Abstract
D.Litt. et Phil.
With the emergence of what has been referred to as the
"post-industrial" society, the last decade has seen employer-employee
work relationships undergoing a high level of change, as organisations
restructure in an attempt to survive in the emerging global economy.
Largely due to this, the nature of work has changed, placing tension on
intra-organisational trust. As organisations readjust in an attempt to
face the future they often find that intra-organisational trust is in a
crisis, at a time when emphasis is being placed on the need for
trust-based relationships.
This renewed focus, and paradox that intra-organisational trust faces,
has, on a multidisciplinary basis, caught the attentions of numerous
academics, resulting in numerous attempts to understand aspects of
interpersonal trust. In this study some of these attempts are
considered in proposing a model for intra-organisational trust and
certain aspects of this model are tested empirically.
To achieve this, a multifaceted approach is employed, within a South
African financial institution, whereby triangulation is used through
gathering both quantitative and qualitative data. A research instrument
is developed, by means of which the facilitators of trustworthiness, as
proposed in terms of a model for trust and percieved by respondents,
are measured.
An analysis of the data gathered in respect of the various biographical
categories at the company investigated, is undertaken. In terms of this
analysis the relationship between interpersonal trust and the facilitators
of trustworthiness is assessed, and the implications of this study for
theory and policy are considered.