Leadership requires a complex set of skills at all management levels. The ability to inspire, motivate, and development employees to achieve more in their work-life transcends from their immediate supervisor, who receives their inspiration from executive and senior levels of management. One major factor in organizational leadership is judicial fairness and reciprocity of management and how employees perceive the outcome (Colquitt & Zipay, 2014, pp. 1103). The nature of the offense can often require a level of privacy which cannot be breached due to ethics and legal ramifications (Greenberg and Colquitt, 2005, pp. 23). Thus, it is essential that the managerial reaction/discipline be obvious without injuring any legal or ethical paradigms. Herein lies the paradox, how does management dole out judicial rulings while punishing the offending employee, and satisfy the organizations other employees as to the perceived fairness of the discipline? This paper will address the issues surrounding leadership strategies needed for securing employees’ perception of fairness in the aftermath of disciplinary action of a co-worker.
Organizations often struggle with employees’ perception of fairness when management must discipline one of their co-workers. The ideals of personal privacy for all parties included in the offense (offender, victims, reporter) tends to hinder the ability of management to control the perception of fairness (Greenberg and Colquitt, 2005, pp. 58). There some incidents that must be kept confidential, yet this air of secrecy can undermine an entire organization if left to its own devices. There are the employees who gossip, passing of information quickly degenerates from the original conversations, liars, and those workers who know how to dispense justice properly. Thankfully, each of these categories are just a small snippet of the organizations employee population with the clear majority not weighing in. However, this silent majority will include the employees of value and merit to the company. It is imperative to make sure these individuals are on the same page as management when it comes to the reciprocity of a co-worker.
One tool of Organizational Leadership that should help with employees’ perception of fairness is instituting an “Open-Door” policy with all levels of management (Elst, De Cuyper, Baillien, Niesen, & De Witte, 2014, pp. 13). Employees need to feel safe in coming forward with any misunderstandings, complaints, and explanations that are impacting their professional demeanor. The process of implementing an Open-Door policy is easier than gaining the trust and security necessary to develop within employees to utilize it. Internal memos, Human Resources lead meetings, and managerial talks with the employees they directly manage will begin the process (Elst et. al., 2014, pp. 23). Initially, organizational management should be required to offer some insight to employees regarding all judicial reactions, but without breaching any privacy issues (Ibid.).
To necessitate this, Human Resources and upper management should work together to determine the proper and ethical information to release to the employees. Once this is determined, the individual managers will facilitate group meetings with their team members which ends with a question/answer segment. These group meetings should be short enough to not disrupt the business day but long enough to satisfy most employees’ interpretations of the disciplinary process (Firth, Pdaskoff, and Organ, 1990, pp. 718). The HR/Management determination meetings will outline all possible legal regulations and requirements of what can and cannot be discussed at the employee level. Action plans will be put in place to help management instruct their employees about the discipline, its’ necessity, and its’ impact to the individual and to all employees. A response list will be created with talking points and answers to guide the managers during the employee information meeting. Closing remarks must reiterate the Open-Door Policy and the confidentiality of this meeting and any meetings with management.
Should the Organization cross international boundaries, considerations will be given for the cultural diversity of the region, the country it resides in, and the social constructs of the employees. Immediate and Mid-level management at these facilities shall be local to the area as this will foster a level of security, comfort, and understanding that may not be established via outside management. Additionally, this will also provide motivation to all employees that strive to move up in the company. The goal of Open-Door Policy is to develop a culture of fairness and safety within the work place environment.
Employees’ perceptions of fairness when third-party witnessing of Leadership reciprocity is a crucial part of any successful organization. This should permeate from top to bottom levels of management with each willing to address any concerns via the Open-Door policy. The idea is to foster and nurture a culture of respect and loyalty in the employer/employee relationship. Over time, the need for group team meetings will wane as the overall employee satisfaction increases. Management will be available to individual employees based upon their needs, the manager’s time, and the company’s policies regarding after hours’ meetings. It is imperative that management understand these policies and not breach them. Management will develop a culture within their team that gossip and innuendo will not be tolerated or condoned. All employees will abide understand and adopt the Open-Door policy and will know that their manager is always there for them, to listen and guide their professional questions and concerns.
