are 10 C’son whichtrust isdependentupon:
Clarity,Compassion,Consistency,Contribution,Connection,Commitment,Competency,Character,
communication,care. Trustworksin2 Way Streetfirst,isbeingtrustworthywhichrequires intention
plusattentionand secondistrust wiselywhichrequires prudence anddiscernment.
Origins of Trust
Why dopeople trust?Whyshouldtheytrust?Where doestrustcome from? Some sayhumantrust
isinstinctual andevolvedfromthe willingnesstoshare foodinhunter-gatherersocieties. Others
argue that people trustoutof fearof punishmentfornotdoingwhatisexpectedof them;toachieve
self-interests;todemonstrate empathy,identificationandfriendship;orsimplybecausethey
genuinelywanttotrust.

2. As depicted inthe Figure,apopularmodel of trustbyMayer, Davis,andSchoormansuggeststhat
three majorfactors determineorganizational trust:characteristicsof the trustor,characteristicsof
the trustee,andthe perceived risk. The propensityof the trustorandthe elementsof
trustworthinessthatthe trustee possessesinfluence the currentlevelof trust.
• The characteristicsof the trustor are presentedasthe propensityof the trustorto trust.In other
words,some individualsare more trustingthanothers. The characteristicsof the trustee are
presentedastrustworthiness.AccordingtoMayerand others, there are three elementsof
trustworthiness:ability—thecompetence the trusteepossessesinthe specificdomain;
benevolence—the willingnessof the trustee todogoodfor the trustor; and integrity—whetherthe
trustee hasa core setof valuestoguide behaviour.
• The currentsituationorcontextwill have aspecificamountof perceivedriskthattestscurrent
trust.In general,the greaterthe trustand the lowerthe perceivedriskinthe currentcontext,the
more likelythatrisktakingwill occurinthe trust relationship.The outcomesof the risktakingcan
vary fromextremelypositive toextremelynegative.These outcomesthenfeedbacktothe trustee
and increase ordecrease hisorher level of trustworthiness.
Organizational trust model
Trust isa multi-dimensionalconceptthatincludesindividualsinanorganizationaswell asthe nature
of outcomesandthe consequencesof those outcomes.Trustinleadershipisnotaclearlydefined
attribute of the individualleaderorcollectiveleadership;it’saproductof the outcomesof
leadershipactions.A systemisacollectionof interdependentcomponentsactingtogethertowarda
commongoal andhas boundariesthatpartitionitfromthe environmentinwhichitoperates. Inthe
model,the trustculture operateswithinthe largerorganizational environment.Withinthistrust
culture isthe reciprocal relationshipbetweenleadershiptrustandemployee,orfollowertrust

3. Types of trust factor.
Organizational trusts is classified into different aspects namely,
1) Social trust
Social trustindicatesbeingsurroundedbytrustedpeopleinanorganization thatcanleadto
a betterand safe future. Italsoimplieswhatthe otherpersonthinksandactsthat counts
uponthe trust factor. Honestyandintegritytowardsone anotherplays akeyrole towards
social trust.
Social trustis a belief inthe honesty,integrityandreliabilityof others –a "faithinpeople."
It’sa simple enough concepttodescribe.Butit’sneverbeeneasytofigure outwhotrusts,or
why. Trust isone of the most importantsyntheticforceswithinthe society
In the ESS survey,the conceptof social trustis measuredonan eleven-pointratingscale
withthe standardsurveyquestion:"Generallyspeaking,wouldyousaythatmost people can
be trusted,or that youcan't be too careful indealingwithpeople?"Those whosaythat
mostpeople canbe trustedare givena score of 10, and those whosay youcan't be too
careful are scored0.
2) Inter- Organizational trust
It isthe collectivetrustorientationwhichone organisationholdstowardsanother.Itisthe trust
of stakeholdersinthe company. Interorganizational trustas“the extentof trustplacedinthe
partnerorganization bythe membersof a focal organization”.Inter organizational relationsare
not faceless,becausetheyare activelyhandledandmanagedbyindividualsoperatinginthe
institutional andcultural frameworkof theirorganizations.Trustcantherefore be consideredto
be ‘organizational’whencertainmandatedindividualsactonbehalf of theirorganizationina
certaininteraction.
Trust isa relational orientationthatisembeddedandenactedinorganizational structures,
proceduresandinstitutions.From this,he infersthattrustis a social fact inorganizationsrather
than a characteristicof individuals.
3) Intra-organizational trust.
It isthe networkof social cooperationandcompetentbehaviouramongthe peopleinthe
organisationtoachieve commonobjectives. Inthe eraof globalization,state andpublic
organizationmustbe effective.Forthiseffectivenessthere isaneedof creationof intra
organizational trust.Lowerlevel of intraorganizational trustresultsinlow publictrustinthe
organisation.Retainingof potential employeeswill notresultbyonlyjobsatisfaction.Lackof
willingnessof sharingknowledgeandskillsbyemployeesi.e.highstaff fluctuationactsas an
indicatorof lowlevel of intraorganizationaltrust.

4. Benefits of building trust factor.
Organizations with high levels of cultural trust tend to produce high quality products
and services at less cost because they can recruit and retain highly motivated
employees. These employees are more likely to enjoy their work, take the time to do
their jobs correctly; make their own decisions; take risks; innovate; embrace the
organization’s vision, mission, and values; and display organizational citizenship
behaviour (e.g., helping a co-worker in need). As a result, leaders are free to perform
other tasks.
Another benefit of organizational trust is demonstrated in the area of organizational
justice. Researchers distinguish three aspects of organizational justice:
• Distributive justice: the perceived fairness of outcomes within the organization.
• Procedural justice: the perceived fairness in the process of reaching decisions about
distributing outcomes.
• Interactional justice: the perceived fairness of interpersonal interactions and
treatment in the organization.
Many researchers suggest there is a relationship between trust and procedural justice.
The most detailed explanation for this relationship is proposed by Van den Bos, Wilke,
and Lind. They suggest that people make use of the fairness heuristic: in situations
where there is uncertainty whether to trust someone in authority, people look at the
procedural justice within the organization. If the authority figure is perceived as fair,
people are more likely to trust that authority figure.

5. Barriers totrust
Trust is a critical link to all good relationships, both personal and professional yet many
people are unaware of the actions that influence trust. The hidden trust barriers are:
Distance barriers, Physical barriers, Language barriers &Cultural barriers
 Distance barriers:
Distance barriers includes telephone, mail, fax which lacks “high touch” thus,
eliminating body language and facial expression therein resulting into
psychological distance between people. For example, if the staff in an
organization are made to sit in different buildings or different floors, they
may have to substitute face to face communication with phone calls or e-
mails.
 Physical barriers:
It includes verbal and non-verbal communication barrier. Example; In a
Meeting, verbal communication barrier also takes place such as interrogating,
criticizing and blaming each other, hence one must be polite in expressing
their views because blaming or criticizing will just hamper effective
communication & it sometimes spoils relations between employee and
employer
 Language barrier:
A particular Language used may not be the first language of employer or the
employee. There can be language barriers between people of different ethnic
backgrounds, ages and varied levels of industry experience. Any language
barrier leads to creation of misunderstandings thereby making ineffective
communication in an organization.
 Cultural barrier:
Cultural differences play a key role in creation of trust, since It is built in
combination of varied ways and things around the world. For instance, many
American companies employ people from wide variety of countries,
background & unfortunately, most Americans are unware about the cultural
aspects. This leads to arising complications in dealings with co-workers &
agency personnel.
Leadershipandorganizational trust
Trust is most beneficial if it pervades the organization and is found at all levels from top
leadership to supervisors and frontline employees. As trust is a reciprocal process,
leadership is key for creating a trust-based organization. When trust is given and it is clearly
visible that the person being trusted is acting in a trustworthy way, it ensures trust will
increase. Leadership’s role is to facilitate this process. Two important leadership roles are

6. team building and modelling trust. Team building in organizations contributes to trust
building because interdependence creates the dynamic for reciprocity. Reciprocity is set up
by the complex task environment and the limitations of time, skill, and control that the
individuals possess.
Leadership within an organization is either direct leadership (supervisors or managers) or
top leadership. Distinguishing between these specific levels of leadership can affect the
outcomes of empirical studies of leadership and trust. Dirks and Ferrin stated that the issue
of leadership reference (supervisory versus top leadership) is important because it may
provide guidance on whether an organization should focus resources on establishing trust in
supervisors or in its senior leadership. In addition, McCarthy found that supervisors play an
important role in facilitating senior organizational leadership: supervisors act as a medium
between top leadership and frontline employees.

7. Strategies for building trust inthe workplace
 Trust withgenerosity:
Be the firstone to buildaconsistentrelationshipbetweenyouandothers. Jerome
Blattneronce said,“a personwhotrust no one,can’tbe trusted.” In otherwords,be
the firstin trusting.ParaphrasingMotherTheresa,Imayadd,“give the worldyour
trust andyou may gethurt. Give the worldyourtrust anyway.”
 Make trust a priority:
Accordingto The BusinessCaseforTrust, trustedorganizationsperformbetter
financiallythantheirnon-trustworthycounterparts.Customerswanttobuyfrom
and workwithtrustworthyorganizations,stakeholderswanttoinvestandteam
memberswanttowork withthem.Buttrust will nothappenonitsown.Leaders
needtofocuson makingtrust a priority.Whentheydo,theirorganizationsbenefit
fromlowerturnoverrates,happieremployeesandhigherprofits.
 BuildTransparency:
Colleen Barrett, President Emeritus of Southwest Airlines, likes to say that
“People will respect you for what you know, but they’ll love you for your
vulnerabilities.” Be open and transparent in your communication. With
respect and sensitivity, share your ideas and honest opinions, even when
they contradict those of your interlocutor. Being open and transparent in
your communication will help also to diffuse possible mistrustful perceptions.
 Create a culture of credibility:
Credibility is the first step in creating trust. Credibility can simply be defined
as doing what you say you are going to do. Even if trust is not currently

8. present within the organization, leaders can take the first step toward
building trust by keeping their word. This means that before any promises are
made, leaders should carefully weigh all considerations and make thoughtful
plans and statements for their employees. Then leaders need to follow
through. If changes need to be made, leaders need to communicate with
those involved why things have changed and what they will do to prevent this
error in the future.
 Engage employees:
One side effect of minimized trust is sluggish engagement. In workplaces that
lack trust, leaders may find that overall workplace morale is low, the
employees suffer from low productivity, team members engage in incivility
and turnover rates are higher. Some ways that leaders can address and
combat these issues include implementing better training; increase
communication between departments, leaders and team members; put into
place policies against incivility; and focus on creating an employee centric
work environment.
 Remain thoughtful by using good judgment:
A culture of trust will not just happen; everyone in the workplace needs to make it happen.
There are five ways leaders can promote trust in the workplace: strategic direction,
governance, alignment, ownership and psychological safety. Leaders need to clearly express
the direction the organization is heading; create a set of operating agreements; outline
charters for each team; promote ownership during times of change; and allow team
members to express their concerns without fear or retribution.
Some may argue that trust is the number one element that must present for success, and if
it is not the most important element, it is still an essential and valuable element. Trust
within the workplace will not occur overnight, however, and leaders and team members
must remain vigilant to keep it.
ss

9. Conclusion
Trust is a characteristic that builds respect and loyalty, as well as a supportive and safe
work environment. Distrust increases tension and negative "on guard" behaviour, which
can erode the spirit of the team and ultimately productivity. Trust is about reliability and
doing the right thing. It's also a big factor that will determine success in your job and
your career -- especially in a rough business climate where your value as an employee is
closely watched. George McDonald, the Scottish writer, said: “It is a greater compliment
to be trusted than to be loved.”
Bibliography
Organizational Trust: Employee-Employer Relationships
Becky J. Starnes, Stephen A. Truhon, and Vikkie McCarthy
Various other journals and referrals.
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