Beyond contract

This book seeks to explore fundamental principles implicitly in forming the ways in which men organize, regulate, and reward themselves for the production and distribution of goods and services, and the significance of these principles for their wider social relations. For all the talk of the coming 'age of leisure' the theme is likely to remain a central one for modern man. As Everett Hughes wrote: 'In our particular society, work organization looms so large as a separate and specialized system of things, and work experience is so fateful a part of every man's life, that we cannot make much headway as students of society and of social psychology without using work as one of our main laboratories' (1952: 426). His perspective is apposite, since it will be argued here that the principles by which we organize work not only have 'fateful' consequences in this field for our indi vidual experience, for our relations with others, and for relations between social groups, but also have profound significance for the study of institutions and interactions throughout the wider social setting beyond work.

These principles concern relationships of trust and distrust between men and between groups in work situations. On the level of familiar everyday usages, trust is a familiar talking point for managers, admini strators, and indeed rulers of all kinds. "Trust the company!" is an appeal frequently addressed to its employees, just as 'Trust my leadership!" is a frequent appeal of political rulers to their subjects. In personal, face-to-face relationships, too, the manager is keenly aware of trust or distrust in the attitudes of subordinates, and their effect on work performance and cooperation. Trust is increasingly seen, indeed, as a key factor in organizational wellbeing.