Understanding Fairness: Exploring Subjectivity And Organizational Justice

Abstract

The nature of justice has been specified historically in a number of different ways, including retribution, mercy, and equity. Contemporary management scholarship considers "organizational justice" synonymous with 'fairness' and defined by individual perceptions of organizational policies and procedures. While traditional management research focuses on identifying variables related to perceptions of fairness, the connection between subjectivity and perceptions of fairness has been theorized (Leventhal 1980). The present study employs Q methodology as a means of bridging the gap between theory and research, and expanding this stream of management inquiry. Results reveal three distinct viewpoints, reflecting different understandings of organizational justice among members of a university human relations committee. These findings suggest enhanced opportunities for understanding the antecedents of conflict in organizational life.