3 Principles for Creating a Sense of Fairness. What Makes a ...

Transition: from power play to fair process

WHY SHOULD ANYONE COMMIT to a collective decision that goes against their convictions as to what is the right decision? How do people stay loyal to an organisation that sometimes (and inevitably) makes decisions directly contrary to their best judgment? For an organisation to work ? and to succeed ? it needs to acquire the art of making collective decisions in a way that earns the trust and loyalty of all its members.

Trust is the glue of an organisation. Trust in a manager is earned more by the fairness of the process he or she uses to reach decisions than by anything else, including the quality of the decisions themselves. If the process is seen to be autocratic or arbitrary or capricious, then the trust placed in the manager ? and in the quality of the decision ? will be low. But if the process is seen to be open, inclusive, rational and, above all, fair, then the manager will earn the trust of the team and of others. If managers are to engage the creativity of their people, they must be seen to be advocates of ? and adherents to ? fair process.

What makes a decision-making process fair? How do managers assess the fairness of a process? Studies show that, for the majority of people, three conditions need to be present to create a sense of fairness:

• Participation.?Anyone who is affected by the outcome of a decision feels that they have a right to be involved in the process of reaching the decision. Involvement means not just contributing ideas and options but also challengingthe ideas and options of others ? without fear of reprisal. Participation does not necessarily entail making the final decision ? or even having a vote ? but it does mean the right to have one?s views heard, understood and discussed. Only when people feel that the process has given their ideas an equal right to be taken fully into account will they give their blessing to the outcome of the process, irrespective of which decision comes out of it.
• Transparency.?Anyone who is part of the decision-making process feels that they have a right to know why the decision to which it led was made. The test is not whether they agree with every step of the argument, but whether the process is sufficiently transparent for them to fully understand the reasoning that led to the decision. This strengthens their belief that the process is open, impartial and rational. By closing the feedback loop, it also serves to promote the importance of learning from others ? and from experience.
• Equity.?Anyone who is bound by the consequences of a decision has the right to equal treatment under the new ?rules of the game?. This means that everyone who is subject to the rules understands them ? including the expectations, standards and criteria implied by them ? and is confident that these will be applied equally to all.

A process is fair not because it arrives at a consensus or expresses the view of the majority or accommodates everyone?s interests, but because it honours these three principles.

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The author of the aboved writing: Jules Goddard

Source: http://onlinesuccesscentre.com/2012/12/a-sense-of-fairness/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-sense-of-fairness

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