81
chapter eight
Tactics for building and
maintaining trust
8.1 Introduction
In the wake of organization downsizing resulting from budget reductions
and corporate re-engineering, many workers are suspicious of manage-
ment and do not trust that management has their best interest at heart.
It is difcult for managers to gain the trust of workers in environments
where change is constant, jobs are being lost, and resources are diminish-
ing. Workers who are not willing to trust management tend to hold on to
information that can be helpful in advancing the organization and are not
willing to take the risk required to do challenging work. In addition, orga-
nizational trust is an important element in determining whether a leader
is able to gain access to the knowledge and creative thinking required to
solve problems and develop new products and processes.
Building trustworthy cultures starts at the top of the organization with
the leadership team. Leadership is one of the most important factors in
building conditions of faith and condence and is generally the most inu-
ential in guiding organizational philosophy and behaviors and the work
processes within the organizations. Because we know that the culture of
an organization is a key feature in determining the level of trust, we can
begin to apply that knowledge broadly in terms of designing the appropri-
ate culture of an organization. Once trust is established, people are gener-
ally willing to work harder and take on greater risk, which is necessary
to develop and create new processes and technologies. This chapter of the
book is devoted to providing information to support the appropriate behav-
iors of leaders that can be used in their attempts to create and maintain
trusting cultures. Therefore, various concepts that are deemed important
to management and organizational success are introduced and discussed.
There are so many things we do daily as leaders that directly affect the
success of an organization of which we may not be fully aware. The net of a
leader is widely cast and can have grave impact on the lives of many in the
workplace. Managers affect people in organizations in ways such as how
work is performed, the way they solve problems, and belief of their work cul-
ture. The way managers interact with the worker at all levels must be orches-
trated carefully and deliberately. Managers who do not place the appropriate
82 Culture and trust in technology-driven organizations
importance on their actions when dealing with people are apt to make huge
mistakes that can be costly for an organization. This cost cannot always be
measured in dollars and cents, but can be costly in ways that include losing
the trust of workers which will affect many aspects of organizational success
such as productivity and the willingness of the worker to give all that he or
she can to ensure the success of the organization’s objectives.
It is commonly known that bad management produces dysfunctional
organization, groups, and teams. Dysfunctional organization typically
has a negative impact on workers rendering them unwilling or unable to
trust. Therefore, it is paramount for leaders to be deliberate in theselec-
tion and training of new managers. Oftentimes new managers are selected
because of what is referred to as the “just like me syndrome.” Managers
who are only willing to surround themselves with people who look,
think, and act like themselves are hindering and stiing the capability of
the organization. They are not viewing the big picture and are most likely
operating in survival mode with no long-term vision.
The practitioners’ guide is written to provide support to leaders as they
work to create trusting cultures and improve organizational performance.
The guide contains relevant information on methods and actions that are
essential in building and sustaining trust. It also serves as a reminder to man-
agers of the relevance of remaining cognizant of their actions and the impact
their actions can have on the worker, teams, and the organization as a whole.
The actions of managers are of critical importance because, as we all know,
once trust is broken it is difcult or oftentimes impossible to regain. Also
included in the guide is a manager’s toolkit. The toolkit contains a variety of
tools that can be used to determine the level of trust and the type of culture
within an organization. The toolkit can also be used to improve trust within
organizations and provide managers with options to consider for building
long-term trusting relationships in their interactions with subordinates.
8.2 Organizational diversity
The workplace of today is more diversied than in previous years. This
diversication of the workplace is expected to continue into the next
century and beyond. A diverse workplace consists of workers from dif-
ferent backgrounds including cultural backgrounds, age, race, gender,
and experiences, working together to form a more creative, innovative,
and productive workplace. In order to tap into the benets of a diverse
culture, attention must be paid to the various cultural backgrounds
that are present and the impact that these backgrounds can have on the
success of the organization. The variations in social cultures canadd
to the complexities of building relations that lead to trust in teams
and organizations. Thischange in diversity in the workplace has cre-
ated challengesfor managers in areas such as communication, policy
83Chapter eight: Tactics for building and maintaining trust
development and implementation, and developing trust. Managers
should always consider the role that workplace diversity play in shaping
culture, building relationships, and trust within the work environment.
Through the literature review and empirical study, we learn that work-
place diversity has an important role in shaping cultures and deter-
mining the level of trust found within organizations. We explore the
impact of diversity and ways managers can use the knowledge gained
through the study and literature review in rening the characteristics
of the organization in the next sections. Some benets of a diverse work
culture include the following:
• Diversity fosters a more creative and innovative work environment.
• Diversity can serve as a recruitment tool because a diversied work-
place signies that management is accepting of various ideas and
concepts.
• Workers with diverse backgrounds bring varying experiences,
understanding, and perception to strategy implementation and
problem solving.
• Diversity of knowledge and skills can strengthen teams by lever-
aging the strength of each member sharing different skills and
perspectives.
A diversied workplace can be leveraged as an asset for a company.
A company can increase its effectiveness when the workforce is repre-
sentative of the company’s customer base. Forward-thinking companies
are skilled in how to leverage a diverse workforce. For example, team
members with knowledge of multiple languages when conducting busi-
ness internationally can be an asset in bridging the language and cultural
gaps that may prevent successful business interactions and negotiations.
Also, a culturally diverse team or organization will have unique ideas
about approaches to marketing, products, and services that will appeal to
the people of their respective cultures. Businesses are better able to breed
the type of creative and innovative solutions when they bring together
different backgrounds, skills, and experiences. These businesses typically
realize a signicant increase in worker job performance and retention
of critical skills. Embracing diversity in organizations has many posi-
tive impacts on an organization including increased team learning and
increased trust in management and the organization.
8.2.1 Gender intelligence
Psychologists and sociologists have pointed out routinely that men and
women are different in the way they think, act, and processinformation.
84 Culture and trust in technology-driven organizations
If one were to observe men and women in verbal and nonverbal
communication the differences may become evident. Therefore, it is not
a surprisethat the study validated that men and woman within the same
organization displayed a different perception of the culture and displayed
different levels of trust. It is important for managers to understand that
males and females will in many cases have different perceptions of their
work culture and will show differences in the level of trust in manage-
ment and their organization. This difference in perception can also be
linked to and seen in the behaviors and practices of the members of an
organization.
The results of the study presented in Section II of this book showed
that trust levels for women working within the same organizations
were not always consistent with those of their male counterparts.
Women continue to enter the workplace in record numbers from vari-
ous socioeconomic backgrounds and are becoming an integral part of
the success of organizations. Whether females are able and willing to
integrate and develop trust in their organization can be an important
factor in retention of critical skills. The results of the literature review
also showed that women and men communicate differently. This dif-
ference in trust between males and females can be attributed to various
attributes of the organization culture such as policies and procedures,
practices, behaviors, relationships, and communication channels. For
example, in a male-dominated culture or in a culture where 90% of the
leadership team consists of males, females may feel less appreciated and
less valued if opportunities for advancement are not equally afforded
to them. As a result, women may be more skeptical and may require
more information or data before providing buy-in for key concepts.
Listed below are some actions managers can take to improve percep-
tion among females and develop trust within the organization and in
the management team.
• Ensure that females are included in the decision-making process.
• Provide career opportunities for females equal to those offered to
their male counterparts.
• Communicate openly and honestly with the appropriate amount
and level of detail.
• Provide equivalent salaries for females to those offered to their
male counterparts.
• Refrain from making gender-based jokes and gestures that target
females.
• Provide the same caliber of respect to females as shown to their
male counterparts.
• Do not institute policies or practices that are geared toward one
gender. For example, females with a family may not be able to
85Chapter eight: Tactics for building and maintaining trust
worklate. Therefore, a practice of scheduling late meetings may not
be appropriate for a work–life balance and can provide in some cases
an unfair disadvantage for females.
8.2.2 Ethnicity and trust
A discussion on diversity in organizations is not complete without
addressing the role that ethnicity plays in forming the work environment.
The study revealed that there was a difference in the level of trust among
the ethnic groups represented by the study. As a reminder, the result
ofthe study is listed in Table8.1. This variance in trust level can be in part
a result of the social cultures these groups bring to the workplace, the
actions of the leadership team, policies, procedures, behaviors, and norms
of the work environment.
The U.S. work population for workers from countries outside the
United States is constantly increasing. These workers bring to the work
environment various attributes of the social culture of their home-
land. In order to formulate trusting relationships among the diversi-
ties of cultures, managers need to understand the social cultures that
are partofthe organization. Below are some actions that managers can
take to begin addressing the consideration for ethnicity in their work
culture.
• Understand the diversities of social culture of the workforce.
• Provide equal opportunity for pay, promotion, training, and reward-
ing assignments.
• Include ethnicity representation in the policy setting and decision-
making processes.
• Learn important critical attributes and traditions of each social
culture.
• Celebrate and embrace the various social cultures.
• Respect the various social cultures represented in the organization.
• Avoid putting policies in place that could be viewed as culturally
offensive.
Table8.1 Ethnic Group Analysis
Ethnic group Trust level
Asian 3.80
American Indian 3.74
African American 3.65
Caucasian 3.53
Hispanic 3.42
..................Content has been hidden....................
You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.