TO CONTROL AND BUILD TRUST: HOW MANAGERS USE ORGANISATIONAL CONTROLS AND TRUST BUILDING ACTIVITIES TO MOTIVATE SUBORDINATE COOPERATION

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To Control and Build Trust: How Managers Use Organisational Controls and Trust Building Activities to Motivate Subordinate Cooperation

Knowledge

Over the years, management styles within an organisation have been changing. However, the vital factor that has to stand out in these styles is enhancing the employees’ performances by creating a great relationship between the manager and the employee. Due to this, the concept of trust and control has been associated with management due to its impact on enhancing employees’ performances (Nowell and Middleton, 2016). As a result, several studies have tried to explain and build more knowledge on the concept of trust and management control (Bijlsma-Frankema and Costa, 2005). The idea of management control started in the 1970s. Ever since, new knowledge has been developed as a result of various research conducted on the subject (Cardinal, Sitkin, and Long 2004, p 411). Studies have shown that for an organisation to be successful, the managers have to build and maintain their relationships with their employees or subordinates (Vyakarnam, Robin and Jari, 1999). Trust and control have been considered a substituting or a complementary component of building and maintaining these relationships.

Moreover, these studies have also shown that there is an advantage in managers exercising a given amount of legitimacy-enhancing supervisory control on their subordinates (Bass et al., 2003). Research has shown that there is a shift in balance in the level of control within organisations. Given the interest of researchers on trust and control dynamics, managers have been able to evolve their trust and management control approaches to effect changes in their organisations (Sitkin and George, 2005, p. 309). The drivers for these evolutions have been the shift between form and informal control mechanisms (Cardinal, Sitkin and Long, 2004, p. 412). Despite these evolutions, studies have shown that it is has been hard for managers to balance the control and trust dynamics to get the best out of their employees (Long and Sitkin, 2018, p. 726). Besides, researchers have struggled with the contradictions and gaps that have made it harder to answer some of the questions that arise from the balance of such dynamics (Long and Sitkin, 2018, p. 745). Therefore, currently, researchers have been trying to distinguish control activities from trust-building activities.

Theory

Control and trust are considered vital factors that enable managers to get the best out of their employees or subordinates. As a result, the aspect of control and trust has been operating on the theoretical framework in which the dynamics of control and trust can be used in a balanced way, and the manager can enhance employees’ performances (Long, 2018, p. 70). Therefore, many managers’ challenge is how they can handle the tensions that arise from control and trust. These tensions arise when the employee can mistake control as an aspect of the manager trying to reduce his or her autonomy. Many managers are always in a dilemma on how they can use control to build trust from their subordinates, whether they apply the controls strongly or fairly. However, at times, managers are more prone to try to earn their subordinates’ trust to the point they cannot control subordinates, resulting in low or average work performance in the case of subordinates (Long, 2010, p 365). Conversely, based on the managerial perspectives, researchers have managed to come up with conclusions crucial for managers in comprehending the theoretical aspects of control and trust dynamics.

Firstly, many researchers tend to agree that if managers can balance their efforts in using control approaches and try to earn their subordinates’ trust, they will be able to motivate them in committing to their responsibilities as well as enhancing the work performance (Long, 2018, p. 71). Secondly, scholars have also agreed that it is evident that many managers are trying to have a balance in their control and trust dynamics (Long, 2018, p. 71). However, it should be noted that while progress has been made in this area, there are still gaps that do not explain how managers can implement these directives (control activities) when trying to earn their subordinates’ trust. Besides, researchers are also to agree on the manager’s perspectives on control and how they use it to gain trust (Long, 2018, p. 73). On the other hand, scholars have tried to address the issues mentioned above, however, they are still held back by the lack of knowledge on how managers control and direct their subordinates (Long, 2018, p. 73). Generally, there is not much information on the trust-building process among managers, given the number of researchers involved in addressing such an issue.

Application of Long’s Research on Organisational Context

Given that there was a gap in the lack of knowledge on how managers control and direct their subordinates, Long’s (2018) research tries to address this issue. Through the study, he found out that for managers to motivate their subordinates, they have been using control mechanisms to clarify the results, and expectations required from the assistants. It is evident from the study that indeed, managers use control activities to build trust with their subordinates. Due to this, managers can use their trustworthiness to convince their subordinates to trust them (Long, 2018, p. 79). Besides, while other researches have to be conducted to approve some of the results discovered by Long’s research, the study did suggest that managers usually use a multifaceted trust-building strategy in trying to enhance employees’ work engagements as well trying to develop interpersonal relationships. Given the managers’ urge to motivate the employees, it does show that they are keen on the control approaches they select and implement to earn their subordinates’ trust (Long, 2018, p. 82). Long’s research has managed to disagree with the experimental studies that have always indicted that managers have ever used ‘control’ to inform employees of their responsibilities rather than emphasizing the work that managers put in place to prove their trustworthiness (Biljsma-Frankema and Costa, 2010). As a result, Long’s study expounds on the knowledge of trust dynamics currently being experienced in organisations.

References

Bass, B.M., Avolio, B.J., Jung, D.I. and Berson, Y. (2003) ‘Predicting unit performance by assessing transformational and transactional leadership’, Journal of applied psychology, 88(2), pp.207. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0021-9010.88.2.207

Bijlsma-Frankema, K.M. and Costa, A.C. (2005) ‘Understanding the trust-control nexus’, International Sociology, 20, pp. 259–282. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0268580905055477

Biljsma-Frankema, K. M., and Costa, A. (2010) ‘Consequences and antecedents of managerial and employee legitimacy interpretations of control: a natural system approach’, in Sitkin, S. Cardinal, B. and Bijlsma-Frankema, K (eds.), Organizational control. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 396-433.

Cardinal, L.B., Sitkin, S.B. and Long, C.P. (2004) ‘Balancing and rebalancing in the creation and evolution of organisational control’, Organisation science, 15(4), pp.411-431. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/30034746 (Accessed 20 July 2020).

Long, C. P. (2010) ‘Control to cooperation: examining the role of managerial authority in portfolios of managerial action’, in Sitkin, S. Cardinal, B. and Bijlsma-Frankema, K (eds.), Organizational control. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 365-395.

Long, C.P. (2018) ‘To control and build trust: how managers use organisational controls and trust-building activities to motivate subordinate cooperation’, Accounting, Organisations and Society, 70, pp.69-91. Available at: www.elsevier.com/locate/aos (Accessed 20 July 2020).

Long, C.P. and Sitkin, S.B. (2018) ‘Control–trust dynamics in organisations: identifying shared perspectives and charting conceptual fault lines’, Academy of Management Annals, 12(2), pp.725-751. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2016.0055

Nowell, P. and Middleton, K.W. (2016) Examining the control-trust nexus in new venture teamwork. Gothenburg, Sweden: Chalmers University of Technology. Available at: https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1572/07d8fdfd836eb5dbb7622adb9be9f0f57502.pdf (Accessed 20 July 2020).

Sitkin, S. B. and George, E. (2005) ‘Managerial trust-building through the use of legitimating formal and informal control mechanisms’, International Sociology, 20, pp. 307-338. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0268580905055479

Vyakarnam, S., Robin, J. and Jari, H. (1999) ‘Exploring the formation of entrepreneurial teams: the key to rapid growth business?’, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development,6(2), pp. 153-165. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000006673