Military Review English Edition September-October 2013 | Page 84
way to avoid this perceived violation of trust. In a democratic system, however, civilian decision authorities are informed by robust public debate; silence is not always a viable option. Therefore, the most effective means of retaining public trust is to address accusations of opportunism directly, counter misrepresentation of motives, and present resource prioritization choices based on societal good, founded on empirical evidence, and not motivated by parochial service or Army component interests.
Competence Violations
Competence-based public trust depends on the public’s perception that an organization possesses the requisite skills and knowledge to perform the functions society expects of it, and to do so in a manner the society approves. “When competence violations threaten the legitimacy of an organization’s core function and raison d’être, they are more damaging to firm performance than integrity violations,” which can be attributed to the aberrant behavior of individuals or small groups.44 Unlike integrity violations, which do not transfer to the institution if the violation is acknowledged, dealt with, and perceived as non-systemic by the public, competence violations do transfer to the institution. The U.S. Army and its leaders currently enjoy the public’s trust as warriors and combat leaders. Army leaders are generally trusted to c ?\][? H[?]X?[ H ?\ ?\?[? H[Y\?X?[? [?K ?? ?H X?X?[ ??[\?[?X?Y]?H?\?][?[??X?]?\?[???X?][??\??[[??[??[??\??Y[? ? X?X????Y[??H?\???]]?X]X?[ H ?[??]H ? H?XZ[??? ? ?]Y?K\?X?HXY\??\
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