ethics on hrm

8/11/2019 Ethics on HRM

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Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc.Publishing as Prentice Hall 8- 1

Ethics and Fair Treatment in Human

Resource Management


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When you finish studying this chapter,you should be able to:

Explainwhat is meant by ethical behavior.

Discussimportant factors that shape

ethical behavior at work.

Discussat least four specific ways inwhich HR management can influence

ethical behavior at work.

Exercisefair disciplinary practices.

Discussat least four important factors in

managing dismissals effectively.


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The Meaning of Ethics

Ethics- the principles of conduct governing an

individual or a group

- standards you use to decide what yourconduct should be


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The Meaning of Ethics (cont.)

Normative judgment implies thatsomething is good or bad, right or wrong,

better or worse


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Ethics and the Law

The law is not the best of guides for whatis ethical

Something may be legal, but not right

Companies where fairness and justiceprevail tend to be ethical companies


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Ethics, Fair Treatment, and Justice

Workplace unfairness can be blatant

Employees of abusive supervisors are

more likely to quit their jobs, and to reportlower job and life satisfaction and higher

stress if they remain in those jobs


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Perceptions of Fair InterpersonalTreatment Scale


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Why Treat Employees Fairly?

Perceptions of fairness relate to enhancedemployee commitment, and enhanced

satisfaction with the organization


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Why Treat Employees Fairly? (cont.)

Procedural justice- fair processes Distributive justice- fair outcomes


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Why Treat Employees Fairly? (cont.)

College instructors completed surveysregarding the extent to which they sawtheir colleges as treating them with

proceduraland distributivejustice.

Instructors who perceived high distributiveand procedural justice reported higherorganizational commitment.

Their students reported higher levels ofinstructor effort, prosocial behaviors, andfairness, as well as more positivereactions to their instructors.


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Individual Factors

Age Older workers in general had stricter

interpretations of ethical standards and

made more ethical decisions than youngeremployees


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Organizational Factors

Being under the gun to meet schedulingpressures

Meeting overly aggressive business

objectives Helping the company survive


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Organizational Factors (cont.)

Judge sentenced WorldComs former CFOto 5 years in jail, allegedly for helping the

firms former chairman, Bernard Ebbers,

mask WorldComs deteriorating financialsituation

The government accused him of

instructing underlings to fraudulently bookaccounting entries, and of filing false

statements with the SEC


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The Bosss Influence

Level of misconduct at work droppeddramatically when employees said their

supervisors exhibited ethical behavior


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The Bosss Influence (cont.)

How supervisors lead subordinates astray: Tell staffers to do whatever is necessary to

achieve results

Overload top performers to ensure work getsdone

Look the other way when wrongdoing occurs

Take credit for others work or shift blame


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Quick Ethics Test

Is the action legal? Is it right?

Who will be affected?

Does it fit the company's values?

How will it feel afterwards?

How will it look in the newspaper?

Will it reflect poorly on the company?


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Organizational Culture

Organizational culture- characteristic values, traditions, and

behaviors a companys employees share

Value- basic belief about what is right or wrong, or

about what you should or shouldnt do


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Culture and the Manager

Clarify expectations Use signs and symbols

Provide physical support

Use stories

Organize rites and ceremonies

Ethi F i T t t d th R l f


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Ethics, Fair Treatment, and the Role ofHR Management

Staffing and Selection Simplest way to tune up an organization is

to hire more ethical people

Honesty tests

Comprehensive background checks


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Training

Showing employees how to recognizeethical dilemmas

How to use ethical frameworks (such as

codes of conduct) to resolve problems Using HR functions in ethical ways


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Complying with Sarbanes-Oxley

Requires that the CEO and CFO ofpublicly traded companies attest to the

accuracy of companies financial

statements


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Performance Appraisal

Employees standards should be clear Should understand the basis upon which

they're going to be appraised

Appraisals themselves should beperformed objectively and fairly


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Reward and Disciplinary Systems

Employees expect the organization to doleout relatively harsh punishment for

unethical conduct

Important for the company to send the

right signals by disciplining executives who

misbehave


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Workplace Aggression and Violence

Employees who see themselves asunfairly underpaid may take negative

actions ranging from employee theft

to destruction of company property


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Building Two-Way Communication

Engagement- involving individuals in the decisions that

affect them by asking for their input and

allowing them to refute the merits of oneanothers ideas and assumptions


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Building Two-Way Communication (cont.)

Explanation- ensuring that everyone involved and affected

understands why final decisions are made as

they are and the thinking that underlies the

decisions


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Building Two-Way Communication (cont.)

Expectation clarity- making sure everyone knows up front by what

standards they will be judged and the

penalties for failure


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Employee Discipline and Privacy

Purpose of disciplineis to encourageemployees to behave sensibly at work

Sensible is defined as adhering to rulesand regulations


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Three Pillars of the Discipline Process

Set of clear rules and regulations System of progressive penalties

Appeals process


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FedEx Appeals Process

1. Management review- the complainantsubmits a written complaint to a memberof management

2. Officer complaint- the complainantsubmits a written appeal to the vicepresident

3. Executive appeals review- the

complainant may submit a writtencomplaint to the employee relationsdepartment


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Traditional Discipline

Leaves a residue of ill will Forcing your rules on employees may gain

their short-term compliance, but not their

cooperation


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Discipline Without Punishment

1. Issue an oral reminder2. Should another incident arise within six

weeks, issue the employee a formal

written reminder3. Give a paid one-day decision-making

leave

4. If no further incidents occur in the nextyear or so, the one-day paid suspension

is purged from the persons file


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Electronic Employee Privacy Violations

Intrusion Publication of private matters

Disclosure of medical records

Appropriation of an employees name for

commercial purposes


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Legal Issues

More employers today are issuing e-mailand online services usage policies to

forewarn employees that those systems

are intended to be used for businesspurposes only

Employers may be held liable for illegalacts committed by their employees via e-

mail


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Managing Dismissals

Dismissal should be fair, warranted, andjust

Manager should ensure that immediate

dismissals are humane


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Termination at Will Exceptions

Statutory exceptions- federal and state equal employment and

workplace laws prohibit specific types of

dismissals

Common law exceptions

- a court may decide that an employee

handbook promising termination only for just

cause" may create an exception to the at-willrule


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Termination at Will Exceptions (cont.)

Public policy exception- courts have held a discharge to be wrongful

when it was against an explicit, well-

established public policy


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Grounds for Dismissal

Unsatisfactory performance- persistent failure to perform assigned duties

or meet prescribed standards on the job

Misconduct- deliberate and willful violation of the

employers rules


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Grounds for Dismissal (cont.)

Lack of qualifications- an employees inability to do the assigned

work

Changed requirements of the job- an employees incapability of doing the work

assigned, after the nature of the job has been

changed


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Avoiding Wrongful Discharge Suits

Wrongful discharge occurs when anemployees dismissal does not comply

with the law


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S P


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Severance Pay

P l S i Li bilit


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Personal Supervisory Liability

Follow company policies and procedures Do not add to the emotional hardship on

the employee

Let employee present their side of thestory

Do not act in anger

Utilize the HR department

T i ti I t i


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Termination Interview

1. Plan the interview carefully2. Get to the point

3. Describe the situation

4. Listen

5. Review all elements of the severance

package

6. Identify the next step

O t l t C li


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Outplacement Counseling

Outplacement counseling- employer provides terminated employees with

career planning and job search skills

E it I t i


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Exit Interviews

Want to elicit information that might givethe employer a better insight into what is

rightor wrongabout the company

L ff


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Layoff

Layoff- employer sends workers home for a time for

lack of work

Employer expects to be short term

Th L ff P


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The Layoff Process

Senior management meets to makestrategic decisions about the size andtiming of the layoffs.

Frontline supervisors assess theirsubordinates, rating employees either A,B, or C

Subordinates are informed about their A,

B, or C rating Employees with C grades are designated

surplus and most likely to be laid off


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