More than a social virtue: public trust among organizations' most valuable assets. (Foundation Findings).Leaders from 19 professional communication organizations attending the PR Coalition summit earlier this year weighed in with ideas and strategies for restoring public trust in corporate America. The summit examined three specific aspects of trust: ethics, disclosure and transparency, and trust measurement. Communicators reached consensus on three major industry-wide recommendations to CEOs: 1. CEOs should articulate a set of ethical principles closely connected to their core business processes and supported with deep management commitment and enterprise-wide discipline. CEOs need to develop a statement of purpose and governance that incorporates ethics training and ethics as part of evaluations. 2. CEOs should create a process for transparency that is appropriate for current and future operation conditions. It should include an oversight committee, culture audit and consistent messaging. CEOs should ensure that they have professional, competent PR counsel who would serve as a strategic integrator, champion, bridge builder Bridge Builder is a series of computer games developed and published by Chronic Logic. Bridge Builder is the first in the series, followed by Pontifex, Pontifex 2 (later renamed to Bridge Construction Set[1]), and Bridge It. , catalyst, facilitator and record keeper for appropriate transparency. 3. CEOs should establish a formal system to measure trust as a business standard for benchmarking. CEOs should make trust a corporate governance Corporate Governance The relationship between all the stakeholders in a company. This includes the shareholders, directors, and management of a company, as defined by the corporate charter, bylaws, formal policy, and rule of law. issue and a board priority tied to compensation. DEFINING TRUST Communicators at the summit also spent time defining organizational trust and discussing its multi-dimensional value. In her remarks on behalf of ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. , Tamara Gillis, ABC, Ed. D., noted that organizational trust is an international business imperative. Trust affects an organization's ability to develop and sustain relationships with partners and publics. Trust is "social capital" measurable against the corporate bottom line and is culturally defined by rituals and religion. Trust has a direct effect on an organization's ability to cope with change and crisis. Employee job satisfaction, productivity and team building are affected by trust. In addition, high levels of organizational trust correlate to lower incidence of litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. and legislative action, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the 2000 ABC Research Foundation study "Measuring Organizational Trust: A Diagnostic Survey and International Indicator." The study, conducted by Pamela Shockley-Zalabak, Ph.D., Kathleen Ellis, Ph.D., and Ruggero Cesaria, and sponsored by United Technologies, provides a look in depth at the importance of organizational trust and offers a diagnostic measurement tool for assessing trust within an organization. Gillis noted that organizational trust is rooted in two communication theories that help explain how people interact within organizations: * Social exchange theory assumes that people gauge the outcomes of interactions and rationally choose the action that will provide the best result for them based on the track record of past exchanges, shared values and communication strategies. * Cost/reward theory assumes that relationships are shaped by rewards and costs. Opportunistic opportunistic /op·por·tu·nis·tic/ (op?er-tldbomacn-is´tik) 1. denoting a microorganism which does not ordinarily cause disease but becomes pathogenic under certain circumstances. 2. behaviors occur because parties in the exchange perceive that the reward outweighs the cost (sanction). The first theory argues that trust prevails even when opportunism Opportunism Arabella, Lady squire’s wife matchmakes with money in mind. [Br. Lit.: Doctor Thorne] Ashkenazi, Simcha shrewdly and unscrupulously becomes merchant prince. [Yiddish Lit. might rationally be expected; the frequency of interactions encourages trustworthy behavior, even if there is an opportunity to be less than trustworthy or when no sanctions against such behavior exist. The second assumes that untrustworthy behavior will be curbed by controls. "Measuring Organizational Trust" summarizes business communicators" and organizational development experts' understanding of organizational trust: "The organization's willingness, based upon its culture and communication behaviors in relationships and transactions, to be appropriately vulnerable, based on the belief that another individual, group or organization is competent, open and honest, concerned, reliable and identified with common goals, norms and values." According to the study, organizational trust exists on multiple levels (individual, group, institutional) and is * culturally rooted * communication-based * dynamic (constantly changing, building, stabilizing and dissolving) * multidimensional mul·ti·di·men·sion·al adj. Of, relating to, or having several dimensions. mul  ti·di·men (cognitive and emotional).
MEASURING TRUST Communicators can measure organizational trust in several vital areas using the diagnostic tools contained in "Measuring Organizational Trust." The study includes an Organizational Trust Index (shown), which allows communicators to measure trust in their organization against an international database of responses. The ABC Trust Model is based on competence, openness and honesty, concern for employees, reliability and identification. * Competence. How competent is the organization? Is the organization effective-will it survive and be able to compete? Signs of competence include adaptation to technology and confidence in the organization's leaders as perceived by factors such as intelligence; clarity of thinking; communication skills; and problem solving problem solving Process involved in finding a solution to a problem. Many animals routinely solve problems of locomotion, food finding, and shelter through trial and error. , crisis management and decision-making. * Openness/Honesty. Openness and honesty are characterized not by the information itself, but (the perception of) how it's delivered, referent power Referent power is individual power based on a high level of identification with, admiration of, or respect for the powerholder. Nationalism, Patrotism, Celebrities and well-respected people are examples of Referent Power in effect. , practiced self-awareness and social deftness deft adj. deft·er, deft·est Quick and skillful; adroit. See Synonyms at dexterous. [Middle English, gentle, humble, variant of dafte, foolish; see daft. . * Concern. Self-interest on the part of the organization is balanced with others' interest. Concern is demonstrated through experience and perceived sincerity, caring and empathy, reliability and congruency con·gru·en·cy n. pl. con·gru·en·cies Congruence. between words and actions. * Identification. This is the common ground of shared goals, values, norms and beliefs. Identification results from communication behaviors and interpretive in·ter·pre·tive also in·ter·pre·ta·tive adj. Relating to or marked by interpretation; explanatory. in·ter  pre·tive·ly adv. processes, much of which is culturally rooted
in organizations and society.
* Reliability: Being reliable is defined as having "consistent and dependable actions." The IABC IABC International Association of Business Communicators IABC Indo-Americans for Better Community study also provides a survey for communicators to gather data about trust in their organizations. When compared to the index, areas of strength and weakness are identified that can be used to develop plans to build or reinforce trust. In the words of Sissela Bok Sissela Bok, philosopher and ethicist, was born in Sweden as the daughter of two Nobel Prize winners: Gunnar Myrdal who won the Economics prize with Friedrich Hayek in 1974 and her mother, Alva Myrdal who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982. She received her B.A. and M.A. , author of "Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life," "Trust and integrity are precious resources, easily squandered squan·der tr.v. squan·dered, squan·der·ing, squan·ders 1. To spend wastefully or extravagantly; dissipate. See Synonyms at waste. 2. , hard to regain." In these post-Enron times, measuring trust and then developing a communication plan to strengthen and perhaps even regain it should be part of every communicator's job. ABOUT THE FOUNDATION The IABC Research Foundation contributes to the a body of knowledge that advances the practice, perception and effectiveness of communication. It serves IABC, its members and others in the profession through research on organizational communication Organizational communication, broadly speaking, is: people working together to achieve individual or collective goals. [1] Discipline History The modern field traces its lineage through business information, business communication, and early mass communication . * "MEASURING ORGANIZATIONAL TRUST" is available for purchase through IABC. To order online, visit www.iabc.com/store or call 800-776-4222 or +1 415-544-4700. * For more information on the Foundation's participation in the PR coalition summit on restoring public trust in corporate America, visit www.iabc.com/fdtnweb. EDITOR'S NOTE Editor's Note (foaled in 1993 in Kentucky) is an American thoroughbred Stallion racehorse. He was sired by 1992 U.S. Champion 2 YO Colt Forty Niner, who in turn was a son of Champion sire Mr. Prospector and out of the mare, Beware Of The Cat. Trained by D. : This issue of Foundation Findings reports on the PR Coalition summit on restoring public trust in corporate America that was held in January at Fairleign Dickinson University in Teaneck, N.J. Tamara Gillis, ABC, Ed.D., a past chairman of the ABC Research Foundation, was a presenter at the summit, and a synopsis of her comments has hues adapted fur this report. |
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