“Ethics” comes from the Greek
“ethos,” meaning character, or what a good person is or does to have a good
character (Black and Roberts, 2011). According to
Peter Singer (1985) who is Australian moral philosopher defined ethics as: “the
field of study, or branch of inquiry that has morality as its subject matter.” Branch
of philosophy that used to study ideal human behavior is called ethics and it
is the ideal ways of being, (Rich, 2005).
Ethics in HRM
According to Sternberg, (2000) Ethics in HRM indicate
the treatment of employee with ordinary decency and distributive justice. The
ethical business contribute to the business goal as the employees will feel
motivated and they will work with efficiency and effectiveness. Ethics in HRM
basically deal with affirmative moral obligation of the employer toward
employees to maintain equality and equity justices.
Another reference of Ethical
dilemmas in HRM is multifaceted, there are three distinct involving personal,
professional, and organizational considerations (Wooten, 2001).
Areas of HRM Ethics
According to Sternberg, (2000)
explain following area of RHM ethics,
·
Basic human rights, civil and employment fight.
(E.g Job security, Feedback from tests)
·
Safety in the workplace
·
Privacy
·
Justifiable treatment to employee. (E.g. Equity
and equal opportunity)
·
Respect fairness and honesty based process in
the workplace.
Unethical Practices of HRM
The perception on consumers about
the company is based upon the ethics of the company. Eventually, based upon the
perception about the company, the investor will affect its’ share price.
Similarly, it has been suggested that poor standard of conduct emanating from
the top management affect employee motivation and commitment to organizational
goals (Sternberg, 2000).
Employers
|
Employer
|
Government
|
Creating split in union leader
|
False claim of personal details like age ,
qualification etc
|
Announcing the vacancies and not taking any
action further
|
Biased attitude in selection, transfer, promotion
etc..
|
Producing false certificates.
|
Functioning of government offices not transparent
and reliable
|
Off-shoring and exploiting ‘cheap’ labor markets.
|
Taking decision as per their convenience.
|
Selection committees will be excessively caution
of reservation quotas and possible court cases rather than gaining through
the responsibilities.
|
Child labor
|
||
Regenning on company pension arrangement
|
||
Physical violence
Coercion
|
||
Longer and inflexible working hours
|
||
Putting on more stress on employees for increasing
productivity
|
||
The use of disputed and dubious practice in
hiring and firing of personal
|
Table i: Unethical Practices of HRM
Ethical Decision-Making
Ethical decisions have always
been part of psychologists’ personal and professional lives. (Miner and Petocz,
2003). Summary of seven-step guide to ethical decision-making (Davis, 1999) consider
perspective ethical decision shown below.
1.
State the problem: For example, "there's
something about this decision that makes me uncomfortable" or "do I
have a conflict of interest?".
2.
Check the facts: Many problems disappear upon
closer examination of the situation, while others change radically.
·
For example, persons involved, laws,
professional codes, other practical constraints
3.
Identify relevant factors (internal and
external).
4.
Develop a list of options.
·
Be imaginative, try to avoid
"dilemma"; not "yes" or" no" but whom to go to,
what to say.
5.
Test the options. Use some of the following
tests:
·
Harm test: Does this option do less harm than
the alternatives?
·
Publicity test: Would I want my choice of this
option published in the newspaper?
·
Defensibility test: Could I defend my choice of
this option before a congressional committee or committee of peers?
·
Reversibility test: Would I still think this
option was a good choice if I were adversely affected by it?
·
Colleague test: What do my colleagues say when I
describe my problem and suggest this option as my solution?
·
Professional test: What might my profession's
governing body for ethics say about this option?
·
Organization test: What does my company's ethics
officer or legal counsel say about this?
6.
Make a choice based on steps 1-5.
7.
Review steps 1-6: How can reduce the likelihood
that, will need to make a similar decision again?
·
Are there any cautions you can take as an
individual (and announce your policy on question, job change, etc.)?
·
Is there any way to have more support next time?
·
Is there any way to change the organization (for
example, suggest policy change at next departmental meeting)?
WRHA,
(2015) introduced decision-making process shown below.
Figure: Ethical
Decision-Making Framework
Source: Ethical Decision-Making (AWRH, (2015).
Ethics Development Model
Figure i: Ethics
Development Model: Albrecht, (2014)
The foundation of ethics,
Personal Ethical Understanding, represents the most basic ethical issues and
boundaries of personal actions. It involves learning the difference between
right and wrong, developing a sense of fair play, learning to care for and
empathize with others, developing respect for others, and learning basic
principles of integrity and reality, and having actions that are consistent
with the values a person knows to be right Albrecht, (2014).
Economics Component (Responsibilities)
|
Legal
Component (Responsibilities)
|
It is important to perform in a manner consistent
with maximizing earnings per share
|
It is important to perform in a manner consistent
with expectations of government and law.
|
It is important to be committed to being as
profitable as possible.
|
It is important to comply with various federal,
state, and local regulations.
|
It is important to maintain a strong competitive
position.
|
It is important to be a law-abiding corporate
citizen.
|
It is important to maintain a high level of
operating efficiency.
|
It is important that a successful firm be defined
as one that fulfills its legal obligations.
|
It is important that a successful firm be defined
as one that is consistently profitable.
|
It is important to provide goods and services
that at least meet minimal legal requirements
|
Table ii: Economics and Legal CSR
Corporate Social Responsibility
“Social responsibility can only become reality
if more managers become moral instead of amoral or immoral” (Carroll, 1991).
Figure ii: Carroll pyramid
of CSR: Carroll, (1991).
Source: The pyramid
of corporate social responsibility (Book)
Ethical behavior and corporate social responsibility
can bring significant benefits to a business and Schweppes, (2002) . some
of them are,
- Attract customers to the firm’s products, which means boosting sales and profits.
- Make employees want to stay with the business, reduce labor turnover and therefore increase productivity.
- Attract more employees wanting to work for the business, reduce recruitment costs and enable the company to get the most talented employees.
- Attract investors and keep the company’s share price high, thereby protecting the business from takeover.
References
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Cadbury Schweppes,
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Carroll, A.B., (1991). The pyramid of corporate social
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Davis, M. (1999)
Ethics and the university, New York: Routledge, p. 166-167.
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psychological perspective. Journal
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Singer, Peter (1985) Encyclopedia Britannica, Chicago, pp.
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