Dear Mahfuz,

Unfortunately, ethical behaviour seems to disappear in many countries as a consequence of a mainstream attitude which evaluates but direct profit. However, I think if an organisation builds an atmosphere of justice and ethics among its employees and managers, this will be not only a good example but also the performance and operation of such an organisation should be improved. If only many similar organisations, institutes, corporations operated like that.

Dear Mahfuz,

Unfortunately, ethical behaviour seems to disappear in many countries as a consequence of a mainstream attitude which evaluates but direct profit. However, I think if an organisation builds an atmosphere of justice and ethics among its employees and managers, this will be not only a good example but also the performance and operation of such an organisation should be improved. If only many similar organisations, institutes, corporations operated like that.

Dear Mahfuz

Yes. It certainly provides a motive for the employee when he/she gets confidence that he/she is treated by the organization fairly. Unfortunate part is that most of the places politics and profit above all seems to be becoming the norm rather than exception.

I believe organizational justice affects employee outcome. Organizational justice is a strong predictor of many employee outcomes, such as organizational commitment and employee retention.

I believe employees who are given just treatment consistently will respond positively in terms of performance, all round commitment, and commitment to ethics.

But it's true that not many organisations are giving just treatment to employees.

What was that justice dear my dear friend @Mahfuz! Life and work are brutal and come down to survival, ethics is in last place! Globalization done it!

In fact, perception of organizational justice, that includes fair and just treatment, employee involvement, and fulfilling the reasonable aspirations of the employees concerned, is the strongest predictor or employee commitment/engagement. So, naturally, it would result in tangible gains towards the realization of the organizational vision.

I am attaching a paper that supports this view.

http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=10&sid=c5bab2fc-ba89-4656-9f35-4ed91643484e%40sessionmgr4002&hid=4106&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=bth&AN=21118629

Speaking theoretically, I do agree that organizational justice affects employee outcome, yes! Here is fine chapter about this issue, "Organizational Justice, Ethics,..."!

I think organizational justice should contribute to employees` commitment to ethics; see the following article:

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=865511

This study examines the relationship between organisational ethics and organisational outcomes based on the justice theory and cognitive dissonance theory. The sample data are derived from a questionnaire survey of 237 managers in Singapore. Results obtained from decision trees indicate significant and positive links between ethical culture constructs (i.e. top management support for ethical behaviour and the association between ethical behaviour and career success within the organisation) and job satisfaction. Further, there is a significant and positive link between job satisfaction and organisational commitment. Also, for different levels of job satisfaction, particular aspects of organisational ethics are associated with organisational commitment. The results suggest that organisational leaders can use organisational ethics as a means to generate favourable organisational outcomes.

I agree with Dr. Mahfoz that organizational justice affects employee outcome. Organizational justice is a strong predictor of many employee outcomes, such as organizational commitment and employee retention.

Thank yoy Abedallah for pointing out to the study that examines the relationship between organisational ethics and organisational outcomes based on the justice theory and cognitive dissonance theory.

Yes, organisational justice affects employee outcome. In addition I would like to note that international justice, is the only remedy to terrorism.

Thank you dear Kamal for your practical notice. That is really what happen in most organizations.

In the organizational context, there are procedural justice, distributive justice, and interactional justice. All three types are important in measuring organizational justice.

It depends on the specific person, since all general rules can be violated many times in life.

A good example may be the best teacher!

Period!

Yes my dear Ahed. Organizational justice is touched and perceived by all employees.

The modern interpretation of term «organizational commitment» can be represented by the question. How much money is a «organizational commitment»?

It's a new equivalent to salary (to Mayakovsky), "Why do you get your water hot?//

They promised and go cahoots//

For one there is a doughnut, for another there is a doughnut whole...//

It means to divide salary income into equal parts"

When the organization management deals fairly with employees, employees is expected to deal fairly with others.

Employees normally reciprocate management's good deeds to them. From my experience, my answer to this question is yes. Treating people fairly in the workplace lead to more commitment of employees to ethics because they see that from management itself.

Theoretically, that should be true people who are treated fairly return the same coin but it may not be found always valid. We humans are very complex and our nature/attitudes to respond and react in various situations vary as well. So, I do agree with the concerns of @Prof. Kamal.

The higher is competition, the less is chance for justice. I regret this, as no justice at the workplace diminish commitment. However, i do not say "o tempora, o mores" - there are many examples to both sides ...

Yes fairly treatments could build such commitments and trusts.  

The presence of organization justice is likely to motivate  most employees  in the organization towards high commitment. But it is not a panacea for all human ills. There are some people in almost every organization who are incorrigible. It may not actuate them to practice ethics. But yes, mostly it is likely to be conducive to ethical working by all right thinking people. Some people may be influenced by it moderately, and some not at all.

prof Kamal, did you notice, that in the last decade number of such unfair persons grow?

Organizational justice and fairness create ethical culture. Ethics and morality are interrelated and guide the voluntary human conduct. When employees perceive that organizational decisions are ethical , they tend to be committed to the organizational ethics and values.

I probably seem silly but I still believe in the power of exemplary and that of justice. I still believe that wanting to create a more equitable organization can contribute to employees' commitment to ethics. I still believe that ethics and justice allow men to escape the attraction they have for unnecessary conflicts...and may allow them to get closer and even to reach together common goals.

According to several experts' opinions, business organizations are increasingly paying attention to issues related with ethics. Because a good work climate is evaluated as a critical factor for organizations and business problems involving ethics are increasing. Ethical values may change one to another. So there may be a need for top management to make certain ethical codes and support employees for ethical behaviors to manage organizational outcomes. Ethical climate makes an environment that enhances ethical values, clarifies role ambiguities, and provides a clear direction for ethical decision making in ethical situations enabling individuals to enjoy their works. If employees perceive a favorable ethical climate they are also likely to have a higher level of job satisfaction. Lack of ethical consistency between the organization and its employees can cause stress and dissatisfaction.

Organizational commitment (OC) is defined as strength of an individual’s identification with and involvement in an organization. A highly committed individual strongly believes in and accept the organization's goals and values, willingly exerts considerable effort on behalf of the organization and strongly desire to remain a member of the organization

Employees with strong affective commitment remain with the organization because they want to, but those with strong continuance commitment remain with the organization because they need to

OC looks like a “strong magnetic force attracting one metallic object to another” and indicates the degree to which an employee identifies with the organization and wants to remain within the organization in future

High level of OC represents a positive manner that could add meaning to life for employees and increased performance and reduced turnover and absenteeism for organization. Moreover, low levels of commitment are largely dysfunctional for both the individual and the organization. For example, individual career advancement may be severely hampered or an unstable, disloyal work force may suffer the organization.

On the other hand, there may be some risks for both individuals and organizations at extreme levels of commitment. High organizational commitment may blind some employees to the ethical problems in their organization. The costs of commitment outweigh the advantages at high levels of commitment. So commitment may be at moderate level where both individual and organizational needs may be balanced

Ethics are moral principles, values, rules or beliefs about what is right or wrong.

Thousands of elements such as everyday policies, practices, procedures, and routines which make a worker’s job environment define organizational climate.

Ethical climate is a type of an organization’s work climate. Ethical climate of an organization is defined as “the prevailing perceptions of typical organizational practices and procedures that have ethical content constitute the ethical work

climate”. Ethical climate is “shared perception of personnel about how ethical issues should be addressed and what ethically correct behavior is”. Ethical climate refers to “the prevailing attitudes about the firm's standards concerning appropriate conduct” in the organization. An organization’s ethical climate contributes employees at all level to makes ethical decisions. This is not only related with the content of decision: “what should I do?” but also process of decision “how should I do?”.

Each organization may have a set of ethical rules that may be unique to the organization. Employees in an organization first perceive ethics (code of ethic) before their behaviors are likely to become more ethical. If an organization is committed to being ethical, this can have a direct impact on employees’

behaviors. So organization can design an ethical structure and create an ethical climate that supports and encourages people to act ethically in the organization by both implementing and enforcing rules and policies on ethical behaviors, rewarding ethical behaviors and punishing unethical behaviors. Briefly, codes, corporate policy and reward and punishment on ethical behaviors are dimensions of ethical climate.

Researches indicate that there is a positive relationship between organization’s ethical climate and organizational commitment. Organizations that exhibit strong ethical values may benefit from having more committed employees to the organization. A research on marketing professionals indicates that perceptions of organizational ethical values are significant and substantive predictors of OC. Findings suggest that the caring and rules dimensions of EC are positively related to their OC. The instrumental dimension of EC (egoistic thinking at the individual) has a strong inverse relationship with OC.

As a consequence of different studies that were carried out it can be stated that employees perceive their organizations as more ethical are likely to be more committed to their organization. Based on these findings the null hypotheses proposed are as follows:

-Employees’ perception of ethical climate in the organization has no significant effect on affective commitment.

-Employees’ perception of ethical climate in the organization has no significant effect on continuance commitment.

On the other hand job satisfaction (JS) or dissatisfaction is “an emotional response to a value judgment”. If one perceives that the job meets or allows the meeting of one’s important values one will experience a “pleasurable emotion of satisfaction. JS refers to an employee’s general attitude toward his or her job. An individual who is satisfied with his or her job holds positive attitude toward

the job. There is a high level of agreement among the social scientist that JS is a positive emotional reaction to a particular job. JS is not a unitary concept. An employee can be relatively satisfied with one aspect of his or her job and dissatisfied with one or more other aspects.

Managements of organizations can create an ethical climate by implementing and enforcing code of ethics and policies, rewarding ethical behaviors and punishing unethical behaviors. Ethical climate positively influence ethical behaviors and may result in job satisfaction by eliminating ambiguities on job related to handling ethical situations in the organizations. Although there are relatively limited studies, recent studies from variety of sectors suggest that different dimensions of ethical climate have different impact on different facets of job satisfaction. Examining the relationship between EC and JS and OC, Schwepker’s study suggests that perception of a positive ethical climate is positively associated with job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

Why Employees Care About Justice? Managers too often assume that justice, in the minds of employees, means only that they receive desirable outcomes. These managers are confusing outcome favorability with outcome justice. The former is a judgment of personal worth or value; the latter is a judgment of moral propriety.

Components of Organizational Justice

Components of Organizational Justice may be summarized as follows:

1. Distributive Justice: Appropriateness of outcomes.

* Equity: Rewarding employees based on their contributions.

* Equality: Providing each employee roughly the same compensation.

* Need: Providing a benefit based on one’s personal requirements.

2. Procedural Justice: Appropriateness of the allocation process.

* Consistency: All employees are treated the same.

* Lack of Bias: No person or group is singled out for discrimination or ill-

  treatment.

*Accuracy: Decisions are based on accurate information.

*Representation of All Concerned: Appropriate stakeholders have input into

 a decision.

*Correction: There is an appeals process or other mechanism for fixing

 mistakes.

*Ethics: Norms of professional conduct are not violated.

3. Interactional Justice: Appropriateness of the treatment one receives from authority figures.

*Interpersonal Justice: Treating an employee with dignity, courtesy, and

 respect.

*Informational Justice: Sharing relevant information with employees.

For more details on the organizational justice you may refer to the following link:

http://www.wku.edu/cebs/doctorate/documents/readings/cropanzano_etal_2007_organizational_justice.pdf

I agree with  dear sir @ Kamal that it depends on the employee's background and the culture of the country. Some employee when they are treated fairly they also respond with their commitment and hard work, but some may take advantage of your fairness. People have various traits.

Dear Kamal, I agree with you fully; you have said it so appropriately, as always. Human nature is so complex. Often, different people need to be handled differently. That validates the theory of diversity management and also of situational leadership.

Acting with honesty and integrity should be the core value of all academicians and researchers. This can include avoiding conflicts of interest, dealing with others honestly and in good faith; avoiding plagiarism, and compliance with applicable laws, and regulations.

Academicians and researchers should be committed to operating with the highest standards of integrity and ethics. In support of this strategy, all universities should develop a Code of Ethics to be adhered to by all university academic and administrative staff.

The need for ethical behaviour is rooted in our essential human capacity to understand the boundaries of right and wrong. However, these may vary with various cultural and environmental factors. I would also strongly say economic factors, because consumerism in the globalized world, that is readily prone to excesses, makes ethical behaviour seem pale and unnecessary in comparison. Ethics spring forth from a community's beliefs and values but this is anything but simplistic. With the decentralization of knowledge, information, and access-- there is no one set of values that guide people these days. So the forces that govern our ethical choices are also manifold and diverse.

Organizational justice, in an inherent sense, upholds the value of equity and justice and thus reflects well upon the employees involved. However, what matters more is to have consistent dialogue around these issues of justice and what constitutes ethical behaviour. When there is active dialogue and discussion in such areas, people understand the value that the organization accords to these factors, and thus contribute to active regard for and participation in the preservation of ethics. 

Yes dear Monica. I agree with you that the need for ethical behavior is rooted in our essential human capacity to understand the boundaries of right and wrong.

In general one value in an organization lead to another. Here in my question, I believe that organizational justice, as a core value can lead to another core value i.e. commitment to ethics.

"Organizational justice concerns employees' perceptions of fairness within a company. Distributive, procedural, and interactional are the three types of organizational justice that companies must embrace in order to have happy and productive employees. The source follows!"

http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/organizational-justice-definition-and-relevance-to-organizational-behavior.html#lesson

Yes dear Ljubomir. Organizational justice concerns employees` perceptions of fairness within an organization, while commitment to ethics concern employees` commitment to ethics in their behaviors and actions. 

The initiative of organizational justice is the organization management, whereas the initiative of commitment to ethics is the employees themselves.

Yes when there are justice among employee they will be committed, further they will defense the organization like a soldier, specially when we talking about their contribution and what they get as a compensation or recognition.

Dear Islam,

I really agree with you in that when there is justice among employees, they are expected to be committed to ethical behavior.

In my opinion, all organizations should have a code of ethics to guide the behavior of their employees. 

If you are good with other, they would be good with you..

So, if system of an organization is fair transperent with employees then they would work like wise..

Organizational justice leads to practicing fairness and justness as values in the organization. Ethics without values is difficult to practice and sustain. So, it definitely contributes towards employees' commitment to ethics.  

The interactions of faculty members with students and colleagues are expected to be guided by certain value, such as trust, honesty, integrity, and fairness.

Mistrust is a problem in many workplaces. Leaders have to identify and share their values with subordinates so as to build trust among them.  The commitment to ethics is positively and directly affected by trust.