IZAZOVI I PRILIKE ZA USPOSTAVU I ODRŽAVANJE KULTURE POVJERENJA U ORGANIZACIJI / CHALLENGES AND CHANCES FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF THE CULTURE OF TRUST IN AN ORGANISATION

Abstract

Establishing and maintaining the culture of trust is the foundation of the construction of a positive psychological contract between the organisation’s management and employees. Positive effects of the organisation culture that is based on values of a transparent decision-making and a consistent behaviour of management in accordance with the vision and the mission of the organisation and the needs of its employees are manifold. The higher the attachment to an organisation, the higher the satisfaction, productivity and innovation. Those are but some of the outcomes that are brought into a connection with the high level of trust in an organisation. The primary goal of this paper is to draw attention to the key arguments related to the importance of a responsible management of the processes of the establishment and maintenance of trust, as well as the justification of a conviction that trust needs time, for it is established in an accumulative and gradual manner that entails readiness to risk and to be vulnerable in the relationship. The paper emphasises that an indicator of the established culture of trust, especially important in the working environment in a transition, is the perception of the employees related to the presence of respect, consideration and honesty in the communication patterns that are used by the management of the organisation. Taking into consideration the fact that dynamics and uncertainty are two constituent features of a business environment, nowadays additionally aggravated by a relative crisis of trust an individual has towards the institution of promise, this paper especially emphasises the conclusion on the necessity of a serious consideration of the perspective of establishing, preserving or recuperating the trust in work organisations. Although the very establishment and maintenance of trust is a difficult task for every organisation, re-establishment of the lost trust is a far more difficult challenge. From the perspective of organisational psychology, a number of recommendations are offered aimed at helping organisations to construct the capacity and efficiently face the challenge of construction and preservation of the resources of trust.