Trust As The Missing Root Relating To Education, Institutions And Economic Development

The institution being studied was established on with the goals of training persons for competent service and the world of work. The core values of the institution were based on philosophies centred on trust. Years after its establishment, that selected tertiary institution is struggling with real and perceived breaches of trust which adversely affects its workers and operations. The wider context of the study is that Jamaica is ranked (put in the figure) in the world for corruption according to (put in the corruption index). Jamaica, though known internationally for its high Christian culture and ideals, has an intrinsic problem with integrity, resulting in the average person not trusting authority – the “Babylon system”. “Babylon system” is a biblical (Revelation 17-18) and Rastafarian reference to any societal, religious or organizational system that is organized on corruption, deceit and falsehood, and is difficult to conquer or escape from. The “Anansyism” folklore in Jamaica, which could be likened to “Trick and Treat” in the United States, being part of the oral traditional culture of the country might even be blamed for low trust, nationally.

In the context of the organizational climate in the country, generally, workers see themselves as instruments through which administrators gain wealth, power and status, at the expense of the workers that are not members of established echelons. Administrators at multiple levels (civic, religious, educational) appear to be allowed to “to rise and fall”, while things remain the same. This mind-set in Jamaica might have influenced the workers and operations of the selected institution, given that this institution is a subset of the wider Jamaican workforce.

According to the 2013 report of Bjørnskov & Méon titled, “Is trust the missing root of institutions, education, and development?”, there is evidence that trust is the missing root relating to education, institutions and economic development. (Bjørnskov & Méon , 2013, p 641). Countries, institutions and individuals value trust while being mindful of the opportunity cost of neglecting the value of same. For many, “trust determines both education and the quality of institutions and institutions in turn affect GDP per capita.” (Bjørnskov & Méon , 2013, p.641). Educational institutions remain mindful of the impact and costliness of distrust. For example, the 2015 New York Times account by Stephanie Saul reports on how a college system had to pay millions on account of loss of trust. In that article, the for-profit college operator, Education Management Corporation, was expected to pay $90 million over compensation based on students enrolled by certain employees, as this was considered “hyperaggressive tactics to increase revenue…the case said the revenue had been the result of fraud” (Stephanie Saul, New York Times, November 15, 2015). Apart from the actual pay-out in court, there was the further cost of this distrustful situation resulting in “declining enrolment …and the company’s price per share has dropped to 8 cents from about $22.” (Saul, New York Times, 2015). For good governance in organizations, such as the selected tertiary institution, higher levels of real and perceived trust are expected to result in greater worker morale, better decision-making and implementation of plans by administrations, and increased loyalty by students as well as potential students. Canute Thompson, University of the West Indies(UWI) researcher, explores the competence trust dimension for tertiary educational institutions in Jamaica when he suggests, through his work, that there is a critical role that listening plays in the competencies expected in effective leadership and trust building. (Thompson, C, 2018 p.59). Listening is crucial to trust in educational institutions since listening between team members, as well as other internal and external stakeholders, is a component of trustworthiness.

Trust is not just an institutional/organizational issue but a societal issue in Jamaica at micro, mezzo and macro levels. In light of its economic value, trust affects both the micro and macro economies of countries, and also affects governance, law and order in the areas of politics and crime. Trust is related to corruption. According to the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of 2016, on a scale of 1 to 100, where 100 is the country ranking of the least corruption (hence the highest levels of trust). Jamaica has also seen a drop in its CPI score which is now at 39 out of 100, two places lower than the 41 attained in 2015. (Transparency International & Corruption Perception Index 2016 Reports). Adding to this, The Gleaner of January 25, 2017 reported that Jamaica has fallen 14 places on the latest corruption index released by Transparency International. The release had Jamaica ranked 83rd out of the 176 countries for 2016, being 14 places worse than in 2015 when it was in the 69th position.

The productivity and earnings of Jamaica are being affected by reasonable or unreasonable distrust between individuals and corporate entities. For example, scamming in Jamaica is having an international impact. Scamming and other distrustful incidents and acts of violence have also impacted the tourism product and delivery in Jamaica. Paul Bourne in his article on Crime, Trust and Tourism in Jamaica implies that “tourist’s perception [that] will influence their decision-making process to travel to a particular destination”. Related to this, is the suggestion that tourists may not be trusting of Jamaicans based on tendencies of violent acts to tourists and nations. It might be safely concluded that because “trust is a necessary component for tolerance, cooperation, social capital and by extension development (Morgan, 2005; Zak and Knack, 2001 and Bourne, 2018), a society that is experiencing a high crime rate may not be simultaneously undergoing high trust, social collaboration, and tolerance among the various agents.”

Jamaican Newspaper columnists, Lawrence Powell, (2012) and Canute Thompson, (2017), despite the five-year difference in their publications, have both addressed this issue of trust in their columns. They suggest that the trust deficit or the issue of trust in leaders has remained a constant concern with far-reaching implications for the confidence in the governance of the country’s affairs. Related to governance, these articles were written around the times of changes in political leadership, which could in some way influence the state of distrust of those times. They both concur on the note that there is constant waning in trust among the Jamaican people, especially in the competence of public officials, which is believed to be negatively impacting social capital and interactions, generally. This impact of the waning of trust on social capital, was endorsed by socio-theological columnists Henry Morgan and Ian Boyne who both have lamented in their columns where this real or perceived trust deficit has landed us as a people. Lack of trust for a nation, while weakening social capital which is needed for growth and development, is not merely a political or economic problem; it might even have implications for “branding”, whether it be national reputation, ease of doing business, rated quality of services and products, or otherwise. Consistent with this is the less than favourable acknowledgement that “[Jamaica] we are at the bottom of the world’s trust levels together with countries such as Burkina Faso, Serbia, Morocco, Colombia and Iran.” (Ian Boyne, 2010). The feeling of general low trust levels is neither comforting nor socio-economically favourable, as one contemplates that “between 83 and 84 per cent of Jamaicans do not trust other people” (Powell’s Gleaner article, 2012).

Trust is a matter of public interest and will impact on all aspects of life, including the pursuit and delivery of education. In politics, for example, political leaders show concern over the rise and fall of lack of confidence trends, leading to the “trust gap and its repercussions in the public and private sector” (O’Neill, 2002,).

The Caribbean’s shifting ranking on the Corruption index is noteworthy. Aside from Jamaica, other parts of the Caribbean region have had their fair share of distrust issues in the private and public sector. In the article, Measuring Institutional Trust: Evidence from Guyana, by Troy and Abts, it has been reported that “ the level of trust in institutions in Guyana is generally low. Only three institutions have average scores above the scale midpoint.” (Troy & Abts p. 24). Another instance in the Caribbean of waning trust was evidenced in recent media attention given to the Turks & Caicos Islands, where financial schemes went sour. As well, thrusts towards heightened taxation compliance in Latin America and the Caribbean have been met with negative responses purely on the basis of low trust levels, thus indicating a strong correlation between tax morale and the perception that collections are not well spent (Aguirre &and Rocha, 2010).

The rest of the world, including the United States, has not been spared on the issue of trust and this is noted in historic and other utterances. Former United States President, Jimmy Carter, from as far back as in the 1970s, publicly acknowledged that the “erosion of confidence is a threat to the social and political fabric of America” (Carter, 1979). Despite the past decades, trust seems to remain a major factor impacting the life of America as evidenced by the recent travel and other precautionary measures being implemented at country borders. In Poland and Russia, for example, there is a known culture of distrust. Researchers such as Morreale and Shockley-Zalabak (2014), in their study on the perspectives and experiences of Polish and Russian leaders, sought to more clearly comprehend how trust operates in countries where “history and culture have contributed to a norm of distrust” (Morreale and Shockley-Zalabak) . That research concluded that for the leaders interviewed, although operating in a generally distrustful culture, the organizational success of both countries is largely dependent on trust. The foregoing leaves hardly any doubt that considering the levels of trust at the work place is an absolute necessity for institutions desirous of advancing from surviving to thriving. The theme “surviving to thriving” was selected by the institution being studied in the year 2015 to 2016 for one of its management retreat sessions.