Importance of Trust in Alliance Building

The importance of trust in all aspects of life is hard to overstate. Imagine a personal relationship in which trust is not present. In personal relationships, trust is usually gained over time, and becomes an unspoken, but essential, constant in successful relationships. This is also true of business relationships, and it is advisable for potential alliance partners to actively employ measures to build and strengthen trust. Negotiating written agreements that clarify the foundations of the relationships is paramount. As an HR professional, it is essential that you understand and practice the concepts underpinning the building of trust in business relationships.

In "How to Build a Framework for Strategic Alliances," (Santora, 2009), in your Required Resources, the author focuses on the importance of trust in building alliances. On the other hand, in "Why Too Much Trust is Death to Innovation," Bidault & Castello (2010), question whether there is actually such a thing as excessive trust in some alliances.

With these thoughts in mind:

· Conduct additional research to evaluate the HR executive's role in ensuring alliances built on trust and respond to the following questions, referring to your research and the Required Resources:

o What specific actions can an HR executive take to build trust with prospective alliance partners?

o Describe how HR executives can employ negotiation and conflict resolution skills to address areas of mistrust and increase trust in situations where there is a great strategic fit but high levels of mistrust.

o What would be your role as an HR executive in advising a CEO who seems determined to partner with a company you consider untrustworthy?

Resources:

Bidault, F., & Castello, A. (2010). Why too much trust is death to innovation. MIT Sloan Management Review, 51(4), 33-38.

Santora, J. (2008). How to build a framework for strategic alliances. Nonprofit World, 26(6), 15-17.