Who do we trust – and why?

Why should you trust your own boss? Can we trust public servants to look after the public interest rather than their own? Why do we trust that laws will work or that contracts will be upheld?

These and many more questions will be explored in a free public lecture at the University of Teesside on Wednesday 12 June, entitled ‘Trusting the public services, and trust in the public services’. Delivered by Professor Alan Lawton from the University’s Teesside Business School, the lecture will start at 6.30pm in the Europa Building, Woodlands Road, Middlesbrough. Refreshments are available from 6pm.

Alan Lawton is Teesside Business School’s Professor of Organisational Ethics and Assistant Director of Research. He said: “The lecture reflects a long-standing interest in public sector ethics and the public service ethos. I will explore the concept of trust from several different dimensions including trust in society and trust in government, for example, we may not trust politicians individually but we might trust Parliament to work. Similarly, we might not trust individual doctors but we trust the medical profession as a whole. I’ll also examine trust between individuals in organisations and in public servants. The lecture will draw upon a wide range of academic literature and MORI polls on trust in society.”

For more information on this Lecture contact Mark White in the Vice-Chancellor’s Office on 01642 342002.

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