NTL Record

Title Organizational Change: An Assessment of Trust and Cynicism: Final Report
Record ID 39829
Personal Name
Creator
Thompson, R. C.; Joseph, K. M.; Bailey, L. L.; Worley, J. A.; Williams, Clara A.
Corporate Creator Civil Aeromedical Institute
Corporate
Contributor
United States. Office of Aviation Medicine
Publisher Civil Aeromedical Institute
Publication Date 20000500
Language English
Abstract In the organizational science literature, organizational cynicism is generally considered to be conceptually distinct from organizational trust. This proposition, however, has not been adequately assessed. The present study attempts to distinguish these two constructs by utilizing organizational-level focused measures. Two surveys were administered about six months apart to members of a division that was undergoing change in a large federal agency. Data could be matched for 70 of the respondents on the two surveys. The results show that a measure of cynicism about change does not predict trust in coworkers or trust in work area managers, but does predict trust in division managers. These results do not conclusively demonstrate a distinction between the two constructs, however, they suggest that the constructs are related in a predictable manner. Finally, from the data obtained in this study of an organizational group undergoing change, it appears that trust of management is related to increased workgroup cohesion, and that trust is not due only to workforce cynicism. Instead, trust and cynicism may need to be addressed separately by management in order to most successfully implement change.
Rosap ID dot:21487
Rosap URL https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/21487
TRT Terms Surveys; Data analysis; Organizational effectiveness; Organizations; Management; Workforce; Measurement; Psychological trust
General Subjects Organizational cynicism; organizational trust; organizational change
Geographical
Coverage
United States
Report Number DOT/FAA/AM-00/14
Resource type Tech Report
URL https://ntlrepository.blob.core.windows.net/lib/39000/39800/39829/00_14.pdf
Format PDF
Database NTL Digital Repository