Trustworthy Government: Leadership and Management Strategies for Building Trust and High Performance.

• Author: Miller, Robert J.

David G. Carnevale writes a basic overview of the need for strong leadership that builds trust and effectiveness in government organizations. Carnevale believes that there is a "pervasive trust gap" that is widening in the workplace, including government, and that trust needs to be restored in order for government organizations to be viewed positively by the general public.

Carnevale writes from his experience as one being associated with two different states' employee associations and as an international union area director for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). He also has earned a Ph.D. in public administration from Florida State University.

Carnevale's purposes and origins for writing Trustworthy Government are to "help people comprehend what trust is all about and why it is absolutely vital in organizations." He further argues that much has been written on trust but little has been written on its "determinants." Using research completed with the cooperation of several thousand Florida state workers, Carnevale attempts to create a new organizational trust model that includes "opportunities to participate, open communications, fairness in the administration of rewards and punishments, enriched job design and flexible supervision."

Topics covered include defining individual and organizational trust, leadership, participation management, communication skills, performance appraisals, managing power, conflict resolution, employee training, and personnel systems. With only 199 pages of text and with only a few charts or graphs, none of the topics is covered in any depth. These topics are complex, and additional reading and research still will be needed after reading this work.

Carnevale attempts to write to the practitioner as well as to the academics. Hitting both audiences at the same time can be difficult. This work appears to serve better as an overview of organization theory concepts. Using...