ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION FOR SURVIVAL: AN ANALYSIS (part 23)

SOURCE CREDIBILITY
by
Charles Lamson

Source credibility refers to how believable a source is perceived to be. If we see a person as highly credible, we will tend to believe what they say. Often we will take what the person says at face value, without seeking other information or opinions. However, if we see a person as less credible, we may question virtually everything the person says, and look to other sources to verify or challenge what that person says. Aristotle suggested that there are three dimensions or components of source credibility (which he called ethos). Contemporary social science has confirmed these dimensions to be appropriate within the organizational context today (Mccroskey and Teven, 1999). These are labeled competence, trustworthiness and goodwill. All of these dimensions are interrelated, but each deals with a separate element of credibility.

Competence.    This dimension of credibility refers to the degree to which a person is perceived to be knowledgeable, or expert in, a given subject. We judge the person on a continuum ranging from being completely competent to being completely incompetent. While sometimes competence is perceived on an absolute basis (Is the person an expert or not?) often it is viewed as a relative matter (Is this person more competent than I am?). For more important concerns, we tend to move to the more absolute position, but in everyday matters, we are more likely to use the comparative approach. In many circumstances, competence is the first credibility judgement we make, For if we deem the person to not be knowledgeable about the issue, we may care little about the other two dimensions.

Trustworthiness.    This dimension of credibility is concerned with the honesty of the individual. It is a character issue. We may see the person as an expert but if we feel that we cannot trust the person to tell the truth about what he or she knows, we are likely to perceive the person as having little credibility. Perceptions of trustworthiness exist along a continuum similar to that of competence, Our judgement of a person may range from being totally trustworthy to totally untrustworthy. However, this perception is not often mediated by our perception of our own trustworthiness. Even a person who is totally dishonest will perceive little credibility for a person they perceive also to be dishonest.

Goodwill.    This may be the most important element in source credibility, particularly in contexts where people must come in contact, and work with each other, on a daily basis. Another term for goodwill is caring. (In short, do we perceive this other person as caring about our well-being? is he/she concerned about our welfare or is this person motivated primarily by selfish concerns?) Even highly competent people will fail to tell us what we need to know. Even highly honest people may not look at the issue from our perspective, and what the impact may be on us. People may be seen on a continuum, with a range from highly concerned about our well bring, to totally unconcerned with whether we even live or die. If we perceive our supervisor is working extremely hard to help us get ahead, we may overlook the fact that he/she is less competent than we are, or even that he/she sometimes exaggerates or twists the truth. We write this not to suggest that goodwill is more important than competence, or trustworthiness in all contexts, rather it is to stress that caring really counts, whether it is a subordinate perceiving a supervisor or a supervisor perceiving a subordinate. If we do not believe another person has our best interests at heart, we are highly unlikely to believe what he/she says to us.

Competence, Trustworthiness and goodwill have long been known to be important factors in creating the impression of believability. We can establish these perceptions of ourselves in relationships with others, our influence with those others is likely to be substantial. Even peons in an organization can generate these perceptions over time. Establishing good relationships with peers is the initial step to generating these perceptions. Achieving this step usually is helpful to taking the next step as well. That step is establishing these perceptions in the mind of one's supervisor, and ultimately, those higher in the organization.

*SOURCE: ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION FOR SURVIVAL 3RD ED. BY VIRGINIA P. RICHMOND, JAMES C. MCCROSKEY AND LINDA L. MCCROSKEY; PGS. 98-99*

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