Justice at the Millennium A Meta-Analytic Review of 25 Years of Organizational Justice Research Case Solution

2. Organizational Justice

Organizational justice can be divided into three main categories. The initial study of distributive justice focused primarily on the ratio of outcomes to inputs by the employee. The level of satisfaction in terms of effort put and the fairness of outcomes were measured. Expecting fairness in terms of outcomes is a right for employees I believe. Procedural justice, on the other hand, is based on dispute resolution that organizations encounter regularly. In order for this to be fair, six criterions have to be met. These are highlighted in the article and I agree to these completely as an absence of one would mean the decision was not just or fair. It is important for all six to be present and taken into account before the result is announced (Blader & Tyler, 2003). Lastly, another aspect which is also critical in my opinion is the treatment of stakeholders in the organization once procedures are implemented. These aspects are known as interactional justice and although not visible at the surface hold great importance in the organizational context (Rivera, 2014).

3. Research Questions

The research conducted in the article focused on three types of questions; construct discrimination, proactive and reactive. Each has its own purpose to identify the theoretical background, importance and relevance with regards to implementation. The relation between the different types of justice has been a debate. I believe each one is distinct as it targets different elements. As Sania (2013) mentions in the research conducted, each element of organizational justice has a different impact on the employees and their perception towards it. Procedural fairness is an element based on perception triggered by process control. Research has focused on how new conceptualizations of procedural justice have helped improved the understanding. The legitimacy of procedural justice is based on social factors and the social context. Work attitudes and outcomes vary individually and need to be taken into account in procedural justice. Procedural justice for e.g. can be viewed as a boundary condition in terms of organizational commitment and citizenship. This may vary for each employee based on his/her perception that needs to be taken into account in this form of organizational justice (Carr, et al., 2015).

4. Implications

The construct discrimination results in the article confirm that each type of justice is distinct and can be empirically distinguished. Theory and research also confirm this statement as each has its own direction and purpose. Researchers must understand this distinction and devote more care in measuring these justice dimensions. Organizational justice is a very broad field and can be made specific by identifying the types and their dimensions. Each has its own impact on the employee perceptions, behavior and satisfaction levels (Roch & Shanock, 2006). Moreover, from a human resource management context it is important to understand that organizational justice has an impact on work performance as well. The perceptions eventually lead to behavior change and modeling. Although the relationship is indirect; it does exist and can influence satisfaction and motivation levels of employees. Moreover, interactional justice is the best predictor of performance at work. Therefore, the field needs to be researched further by managers and concerned personnel to effectively manage employees and ensure fair and just treatment at the workplace (Wang, et al., 2010).

5. Limitations

The field of organizational justice remains undiscovered to a great extent. As highlighted by the article based on which this thought paper is written, it is in a state of “intellectual adolescence.” I think this is primarily due to the lack of research undertaken and given the amount of research available the failure of organizations to understand and implement the findings in their own settings. Managers, especially in the field of human resources, fail to understand the importance and its impact on employees and various other stakeholders.