Abstract
Organisational justice improves overall organisational effectiveness, prudency, efficacy and efficiency. Previous studies examined the relationship between organisational justice and job satisfaction in manufacturing companies. This study therefore x-rayed the quality control and standards of organisational justice in Nigerian higher education: the roles and interplay of various agencies. To do this, efforts were made to examine the concept, types and models of organisational justice. A brief history of higher education in Nigeria was discussed as well as the principles of organisational justice within the context of education, empirical studies on the link among organisational justice, job satisfaction, organisational commitment and turnover intention were reviewed and the roles of various agencies in ensuring quality and standards of organisational justice in Nigerian higher education. It was therefore recommended that there should be regular and periodic workshops, conferences, seminars and symposium for the heads of the various institutions of higher learning with a view to gearing them on the relevance of organisational justice in the effective management and administration of higher educational institutions.
TopBackground
The history of higher education in Nigeria dates back to 1932 with the establishment of Yaba higher College, Lagos in 1932. Meanwhile, as the case may be in University education, the recommendations of Asquith and Elliot Commissions marked the turning point in the history of university education in the country. The outcome of which led to the establishment of university College, Ibadan in 1948 (Fafunwa, 1974; Taiwo, 1980; Osokoya, 1989 & Muraina, 2014). Therefore, over the years, there has being sporadic growth and development of higher educational institutions in Nigeria. It should be noted that higher education in Nigeria is being provided in the Colleges of education, polytechnics and monotechnics, as well as universities. The major goal of higher education or tertiary education is to improve the manpower requirements of the country (FRN, 2013).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Organisational Justice: Organizational justice generally refers to perceptions of fairness in treatment of individuals internal to that organization. It is a key factor associated with organizational success, and refers to people’s perception of fairness (or equity) in organizations, consisting of perceptions of how decisions are made regarding the distribution of outcomes (procedural justice) and the perceived fairness of the distribution of those outcomes themselves (distributive justice). According to Greenberg (1996) , organizational justice refers to individuals’ perception of fairness in the organization.
Procedural Justice: This is defined as the fairness of the processes that lead to outcomes. When individuals feel that they have a voice in the process or that the process involves characteristics such as consistency, accuracy, ethicality, and lack of bias then procedural justice is enhanced ( Leventhal, 1980 ). Procedural justice is concerned with the perception of fairness in the use of processes, procedures and methods in making outcome decisions ( Thibaut & Walker, 1975 ).
Interactional Justice: Interactional justice is defined as the quality of interpersonal treatment people receive when procedures are applied and outcomes are distributed (Bies and Moag, 1980 AU120: The in-text citation "Bies and Moag, 1980" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ). According to Moorman (1991) , interactional justice is the interaction between the source of allocation and the people who will be affected by the allocation decision.
Quality Control: This means the mechanism by which an education system ensures that the service it delivers or intends to deliver serve the purpose for which it is intended.
Higher Education: This is regarded as a level of education for training and providing middle and high manpower requirements of the country. Within the context of this chapter in Nigerian scenario, it covers universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and innovative enterprise institution as specified in the 2013 National Policy on Education.
Job Satisfaction: This is viewed as an effective response that an organizational member has toward his or her particular job, and results from the employee’s comparison of actual outcomes with those that are expected.
Distributive Justice: This is conceptualized as the fairness associated with decision outcomes and distribution of resources. The outcomes or resources distributed may be tangible ( e.g. , pay) or intangible ( e.g. , praise). Perceptions of distributive justice can be fostered when outcomes are perceived to be equally applied ( Adams, 1965 ).