During a church sermon that I had heard late last summer/early last fall, a pastor addressed the issues of fairness and justice. I had originally started typing this blog post in September 2012 but, due to time & energy constraints, I never got past the first line!
In terms of employment, organizational development, teamwork, culture, and other areas of practice and thought, I have thought about fairness and justice for a number of years now. From a distance, both values look to be clear and self-explanatory. Yet, when experiencing fairness or unfairness or justice or injustice, the terms are not so clear-cut. I will now focus in more on fairness and justice in the realm of organizational development--more specifically, in regards to leadership and management.
On one hand, fairness and justice relate to equal treatment, equal opportunity, shared resources, and so on.
On the other hand, fairness and justice relate to providing the best treatment, best opportunities, best resources, and so on.
The two sentences above seem pretty much the same--but they are not always the same when applied to real life situations.
Place yourself in the shoes of a manager at a company. This company can be younger or older (in either case, the following material should make sense). You are not the top official per se, but you are in charge of a team, staff, or department. As your company has grown in your time there, policies and processes have changed. Furthermore, the company culture has evolved. While you are still at the same company, the company is not identical to what it was when you first joined. Likewise, the surrounding environment is not the same.
Fairness and justice--still clear-cut, right?
Fairness and justice. In your rise up the company ranks, you were mistreated--in fact, often mistreated. You were micromanaged and treated like dirt at times. Thankfully, times have changed. Improvements in society have been reflected in the workplace; micromanaging at your company has been minimized over the past couple of years.
Fairness and justice. Your team/staff/department has a new class of representatives. They are all newly graduated from bachelor degree programs. Some of the new folks have in-depth work experience; others have only worked summer jobs and part-time work study opportunities; a handful of others have only participated in volunteer work opportunities.
Times have changed. Change. Improvement. Fairness and justice.
Everything seems to be going alright until the surrounding environment declines. In terms of finance and employment, the economy is as bad as it has been in decades. Your company is still stable, but there are now concerns that there will be layoffs of employees. Employees have left the company in the past, but oftentimes it was viewed as moving onto growth opportunities elsewhere. Over the past 6 weeks, a handful of employees have left the company.
The environment has changed. Fairness and justice--are they still the same?
Fairness and justice. The company has had some good growth over the past 20 years, but with the changing economy, it is not clear what it will take to continue to be successful. Your team/staff/department is one of many--in actuality, one of every--team/staff/department under review by the highest level of officials at your company.
Fairness and justice. In changing times like these, what is fair and what is just? Some in the company think and feel that the company has hit a wall due to the lack of micromanagement. These officials say, "We didn't have these problems when we used to watch our subordinates more closely. These newer employees are spoiled and just don't understand what it is like to struggle."
Fairness and justice. In changing times like these, what is fair and what is just? Others in the company think and feel that the company has hit a wall due to not being well enough prepared for a changing economy. These officials say, "We have changed in the past and have seen ongoing success. We need to change accordingly now in order to continue to see such success."
Fairness and justice. You have a new group of employees in your team/staff/department. In changing times like these, what is fair and what is just? On one hand, you think and feel that your new group of employees needs to experience the many changes that your company has gone through over the years. This includes micromanaging and being treated like dirt at times. By going through tough treatment, this new group of employees can become tough like you. This is fair and just, right?
Fairness and justice. You have a new group of employees in your team/staff/department. In changing times like these, what is fair and what is just? On the other hand, you think and feel that your new group of employees needs to immerse themselves with now and the future. They need to experience conditions, processes, culture, etc. as it is now and as it could be & will be in the future. By going through what is going on now and preparing for the future, this new group of employees can become tough like you. This is fair and just, right?
In organizational development, leadership and management are considered separate concepts and are viewed as different parts & different levels of the organization. (For example, see this discussion of The Burke-Litwin Model of Organizational Performance and Change.) In your position as team/staff/department manager, you are still called to deal with both leadership and management. Fairness and justice. What is fair and what is just?
From a management perspective--handling day-to-day matters and affairs--you need to handle the day-to-day matters and affairs. What is fair and just? Should you micromanage? Should you avoid micromanagement? Should you educate and train your new group of employees about the past? Should you educate and train your new group of employees in the present and for the future? Each option seems fair and just.
From a leadership perspective--dealing with longer-term perspective and longer-term development--you need to deal with longer-term perspective and longer-term development. What is fair and just? Should you micromanage? Should you avoid micromanagement? Should you educate and train your new group of employees about the past? Should you educate and train your new group of employees in the present and for the future? Each option seems fair and just.
Fairness and justice. What is fair and just? In training these new employees, perhaps you should consider both sides of fairness and justice. On one hand, your new group of employees needs to be educated and trained on your company's past. They do not need to know everything from the past in depth, but they need to know something. In learning about the past, they gain understanding of you and other colleagues who have been with the company longer than them. Furthermore, they learn about past successes and past failures--learning to pick and choose the good from the bad and avoiding the repetition of mistakes & failures.
Fairness and justice. What is fair and just? In training these new employees, perhaps you should consider both sides of fairness and justice. On the other hand, your new group of employees needs to be educated and trained in the present and for the future. In respect to what has happened in the past, they also need to look at what is happening now. Whatever is going on now needs to be acknowledged and recognized. Some of what is happening now may be familiar; at the same time, some of the current events & circumstances may be new and never have been experienced by anyone at the company before. Thus, the future may hold both familiar events & circumstances and new, never experienced events & circumstances.
Fairness and justice. What is fair and just? Your employees need to be aware of the past, the present, and the future. They need to be able to analyze familiar trends while also discovering new trends. If micromanaging is required for the task at hand, perhaps micromanaging is fair and just. Yet, not all micromanaging is required and not all micromanaging is fair and just. Treating people like dirt, unless along the lines of helping prepare new employees for troubleshooting or emergency situations, is not fair and just.
On one hand, fairness and justice relate to equal treatment, equal opportunity, shared resources, and so on.
On the other hand, fairness and justice relate to providing the best treatment, best opportunities, best resources, and so on.
Fairness and justice. Help your new group of employees understand both good & bad situations and conditions. Help set them up for success. Give them necessary access to resources and information. Build on past successes and past learnings from failures & mistakes. Tough love and discipline are necessary at times but do not bury your new employees in the mud--let them experience the company's improvements rather than reviving hurtful traditions from the past. Let them use current resources while also giving them help with past resources if needed to complete the task at hand. Listen to their ideas and share your ideas as well. Have open communication and respect each other.
No matter what, be fair and just. Fairness and justice: sometimes clear-cut, sometimes not. As a current and/or future manager, practice fairness and justice--even when what is fair and what is just is not clear. Be your best and help your team/staff/department be their best as well.
In terms of employment, organizational development, teamwork, culture, and other areas of practice and thought, I have thought about fairness and justice for a number of years now. From a distance, both values look to be clear and self-explanatory. Yet, when experiencing fairness or unfairness or justice or injustice, the terms are not so clear-cut. I will now focus in more on fairness and justice in the realm of organizational development--more specifically, in regards to leadership and management.
On one hand, fairness and justice relate to equal treatment, equal opportunity, shared resources, and so on.
On the other hand, fairness and justice relate to providing the best treatment, best opportunities, best resources, and so on.
The two sentences above seem pretty much the same--but they are not always the same when applied to real life situations.
Place yourself in the shoes of a manager at a company. This company can be younger or older (in either case, the following material should make sense). You are not the top official per se, but you are in charge of a team, staff, or department. As your company has grown in your time there, policies and processes have changed. Furthermore, the company culture has evolved. While you are still at the same company, the company is not identical to what it was when you first joined. Likewise, the surrounding environment is not the same.
Fairness and justice--still clear-cut, right?
Fairness and justice. In your rise up the company ranks, you were mistreated--in fact, often mistreated. You were micromanaged and treated like dirt at times. Thankfully, times have changed. Improvements in society have been reflected in the workplace; micromanaging at your company has been minimized over the past couple of years.
Fairness and justice. Your team/staff/department has a new class of representatives. They are all newly graduated from bachelor degree programs. Some of the new folks have in-depth work experience; others have only worked summer jobs and part-time work study opportunities; a handful of others have only participated in volunteer work opportunities.
Times have changed. Change. Improvement. Fairness and justice.
Everything seems to be going alright until the surrounding environment declines. In terms of finance and employment, the economy is as bad as it has been in decades. Your company is still stable, but there are now concerns that there will be layoffs of employees. Employees have left the company in the past, but oftentimes it was viewed as moving onto growth opportunities elsewhere. Over the past 6 weeks, a handful of employees have left the company.
The environment has changed. Fairness and justice--are they still the same?
Fairness and justice. The company has had some good growth over the past 20 years, but with the changing economy, it is not clear what it will take to continue to be successful. Your team/staff/department is one of many--in actuality, one of every--team/staff/department under review by the highest level of officials at your company.
Fairness and justice. In changing times like these, what is fair and what is just? Some in the company think and feel that the company has hit a wall due to the lack of micromanagement. These officials say, "We didn't have these problems when we used to watch our subordinates more closely. These newer employees are spoiled and just don't understand what it is like to struggle."
Fairness and justice. In changing times like these, what is fair and what is just? Others in the company think and feel that the company has hit a wall due to not being well enough prepared for a changing economy. These officials say, "We have changed in the past and have seen ongoing success. We need to change accordingly now in order to continue to see such success."
Fairness and justice. You have a new group of employees in your team/staff/department. In changing times like these, what is fair and what is just? On one hand, you think and feel that your new group of employees needs to experience the many changes that your company has gone through over the years. This includes micromanaging and being treated like dirt at times. By going through tough treatment, this new group of employees can become tough like you. This is fair and just, right?
Fairness and justice. You have a new group of employees in your team/staff/department. In changing times like these, what is fair and what is just? On the other hand, you think and feel that your new group of employees needs to immerse themselves with now and the future. They need to experience conditions, processes, culture, etc. as it is now and as it could be & will be in the future. By going through what is going on now and preparing for the future, this new group of employees can become tough like you. This is fair and just, right?
In organizational development, leadership and management are considered separate concepts and are viewed as different parts & different levels of the organization. (For example, see this discussion of The Burke-Litwin Model of Organizational Performance and Change.) In your position as team/staff/department manager, you are still called to deal with both leadership and management. Fairness and justice. What is fair and what is just?
From a management perspective--handling day-to-day matters and affairs--you need to handle the day-to-day matters and affairs. What is fair and just? Should you micromanage? Should you avoid micromanagement? Should you educate and train your new group of employees about the past? Should you educate and train your new group of employees in the present and for the future? Each option seems fair and just.
From a leadership perspective--dealing with longer-term perspective and longer-term development--you need to deal with longer-term perspective and longer-term development. What is fair and just? Should you micromanage? Should you avoid micromanagement? Should you educate and train your new group of employees about the past? Should you educate and train your new group of employees in the present and for the future? Each option seems fair and just.
Fairness and justice. What is fair and just? In training these new employees, perhaps you should consider both sides of fairness and justice. On one hand, your new group of employees needs to be educated and trained on your company's past. They do not need to know everything from the past in depth, but they need to know something. In learning about the past, they gain understanding of you and other colleagues who have been with the company longer than them. Furthermore, they learn about past successes and past failures--learning to pick and choose the good from the bad and avoiding the repetition of mistakes & failures.
Fairness and justice. What is fair and just? In training these new employees, perhaps you should consider both sides of fairness and justice. On the other hand, your new group of employees needs to be educated and trained in the present and for the future. In respect to what has happened in the past, they also need to look at what is happening now. Whatever is going on now needs to be acknowledged and recognized. Some of what is happening now may be familiar; at the same time, some of the current events & circumstances may be new and never have been experienced by anyone at the company before. Thus, the future may hold both familiar events & circumstances and new, never experienced events & circumstances.
Fairness and justice. What is fair and just? Your employees need to be aware of the past, the present, and the future. They need to be able to analyze familiar trends while also discovering new trends. If micromanaging is required for the task at hand, perhaps micromanaging is fair and just. Yet, not all micromanaging is required and not all micromanaging is fair and just. Treating people like dirt, unless along the lines of helping prepare new employees for troubleshooting or emergency situations, is not fair and just.
On one hand, fairness and justice relate to equal treatment, equal opportunity, shared resources, and so on.
On the other hand, fairness and justice relate to providing the best treatment, best opportunities, best resources, and so on.
Fairness and justice. Help your new group of employees understand both good & bad situations and conditions. Help set them up for success. Give them necessary access to resources and information. Build on past successes and past learnings from failures & mistakes. Tough love and discipline are necessary at times but do not bury your new employees in the mud--let them experience the company's improvements rather than reviving hurtful traditions from the past. Let them use current resources while also giving them help with past resources if needed to complete the task at hand. Listen to their ideas and share your ideas as well. Have open communication and respect each other.
No matter what, be fair and just. Fairness and justice: sometimes clear-cut, sometimes not. As a current and/or future manager, practice fairness and justice--even when what is fair and what is just is not clear. Be your best and help your team/staff/department be their best as well.