Justice and the Political in Organizational Life

Abstract

This article explores the link between justice and the political in organizational life. In contrast to the traditional organizational justice literature, the authors assume that justice experience cannot exist without political consciousness and use a narrative approach to explore this link. They draw from interviews with members of a human relations committee about organizational justice within their experience. Analyzing transcripts of these interviews, they read for narrative structures and themes. The discussion focuses on the political nature of justice in participants' stories as revealed in three themes: paradoxical implementation, cultural context, and personal intervention. The authors critique theories of organizational justice as being incomplete without consideration of political concerns and dynamics.