Principle of justice include:
Outcome fairness – a judgment that the consequences given to employees are just.
Procedural justice – a judgment that fair methods were used to determine the consequences an employee receives
Interactional justice – a judgment that the organization carried out its actions in a way that took the employee’s feelings into account
Procedural justice has to do with perceptions of the process. So if a performance management system is based on objective, agreed upon goals being achieved, and they aren’t, you may be unhappy with the outcome of the process but will believe that it is fair. For example, studies have shown that applicants who are rejected from organizations will maintain a positive impression of that company if they feel that the process was fair and they were treated well.
Outcome Fairness has to do with the outcomes of the process. It is possible to feel that the performance management process was fair but that you didn’t get the outcomes that matched your perceived inputs. Alternatively, you could feel that the process wasn’t fair in that you received special treatment because of your friendship with your boss, but still be happy with the outcome.
Interactional Justice: The perceived fairness of the interpersonal treatment used to determine organizational outcomes.
For example, a company laid off people without communicating with them directly and instead sent security guards to escort people out. As a result, an employee of 30 years sabotaged the company’s computer systems causing 20 million dollars in damage.