Industrial-Organizational Psychology Learning Module

Organizational Justice Perceptions

Think of a time youve been unfairly treated at work

Were you ever treated rudely or disrespectfully? Were you up for a promotion / raise / job, and didnt get it when you thought you should have? Why was it unfair? How did you know? How did you react? Did you take action? Why or why not?

Lesson Objectives

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

State

why managing perceptions of justice is important to organizations Distinguish between three different elements of justice perceptions List factors that influence perceptions of justice

Justice Perceptions are important

Justice Perceptions: employee judgments about whether their work situation is fair Justice Perceptions in organizations have been found to be related to:
Job

Satisfaction Organizational Commitment Job Performance Withdrawal Behaviors Counterproductive behaviors Self-perceptions

Types of Justice Perceptions

Distributive Justice: perceptions of the fairness of a particular outcome Procedural Justice: perceptions of whether the process used to make the decision was fair Interactional Justice: perceptions of whether organizational agents implement procedures fairly, by treating people respectfully and explaining decisions adequately

Distributive Justice

Rules for allocating resources

resources are distributed to employees with respect to their abilities or contributions Equality resources are distributed so each person gets the same outcome, regardless of their contributions Need resources are distributed to the person who needs them more
Equity

Distributive Justice: Equity Theory

Employees compute a ratio of how much they contribute to the organization and how much they get back from the company Employees choose a coworker and computes their ratio Employees then compare ratios, and react on the basis of this comparison. Unbalanced ratios create equity distress, which lead to a variety of responses including changes in work effort or quality

Procedural Justice

What are some things that lead to a procedure being seen as fair?
Voice

getting a say in things Consistency Bias Suppression Accuracy Correctability Ethicality

When is Procedural Justice Most Important?

Favorable

High Procedural Justice

Reactions to Org.

Low Procedural Justice

Unfavorable Low High

Outcome Favorability

Interactional Justice

Interpersonal component treating people with dignity and respect; refraining from improper remarks or comments Informational component providing adequate explanations for decisions

Research Example (Greenberg, 1990)

Two plants in the same company announced 15% pay cuts for their workers One plant given extensive explanations & remorse was shown in the announcement Second plant given a short explanation, but without remorse or apology Measured missing inventory theft Theft increased in both plants, but more so in the second plant (inadequate explanation)

Improving Fairness Perceptions

Change how fair the situation actually is

Improve

distributive justice Improve procedural justice Treat employees with sincerity and respect

Change how fair the situation is perceived

How

do you explain decisions and procedures to employees so they understand?

Summary

Employee perceptions of justice can impact important organizational outcomes, as well as employee feelings and attitudes Types of justice include Distributive, Procedural, and Interactional Justice perceptions can be altered by actually changing the justice of a situation, or by providing adequate explanations for organizational events