2005: 496-497); (ii) positive leader feedback on goal completion (assisting in
clarifying expectations, modifying goal difficulty and allowing a means for
employees to gain recognition for their efforts) (Jex and Britt 2008: 247); (iii)
goal complexity (related to the attainability of the goal – organisations/leaders
should account for greater challenge by allowing more time for goal completion
and/or providing training) (Locke and Latham 1990); and employee perceptions
of self-efficacy / competence (Williams and Lillibridge 1992: 169-170; Latham and
Pinder 2005: 496-497).
Latham and Pinder’s third dominant area - organisational justice theory -
stems from another branch of the cognitive group, equity theory. Equity Theory
is a form of social exchange theory concerned with people’s perceptions of
fairness in social exchanges (Adams 1965). In a workplace context, equity theory
proposes that as employees deliver a range of inputs for their employer (e.g. an
individual’s time, skills, effort, prior and current education and training) then they
also consider the ratio of inputs to outputs (i.e. outputs accruing to the employee)
such as pay, benefits, leave entitlement, pension arrangements etc. – supervisor
feedback has also been identified as a salient output in the context of leadership
and equity theory (e.g. Sparr and Sonnentag 2008). Fairness or equity can be
evaluated relative to a number of criteria such as outputs accrued by other
members of the same organisation, members of other organisations in similar
roles or peers with similar qualifications. Where an individual is not satisfied with
their perceived input-output balance then they may attempt to increase the level
of outputs they receive or reduce levels of their own inputs.
Organizational justice theory draws upon equity theory and contains several
strands: distributive justice relating to the comparative input-output assessment
described above; procedural justice is based on the premise that fair procedures
and processes within the organisation contribute positively to employee
acceptance of outcomes and have a positive influence on employee work
motivation; and interactional justice concerns employee perceptions of fair
treatment, dignity and respect in specific interpersonal interactions (Jex and Britt
2008: 243)
Latham and Pinder (2005: 505) write that organizational justice is significant not
only in work motivation terms but also in the leadership context – specifically,
leaders should be perceived as being fair with regard to outcomes and processes.