Volunteer organisations provide significant value to society. However, limited research exists on ways through which volunteer organisations can manage the behaviour and attitudes of their volunteers. The main purpose of this study was to contribute to literature in this area by assessing the applicability of setting appropriate recruitment expectations and fostering organisational trust in the volunteer context. This was done by examining the influence of the relationship between pre-entry recruitment expectations and post-entry experiences of volunteers on levels of satisfaction, commitment, co-operative behaviour and turnover intentions. The influence of organisational trust on these variables was also assessed. Volunteers from a national non-profit organisation were given a survey of their expectations shortly after joining (and prior to undertaking any voluntary work), and then completed another set of measures two months later after participation in voluntary training and activities. Sampling resulted in 22 matched surveys between phase one and phase two. Results partially suggest that expectations and organisational trust are associated with volunteer satisfaction levels, and provide evidence indicating that further research in this area using a larger sample may reveal significant associations. Overall, the present study suggests that volunteer organisations can benefit from the appropriate management of recruitment processes and organisational trust, and provides a foundation for further research on this topic.

Titel: En kvalitativ fallstudie hur aktörer skapar och bibehåller förtroende i organisationer med fördelat ansvar   Nivå: Kandidatuppsats   Författare: Jens Bergvik och Hanna Eriksson   Handledare: Stig Sörling och Tomas Källquist   Datum: 2015 – januari   Syfte: Enligt tidigare forskning är förtroende grunden för många av organisationens resultat och basen i fungerade relationer och samarbeten. Sambandet mellan förtroende och den ansvarsfördelade organisationen är identifierad men saknar praktisk forskning, då en ansvarsfördelad organisation kräver samarbete beroende på att många har befogenhet till ansvar och beslutsmakt. Syftet med denna studie är därmed att ge en ökad förståelse för hur aktörer skapar och bibehåller förtroende samt att belysa förtroendets roll i ansvarsfördelade organisationer.   Metod: Studien har utgått från ett hermeneutiskt perspektiv och fenomenet som studerats ses vara av socialkonstruktivistisk art. Med hjälp av deduktion har teori och empiri arbetats fram där grunden för studien har varit i form av en fallstudie som antar ett kvalitativt angreppssätt genom semistrukturerade intervjuer.   Resultat & slutsats: Studien tyder på att förtroende är svårt att beskriva då det uppfattas som en abstrakt fenomen och därav avsaknaden av konkreta verktyg. De faktorer som istället anses ha inverkan på förtroendenivån är också de faktorer som används för att skapa och bibehålla förtroende, vilka är kompetens, kommunikation och förståelse.   Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Förtroende har en betydande roll i samtliga organisationsstrukturer och denna studie är avgränsad till en ansvarsfördelad organisations struktur. Dessutom finns även infallsvinklar om hur och genom vem förtroende skapas.   Uppsatsens bidrag: Studiens bidrag är hur aktörer skapar och bibehåller förtroende samt betydelsen av förtroende i ansvarsfördelade organisationer. Studien tyder på att uppfattningen om förtroende är ett fenomen som är svårt att beskriva eftersom det är abstrakt. Och visar på att vikten av förtroende i ansvarsfördelade organisationer för att samarbeten och delegering av ansvar ska fungera. De faktorer som studien bidrar med för att skapa förtroende är kompetens, kommunikation och förståelse. För att bibehålla förtroende är studiens bidrag att arbeta kontinuerligt med kompetens och kommunikation.   Nyckelord: Decentralisation, distributed responsibility, organisational trust, trust, create trust, retain trust / Title: A qualitative case study research on how operators create and retain trust in organisations with distributed responsibility   Level: Bachelor thesis   Author: Jens Bergvik och Hanna Eriksson   Supervisor: Stig Sörling och Tomas Källquist   Date: 2015 – January   Aim: According to earlier research trust is important to many of the organisations results and the base in relationship and collaboration. The connection between trust and organisations with distributed responsibility is identified but there is a lack of practical research. With distributed responsibility there will be a need of collaboration, when a lot of people have responsibilities and authority to make decision. The purpose of this report is to increase understanding about how operators create and retain trust and to highlight the role of trust in organisations with distributed responsibility.   Method: The report adopts a hermeneutic perspective and the studied phenomenon assumes to be a social construction. A deductive approach have been used to collect theoretical and empirical information. The base for the report is a case study with a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews.   Result & Conclusions: The report implies that trust is difficult to describe because it is perceived as an abstract phenomenon and therefore there is an absence of concrete tools. Instead, the factors that is considered to influence trust is also the factors that is being used to create and retain trust, which is competence, communication and understanding.   Suggestions for future research: Trust has an important role in organisations and this report is limited to a specific organisational structure. Another suggestion is to study the different operators’ role in the process of creating trust.   Contribution of the thesis: The reports contribution is how operators create and retain trust and highlight the role of trust in organisations with distributed responsibility. The report indicates that trust is difficult to describe because it is perceived as an abstract phenomenon. Also shows the importance of trust in organisations with distributed responsibility, because trust makes relationships and delegation more effective. Competence, communication and understanding are factors that the report present as factors that has influence on creating trust. To retain trust the report argues that continuously work with competence and communication will be needed.   Key words: Decentralisation, distributed responsibility, organisational trust, trust, create trust, retain trust

In recent years, there has been an increased demand by the South African communities and society at large for public institutions to become more accountable. The literature seems to support the view that managerial trust and organisational trust in the public sector is globally acknowledged as a strategic goal. It is imperative for leaders in the public sector to recognise the nature of the business leadership that is required in the South African context. Servant leadership was identified as a leadership style that is most likely to achieve the objective of a trusting public sector.The paper examines the relationship between servant leadership and interpersonal trust, as well as organisational trust in a public sector organisation in South Africa. The sample consisted of 54 employees of the City of Johannesburg Property Company (SOC) Ltd who participated in a survey designed around the Servant Leadership Behaviour Scale developed by (Sendjaya, Sarros&Santora, 2008) along with the Organisational Trust Indicator (Nyhan&Marlowe, 1997).The results of the investigation confirmed what the literature says on servant leadership and trust. It revealed a statistically significant relationship between the opinions of servant leadership with both interpersonal trust and organisational trust. These findings will be discussed in terms of their implications for establishing what kind of leadership model might work in public sector organisations and how this approach might build trust among employees as key stakeholders. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

While common in South Africa, workplace protest actions frequently lead to losses on both sides: productivity losses for organisations and loss of income for protesting employees. It is therefore important to investigate which factors may contribute to low-income workers' decision to protest for higher wages. Based on the theoretical integration of social exchange theory and fairness heuristic theory it was argued that fairer treatment (organisational justice) decreases workers' willingness to engage in protest actions through its positive influence on organisational trust. The researcher examined employees' perceptions of fairness shown by their employer, supervisor and co-workers. A descriptive, cross-sectional research design was employed to test this assumption. Data was collected from low-income employees working in South African factories and retail stores who completed a self-report survey (N = 147). The results of a regression analysis confirmed that employees' perceptions of organisational justice predicted their willingness to engage in protest actions for higher wages when gender and previous involvement in protest actions were kept constant. Perceptions of interpersonal justice as shown by the supervisor was the unique predictor of willingness to engage in protest action, indicating that the decision to protest is not primarily driven by monetary concerns (distributive justice) but rather by how low-income workers feel treated in the workplace. Mediation analysis results revealed that the relationship between organisational justice and willingness to engage in protest action is not through mutual trust. Taken together, this research demonstrated that there is a need for organisations to invest in fairness in the workplace. Most specifically, organisations could focus on training supervisors to treat employees with respect and dignity as it could contribute to employees' decision to refrain from protesting at work.

Recent organisational changes have refocused attention on the productivity and performance of sales representatives and consequently brought about a re-evaluation of the QWL these employees experience, as well as their trust in the organisation to support them. Responses to an internet-based survey methodology were analysed using quantitative techniques and structural equation modelling. Results confirm a positive relationship between Managerial Practices and Organisational Trust, and a lower relationship between the dimensions of Personality and Organisational Trust. A positive relationship was noted between QWL and Managerial Practices, and a lower relationship between QWL and the Personality constructs. This study accentuates the importance of management to be aware of the trust employees have in the organisation as well as their experience of QWL, as it seems as though the Personality traits and Managerial Practices of managers influences both the trust relationship and QWL experienced by employees. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

Recent organisational changes have refocused attention on the productivity and performance of sales representatives and consequently brought about a re-evaluation of the QWL these employees experience, as well as their trust in the organisation to support them. Responses to an internet-based survey methodology were analysed using quantitative techniques and structural equation modelling. Results confirm a positive relationship between Managerial Practices and Organisational Trust, and a lower relationship between the dimensions of Personality and Organisational Trust. A positive relationship was noted between QWL and Managerial Practices, and a lower relationship between QWL and the Personality constructs. This study accentuates the importance of management to be aware of the trust employees have in the organisation as well as their experience of QWL, as it seems as though the Personality traits and Managerial Practices of managers influences both the trust relationship and QWL experienced by employees. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

The aim of this study was to unify a South African model of organisational trust with the globally accepted Integrative model of organisational trust on a theoretical and empirical level. The antecedents of trust in direct supervisors represented by five personality dimensions and four managerial practices were used to extract the facets of trustworthiness of ability, benevolence and integrity to create a unified trust model. Based on literature, a methodology was developed to re-assign the various dimensions on an item level into three new scales representing the antecedents of trust. Data gathered between 1995 and 2013 in South African organisations by means of the Trust Relationship Audit was used and subject matter experts reassigned the items into the three antecedents of trust. Structural equation modelling was employed to replicate the Martins (2000) model and to test the measurement and structural regression models, arriving at a five-factor model. A unified model of trust in supervisors was fitted to the data and validated. This unified model emphasises the importance of the affective component as an antecedent of trust towards supervisors in organisations in an African context. Managerial concern, based on benevolent managerial practices and communication, was found to have the biggest impact on trust. Integrity as a personality trait was the only other component that had a positive impact on trust. Contrary to most studies, ability had a minimal or negative impact on interpersonal trust in direct superiors, but is a prerequisite for high integrity and benevolence as facets of trustworthiness. Managerial ability and, to a lesser degree, a benevolent personality are necessary but not sufficient for trust to develop. Being very agreeable and competent is not sufficient to be perceived as trustworthy; managers or supervisors also need to exhibit high levels of concern and integrity. In this study the author responds to the calls in the literature that a common terminology be used in trust research. The multitude of measures causes a situation where studies and concepts cannot be compared and therefore no basis exists upon which to build trust research. Future researchers can now with confidence apply the South African model of organisational trust within the context of a globally accepted model. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / D. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

<p><b><font face="Times New Roman"> <p align="left">As organisations struggle to meet the demands placed on them by contextual challenges, they place more emphasis on relationships for effective organisational functioning. Trust is a critical component of workplace relationships and has been linked to numerous beneficial organisational outcomes. However, as trust is difficult for organisations to influence directly, Perceived Organisational Support may encompass a set of actions organisations can take that directly create workplace trust. The aim of this study was to elucidate the relationship between workplace trust and Perceived Organisational Support. Workplace trust was examined as a three-dimensional model, with the trust referent (Organisation, Immediate Manager, Co-Workers) forming each dimension. Perceived Organisational Support was examined as a two-dimensional model, based on performance-reward expectancies (&ldquo / Contribution&rdquo / ) or socio-emotional need fulfilment (&ldquo / Well-being&rdquo / ). A multi-method survey methodology yielded n = 212 participants in a South African organisation. The consolidated questionnaire sought biographical information from the sample as well as their responses to the Workplace Trust Survey and the Survey of Perceived Organisational Support. The reliability coefficients of the Workplace Trust Survey, Survey of Perceived Organisational Support and each of the dimensions were established as sufficient. Next, Confirmatory Factor Analysis confirmed that a three-dimensional factor structure for workplace trust and a two-dimensional factor structure for Perceived Organisational Support can&nbsp / and should be used in a South African sample. Correlation analysis indicated a significant, positive relationship between each dimension of workplace trust and both of the dimensions of Perceived Organisational Support. Regression analysis confirmed that Perceived Organisational Support contributes to a significant proportion of the variance in workplace trust. However, there was one exception: The Contribution dimension of Perceived Organisational Support did not contribute significantly to Trust in Co-workers. This research, based on a South African sample, confirms much of the previous international research into the relationship between Perceived Organisational Support and workplace trust. In addition, it makes two new contributions to the field. First, it found that Perceived Organisational Support can and should be considered a two-dimensional construct in a South African sample. This is in contrast with international studies that indicate a uni-dimensional construct for Perceived Organisational Support. Second, by using the two-dimensional Perceived Organisational Support construct, it found that only the Well-being, and not the Contribution, dimension of Perceived Organisational Support had a significant, positive impact on workplace trust.</p> </font></b></p>

<p><b><font face="Times New Roman"> <p align="left">As organisations struggle to meet the demands placed on them by contextual challenges, they place more emphasis on relationships for effective organisational functioning. Trust is a critical component of workplace relationships and has been linked to numerous beneficial organisational outcomes. However, as trust is difficult for organisations to influence directly, Perceived Organisational Support may encompass a set of actions organisations can take that directly create workplace trust. The aim of this study was to elucidate the relationship between workplace trust and Perceived Organisational Support. Workplace trust was examined as a three-dimensional model, with the trust referent (Organisation, Immediate Manager, Co-Workers) forming each dimension. Perceived Organisational Support was examined as a two-dimensional model, based on performance-reward expectancies (&ldquo / Contribution&rdquo / ) or socio-emotional need fulfilment (&ldquo / Well-being&rdquo / ). A multi-method survey methodology yielded n = 212 participants in a South African organisation. The consolidated questionnaire sought biographical information from the sample as well as their responses to the Workplace Trust Survey and the Survey of Perceived Organisational Support. The reliability coefficients of the Workplace Trust Survey, Survey of Perceived Organisational Support and each of the dimensions were established as sufficient. Next, Confirmatory Factor Analysis confirmed that a three-dimensional factor structure for workplace trust and a two-dimensional factor structure for Perceived Organisational Support can&nbsp / and should be used in a South African sample. Correlation analysis indicated a significant, positive relationship between each dimension of workplace trust and both of the dimensions of Perceived Organisational Support. Regression analysis confirmed that Perceived Organisational Support contributes to a significant proportion of the variance in workplace trust. However, there was one exception: The Contribution dimension of Perceived Organisational Support did not contribute significantly to Trust in Co-workers. This research, based on a South African sample, confirms much of the previous international research into the relationship between Perceived Organisational Support and workplace trust. In addition, it makes two new contributions to the field. First, it found that Perceived Organisational Support can and should be considered a two-dimensional construct in a South African sample. This is in contrast with international studies that indicate a uni-dimensional construct for Perceived Organisational Support. Second, by using the two-dimensional Perceived Organisational Support construct, it found that only the Well-being, and not the Contribution, dimension of Perceived Organisational Support had a significant, positive impact on workplace trust.</p> </font></b></p>

Popular management literature routinely presents management discourses that offer managers with strategies or 'recipes' for organisational improvement. Practitioners often uncritically accept and implement strategies prescribed within these discourses. Management discourses are constantly evolving to seemingly provide newer and better solutions to organisations' problems. The evolutionary pressures are evidenced through the limited life spans of many of the strategies proffered in the various management discourses. So short have been the life spans of some of these management strategies that the question of faddism has been raised (Birnbaum, 2001). Over recent years knowledge management has filtered from the broader management discourse into the discourse of educational administration. Knowledge management practices are said to enable individuals within an educational organisation to add value to the information and knowledge that an organisation possesses. This research used self-study to examine the effectiveness of a school administrator attempting to model explicit knowledge management principles within his professional practice. A focus of the research was the critical investigation of knowledge management as a management fad or a framework for sustainable management behaviour. Employing the living theory approach to action research allowed me to ask questions about 'how' to improve my practice and to provide evidence to support my answers. It allowed me to examine my professional practice as an educational administrator who valued knowledge, its creation and use critically. My research learnings been have presented as propositions related to the 'how' of my professional practice and its influence on the creation and management of knowledge. The propositions are as follows. * Proposition 1: As an administrator my practices when working with knowledge are a reflection of my ontology and epistemology. To consciously vary my professional practices to facilitate knowledge creation and management it is essential for me to make my ontology and epistemology explicit. * Proposition 2: My professional practices related to information sharing and knowledge creation are directly influenced by psycho-social filters. Three primary psycho-social filters are context, need and relationships. * Proposition 3: The influence of the relationship filter on my knowledge creation activities is directly linked to the relationships that exist between me and those involved in the knowledge activities. The ongoing capacity for my professional practices to influence knowledge creation is linked through relationships by my personal resilience. * Proposition 4: My knowledge influencing practices are those practices that support the provision of opportunities for information sharing and the creation of knowledge with the specific intent of applying that knowledge in an organisational context. A primary application of the created knowledge is decision making. * Proposition 5: Knowledge creation is an ongoing process and knowledge is only relevant at a point in time and applicable in a particular context. * Proposition 6: My professional practices that influence information sharing, knowledge creation and decision making are explicit iterations of my power as an administrator. * Proposition 7: Involvement in the decision making process is one of my key roles as an administrator. Decision making is a major example of the creation and use of knowledge within a school. * Proposition 8: I acknowledge that stories are a valuable way for individuals to share information and they can act as a catalyst for the creation of knowledge. * Proposition 9: Using the knowledge management discourse as a framework to support the critique of my professional practice challenges its branding as a management fad. The propositions have been developed and tested through reconnaissance and two cycles of action research. These propositions have been integrated into a model representing my capacity as an administrator to influence the creation of knowledge.