Professional Documents
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The above are the Team Members who had contributed a lot to this project and without them it would have been impossible to make this project on time.
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Particulars (Topic)
HRM Ethics Hard and Soft HRM Philosophical Theories Moral Development Moral Judgement and Moral Conduct Using Ethical theories in HRM HRM and Ethical Organizations Stakeholder theory and HRM Ethics Areas of HRM Ethics Is HRM as a function full of conflicts? Employer and Employees - Rights and Duties Some HRM Ethics for Discussion Three ethical standards of HRM
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Index
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1. HRM Ethics
People learn business management automatically even before knowing what Management is - Peter Drucker To many people management is synonymous with business management But business management is only a part of management For a better understanding of Human Resource Management Ethics, it is essential to know what Management is. what is Human Resource Management?, what is Business?, what is Ethics? And what is Business Ethics?
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Definitions.. A. Management
Management is the process of planning, organizing, directing and controlling of organizational resources in order to achieve personal, organizational and social goals effectively and efficiently This definition envisages the use of organizational resources including HR very effectively and efficiently to achieve ends without compromising individual or organizational or social goals, i.e. there must be equilibrium among these factors The HRM implication is that HR (People) can be used as a means to achieve organizational and social goals, but at the same time, it should not be forgotten that they have their own ends, i.e. in certain aspects they are the end in themselves, even in the organizational context
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In this definition, there are two types of functions for the HR Manager Managerial functions-planning, organizing, directing and controlling Operative functionsprocurement, development, compensation, appraisal, maintenance and separation Here, the HR Manager is applying all managerial functions positively in each of the operative functions to maintain equity, equality and justice. In some operative functions (compensation, appraisal, maintenance and separation) s/he has to maintain equity, while in some others (procurement, development, etc) s/he has to maintain equality and individual and social justice. It is also implied that HR (employees) must play their duties to achieve the organizational and social goals effectively and efficiently
C. Business
Business is a process of carrying out economic activities (providing goods and services) by any individual or organization or corporation or partnership firm or franchisee in order to generate profit (return on investment) within the legal and moral framework This definition implies that any business activity/decision has three aspects: Economic, Legal and Moral (ethical). One aspect cannot be compromised for another.
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D. The Organization
An organization is made of economic and social (human) elements and operates within the legal framework In an organization the human element cannot be compromised for the economic element
E. Ethics
Ethics is a set of moral principles or values Ethics are the principles, norms and standards of conduct governing an individual or group Ethics is a rational inquiry into how to act and how to lead ones life
F. Business Ethics
Business ethics are moral principles that define right and wrong behaviour in the world of business Business ethics is the evaluation of business activities and behaviour as right or wrong
Business ethics is the application of general ethics to
business behaviour These definitions say that business ethics is nothing but an extension of individual/group ethics to business situations. Also it can be understood that there cant be different moral standards for personal life and business life. Business ethics is essentially an applied ethics.
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HRM Ethics So finally what is Ethics in HRM or HRM Ethics? HRM Ethics is the affirmative moral obligations of the employer (business) towards the employees to maintain equality and equity justice Do not treat people (employees) simply as a means for our own purposes without their full and free consent, because they are ends in themselves.
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3. Deciding Whats Right and Wrong: Philosophical Theories: Utilitarian Theory Categorical Imperative/Principle of Rights Distributive Justice Ethics of Care Aristotles Virtue Ethics
Ethical Relativism
Each of these philosophical ethical theories postulates basic principles intended to help individuals make decisions involving right or wrong conduct. The following slides will introduce each theory and describe the principles common to each.
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A. Principles of Utilitarianism
> The action taken is ethical if it produces the most good and the least harm for everyone affected. > Judgment is based on a cost/benefit analysis. Some costs and benefits are difficult or impossible to measure. > Focus is on the results of the action, not on how the results are achieved. Assumes the end justifies the means. Some things to think about on the above principles: Sometimes it is difficult to measure all the good and all the costs. Some things are immeasurable. Utilitarianism has been criticized as too numeric because measuring costs and benefits omits any human element. The utilitarian theory looks at only the result of actions, not how the actions are accomplished. Even though the results may be good, sometimes unethical methods are used to achieve the results.
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Some things to consider: If ethical and moral values are determined solely by a particular society with no universal ethical principles, then ethical behavior is whatever that society says it is, even if that includes murder, theft, cannibalism, etc. The reverse is also true. Assuming, as claimed by ethical relativism, that there are no universal ethical principles, then unethical behavior is simply whatever society says it is.
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4. Moral Development
Are individuals born with moral judgment or, like language, does it develop over time? How does moral reasoning develop? Jean Piagets two stages of moral development. Lawrence Kohlbergs six stages of moral development.
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Stage 5: Social Contract and Individual Rights > Acceptance of fundamental values and rights. > Willing to make personal sacrifices if sacrifice will produce benefit for others. > Unlikely to engage in unethical behavior. Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principles > Individual chooses to live life according to universal moral principles; i.e., justice, human rights, respect for individual dignity. > Unlikely to engage in unethical behavior. > Acts according to ideals regardless of the reactions of others; the whistleblower.
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I.
Kohlbergs Critics
> Culture. > Gender.
Although Kohlbergs ideas have had a significant effect on the way we educate young children, he is not without his critics. Some critics argue that because his research subjects were children from Western cultures, his stages may not apply in the same way to individuals from other cultures. Cultural values will differ, and non-Western children may move through the stages at different rates. Feminist scholar Carol Gilligan notes that Kohlbergs research subjects were exclusively male, and she suggests that female progress through the stages may be different from that identified in Kohlbergs research. Regardless of the criticism, Kohlberg gives us much to think about as we attempt to understand how moral judgment develops and how that affects ethical behavior. Source: Crain, 1985.
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D. Unethical Behavior in the Workplace o What makes people engage in unethical behavior? > Insecurity, fear of job loss. Downsizing, mergers, hostile takeovers, rank and yank performance evaluation systems. > Psychological insecurity. Bosses who are threatening and controlling. Competitive environment. > Materialistic focus. Focus on the bottom-line concerns above values. Bonus pay systems with earnings at risk. Large pay disparities between levels.
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E.
F. Process for Making Ethical Decisions o Recognize an ethical issue. o Get the facts. o Evaluate alternative actions. o Make a decision and test it. o Act and reflect on the outcome.
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Ethical behavior as a part of the performance appraisal system. Discipline for violating ethical standards. But weve been doing that and ethical violations are still commonplace. Even Enron had a code of ethics!
Enron Corporation (former NYSE ticker symbol ENE) was an American energy company based in the Enron Complex in Downtown Houston, Texas.
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B. Creating a Culture of Ethics Its not the compliance programits the culture. Management sets the tone. > Managers must model ethical behavior. They must walk the talk. > Employees must trust management at all levels. > Employees learn appropriate behavior by what they see managers doing. > The importance of ethics must be communicated at all levels of the organization. > Reward ethical behavior. Assess how the job was done, not just making the numbers. C. HRs Role in Organizational Ethics Develop policies. Communicate with employees. Provide training. Handle inquiries. Provide assistance in resolving difficult situations.
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D. Fostering Ethical Organizations o Strategic Management > Align organizational systems to support ethics. Ethics must be an integral part of the organizations strategy and values. > Organization leaders must champion ethics. Management sets the tone. Leaders must demonstrate and foster integrity. > Champion diversity and equity across the organization. > Ensure stakeholder balance that addresses conflicting interests. > Focus on the long-term perspective. o Staffing: Recruitment and Selection > Ensure equal opportunity practices. > Recruit ethically responsible people. > Make ethics a selection criteria. > Interview for ethical values. o HR Development Provide ethics training for all employees. Ensure equal access to development and career opportunities.
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Performance management and employee appraisal. > Balanced scorecard assessment. > Appraise ethical behavior as well as task accomplishment. Hitting the numbers is not enough. > Give employees specifics on how to improve. o Compensation and Reward Systems > Decrease pay inequities. Control executive compensation. > Reward group or organization success. > Provide incentives for cooperation. Gain sharing. > Focus on intrinsic motivation. Continuous learning. Quality management. o Employee Safety and Health Ensure safety goes beyond compliance. Make health and safety a priority and not just words on paper. Provide safety training and protective equipment. Incorporate policies that protect employees and the organization from risk. Encourage open dialog and communication.
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o Employee Relations Full compliance with all employment and labor regulations. Training for all supervisory employees. Open communication. Equity in promotion and retrenchment processes. Skip-level interviews. Employee grievance systems. Whistleblower protection. Exit interviews.
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for
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10.
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B. Employers
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12.
Privacy Individualism v/s. Collectivism Restructuring Wages and salaries Sexual harassment in the workplace Discrimination Whistle-blowing Affirmative Actions
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13.
We propose three ethical standards for governing HR practices. Each of these embodies a core principle and protects a prominent constituency whose interests and well-being hinge on the work of HRM. We begin simply by proposing the three standards: o Standard # 1: Advance the organization's objective. Execute the task in question so that progress is made towards the objective that calls for it to be done in the first place. o Standard # 2: Enhance the dignity of those harmed by the action. When managers distribute opportunities and benefits, there are those who do not receive those opportunities and benefits-of who receive fewer than others. When companies go through cycles of destruction-restructuring, downsizingindividuals get harmed. In both instances, those who lose out are due treatment that respects their standing, fosters their resilience, and enables them to continue to function effectively. o Standard # 3: Sustain the moral sensibility of those executing morally ambiguous tasks. Someone must deliver the poor performance appraisal, announce the lay-off, or shutter the manufacturing facility. The ambivalence induced in performing these tasks reflects an underlying uneasiness about fair treatment and fair outcomes, and managers ought to remain attuned to that uneasiness.
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importance of the practice and aligns it with the objective it serves. This ethical standard also serves a second function: it makes the underlying objective psychologically salient. Too often, legal requirements and administrative rituals shape HR practices, eclipsing the purpose those practices are meant to serve. The law certainly needs to be followed, and administrative routine certainly preserve consistency, but they are insufficient guides for action. When performing tasks that leave some people less well off or that fracture an organization as it goes through change, managers need a meaningful sense of direction.
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operate constructively after the harmful act. This second ethical standard serves a different function from procedural justice. Procedural justice functions to impart a sense of fairness and ensure acceptance of the outcome, thereby limiting potential repercussions and negative emotions for victims and witnesses. Dignity functions to preserve and restore the capacity of harmed individuals to act effectively. As suggested by research indicating that procedural justice has a more significant effect on negative emotions than it does on positive emotions (Weiss, Suckow, and Cropanzano 1999), procedural justice prevents the downside; conversely, dignity fosters the upside. Dignity focuses on preserving and enhancing the faculties and sense of identity people need in order to get on with life. Why does this matter to HRM? When practices entail distributions, some the will lose out on what is being distributedjobs, promotions, opportunities, rewards. Focusing on dignity expands the distributive pie for those who end up worse off. They may be denied opportunities or have their jobs and lives disrupted, but attending to their dignity ensures that another good is distributed to them. Enhancing their dignity means equipping them with the ability man to move on and restoring their sense of self-efficacy (Bandura 1997), so that they can cope with the blow, rebound, and move forward.
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E. Standard # 3: Sustain the moral sensibility of those executing morally ambiguous tasks
As the two prior standards indicate, HR practices focus foremost on the human beings they are intended to affect and on the organizations those practices serve. Human Resource practices rarely take into account the practitioners of HRM, whether a HR manager or a general manager. Although hiring, firing, promoting, appraising, rewarding, and restructuring are actively carried out by people, the people who perform these tasks have largely been neglected. Neglecting the practitioners of HRM seems especially problematic because the enactment of HRM is both practically and ethically challenging. As we argued in proposing the first ethical standard, often HR practices raise irresolvable ethical conflicts, and as we suggested in proposing the second standard, performing HRM effectively may entail simultaneously delivering a blow and restoring the humanity of the person absorbing the blow. Tasks that remain morally ambiguous and that require opposing actions require at least some consideration of how those charged with these tasks can carry them out. Our third ethical standard brings into consideration the people doing the work of HRM. The function of this third standard is to set out a criterion that recognizes the realistic psychological challenges confronting those who must implement HR practices. We propose that HR practices should be designed to help those who perform them to sustain their capacity to ask moral questions
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and to deliberate seriously, rather than reach for rationalizations and convenient escapes from responsibility. A family of ethical standards The three standards function as an integrated set. The first insists that the purpose of the HR practice be considered and that the practice be carefully aligned to fulfil that purpose. This neither guarantees that the purpose indeed warrants the practice, nor that the practice will indeed fulfil the purpose. It does increase the likelihood that hiring one person rather than another, delivering negative feedback, or laying off part of the workforce will occur after deep consideration of both the purpose these practices are intended to serve and the cost of advancing that purpose through those practices. Practices will no doubt be performed that fail to realize the purpose and, even in realizing the purpose, exact a toll on harmed parties. Thus, the second standard insists that the methods used to perform these HR practices provide some asymmetric compensation. The justifiability of HR practices that dole out gains and losses to some and benefits and wins to others cannot be guaranteed in the imperfect world of organizations. Since some people absorb the costs while others enjoy the benefits, then those who suffer the harmful, perhaps unjustified, consequences are due something in return. Our second ethical standard proposes that they be granted treatment that reinforces their creative potential. Human resource management means meting out benefits to some and harms to others. The ethics of this work is destined to remain unresolved. Every instance in the workplace is likely to be
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ambiguous; we cannot know if denying an applicant a job offer or firing an underperformer serves the organization well until the consequences tell us so, and even at that, we cannot determine if the organization's benefit warrants the harm done to those who lose out. How, then, can people live with the unresolved ethics of HR practices while performing those practices and extending special efforts for those negatively affected? Our third standard indicates that it begins with an ethical injunction to attend to the moral development of those called upon to perform these tasks. The ethics of HRM is about more than treating people sensitively or being fair and measured. Human resource management entails consideration of the organization, the target of harms, and the HR managers themselves. For now, we close by drawing on two streams of research that indicate two levers that managers might use to begin making the three proposed standards more of a reality in organizations.
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