Towards an understanding of inequity.

Abstract

A theory of social inequity, with special consideration given to wage inequities, is presented. A special case of Festinger's cognitive dissonance, the theory specifies the conditions under which inequity will arise and the means by which it may be reduced or eliminated. Observational field studies supporting the theory and laboratory experiments designed to test certain aspects of it are described. thor wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to Leon Festinger for his work on cognitive dissonance and to George C. Homans for his ideas on distributive justice, which stimulated much of the present essay. He is also grateful to A. J. Arrowood, W. B. Rosenbaum, F. Tweed, and Patricia Jacobsen for assistance in conducting experiments.

A Theory of Fairness, Competition and Cooperation

“…The reference outcome that is used to evaluate a given situation is itself the product of complicated social comparison processes. In social psychology [Festinger 1954;Stouffer et al 1949;Homans 1961;Adams 1963] and sociology [Davis 1959;Pollis 1968;Runciman 1966] the relevance of social comparison processes has been emphasized for a long time. One key insight of this literature is that relative material payoffs affect people's well being and behavior.…”

Employee Maintenance: Examining Employment Relationships from the Perspective of Managerial Leaders

“…By ignoring the needs of other employees, managers may contribute to a dysfunctional group dynamic characterized by injustice, stress, and disorder. Employees who require less maintenance may feel unfairly treated if disproportionate amounts of attention and resources are allocated to high-maintenance group members, particularly, if those resources are not commensurate with the high-maintenance employee's efforts (Adams, 1963). A manager whose time and attention is consumed with a high-maintenance employee may fail to provide other employees with clear instructions regarding important assignments or the resources necessary to complete those assignments.…”

Market on Social Fabric: Social Relations in ‘Free Enterprises’ Economy

“…Second, people consider anything satisfactory, if that meet their expectations and if they feel that at the same level of propensity and potentiality, their situation, possession and condition are better than that of the people who they would like to be compared with (Adams, 1963). Third, profit is getting more return than what have invested.…”