MA GLOBAL BUSINESS

CORE COURSE IN
HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT
Academic year
2007 - 2008

Good Employer?
10 Class
Ethical leadership in International HRM

Objectives
After attending this class, you should start practicing and learning about:

1. Moral competence as future leaders for trust development

in organizations: ethical leadership in IHRM.

2. The ability to make moral judgments in decision making.

3. Identify the most important approaches to ethics.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT

Sources:
Essential reading:
„ “Ethical dimension of managerial leadership. Two
explanatory case studies in TQM”. Guillén, M. &
González, T.F. Journal of Business Ethics, Vol 34, nº 3-4,
pp. 175-189, December 2001. First presented at EBEN
13th Annual Conference. Cambridge, U.K. 12-14 Sep.
2000.

Further reading:
„ Edwards,T. and Rees, C. International Human Resource
Management, Prentice Hall, 1st edition, 2006. Chap. 13.
„ Guillén, M. “Ética en las organizaciones. Construyendo
confianza”, Prentice Hall, 1st edition, 2006. Chap.1.

1
 Two key factors to explain the
implementation process success are ...

Management commitment and Management leadership

What makes the difference?: A necessary distinction

Management commitment
It involves resource endowment and managerial endorsement
It may be founded exclusively on the use of formal power

Management leadership
It generates free adhesion
BEYOND
Formal
It is founded on some other
Power influence sources ...
Source: Guillén & González (2000)

Multidimensional conception of leadership

Main Technical Psycho-affective Ethical
influence
DIMENSION DIMENSION DIMENSION
source

Leader Technical Psycho-affective Moral

Personality skills virtues virtues

Leader Technical Psycho-affective Ethical

Behaviour correction attractiveness Uprightness

Technical Psycho-affective Ethical

Leader
rationality rationality rationality rationality

Leadership Technical Psycho-affective Ethical

context environment environment environment

Follower Technical Psycho-affective Ethical

rationality motivation motivation motivation
(motivation)
(Reward) (Satisfaction) (Excellence)
Source: Guillén & González (2000)

Multidimensional conception of
leadership:

Dynamic free interpersonal relation of influence

leaned on technical, psycho-affective and moral aspects

Dynamism
Continuous exchange of influence and acceptance.
Liberality
His behaviour can not be required,
it depends on their will.
Unity
Three dimensions joined in human action

Source: Guillén & González (2000)

2
 Managerial leadership influence is leaned on
trust...

Free adhesion of
subordinates to obtain...

Technical trust
Subordinates hope to satisfy their Reward
needs for useful goods

Psycho-affective trust
Subordinates hope to satisfy their Satisfaction
needs for pleasant goods

Fair reward
Moral trust
Subordinates hope to satisfy their
Personal fulfilment
needs for moral goods

(human excellence) Service to others fulfilment

(according to human dignity)
Source: Guillén & González (2000)

What’s ethics about?

Means Goals

Theory Goods
Norms
MORAL
Rational judgments Goods
Ethical behavior
free decisions
of the will USEFUL
Goods

Virtues PLEASANT
Goods
Practical habits
Human quality
Practice (excellence)

Source: adapted from Guillén (2006)

Classical
Classical concept
concept of
of virtue
virtue
VIRTUE: human excellence (arete)
• Stable habit : belongs to person character
• Operative: Acquired / learned through practice
• Good: operates in favor of human perfection
• In the middle: between defect and excess

Example
“courage (bravery)”

DEFECT EXCESS

“Cowardice” “Rashness”

© 2006 Prentice Hall. Guillén, M. Ch.2

3
 Ethical
Ethical judgments
judgments formulation:
formulation: “ethical
“ethical rationality”
rationality”
Training
Theoretic
Theoretic rationality
rationality Norms
Norms your
conscience
••Personal
Personalreflection
reflection
••Ethical
Ethicalknowledge
knowledge
••Criteria
Criteriaacquisition
acquisition

Practical
Practical rationality
rationality Virtues
Virtues
Exercising
prudence
••Oneself
Oneselfsincerity
sincerity
••Ordinary
Ordinaryright
rightbehavior
behavior
••Asking
Askingfor
foradvise
advise

Example Moral
Moraljudgment
judgment
• Reason catch a particular situation (conscience)
(conscience)
• With norms in mind analyze With
Withthe
the
Particular
Particular Intention
situation • Then, express an ethical judgment Intentionof
ofaa
situation
•
•
Expressed as practical imperative
With virtue, it is easier to get it… Good
Good
© 2006 Prentice Hall. Guillén, M. Ch.3 behavior
behavior

Do we need ethics in business?

Economic reasons
Ethics as a source of competitive advantage.

Social reasons
Social expectations

Human quality reasons

A person is a person, also while working!

Which approaches to ethics?

• Pro-active Maximalist
Maximalist
• Sufficient ethical
ethicalview
view
• Discretionary
Virtues

Excellence
Approach
Main focus of
Conceptions the approach
of ethics Integrity
Approach Goods

Deontological Norms
• Active
Approach
• Necessary
• Enforced Minimalist
Minimalist
Source: adpated from Guillén, 2006 ethical
ethicalview
view

4
Which approaches to ethics?
Theories focused on all the three elements:
GOODS, NORMS AND VIRTUES
Ethical realism

Theories focused Theories focused

On NORMS On VIRTUES
Rationalism Stoicism

Theories focused
On GOODS
Hedonism
Utilitarianism
Relativism

© 2006 Prentice Hall. Guillén, M.