Unit 1

Overview of ethical choices in

HRM and expected
professional standards (Online
Lecture – Week 2)
Key words

Ethical code of Distributive Procedural Interpersonal Organization

Ethics
conduct justice justice justice culture

Nonpunitive wrongful Unsatisfactory termination

dismissals misconduct
discipline discharge performance interview.

outplacement layoff
exit interviews downsizing.
counselling procedures
After this class you would be able to
1. Explain what is meant by ethical behavior at work.
2. Discuss important factor that shape ethical behavior at work.
3. Describe at least four specific ways in which HR
management can influence ethical behavior at work.
4. Employ fair disciplinary practices.
5. List at least four important factors in managing dismissals
effectively
What is Ethics and fair treatment at work
The Meaning of Ethics
• The Principles of conduct governing an individual or a group
• The standards you use to decide what your conduct should be.
• Ethical behavior depends on a person's frame of reference.
Ethical decisions
• Normative judgements
• Rooted in Morality (accepted standard, involves right and wrong)
Ethics and law
• Something may be legal but not right, or right but not legal.
• For example firing 38 years of employee with 15 years of experience
• Ratan Tata mentioned that group is proud not to compromised on
ethics.
• Law may not be a fool proof guide for ethics – The flow is, a)
profitability, b) is it legal?, c) is it ethical.
• The law lay explicit rights for employees. For example Industrial
Dispute Act.
Areas where ethics becomes dominant

• Leave of absence and vacation • Defamation rights

rights • Employees’ rights on fraud
• Injuries and illness rights • Employee negligence rights
• Noncompete agreement rights • Rights on political activity
• Employees’ rights on • Union/group activity rights
employer policies • Whistleblower rights
• Discipline rights • Worker’s compensation
• Rights on personnel files rights
• Employee pension and/or
social security rights
• Employee benefits rights
 Cash and
Employees Performance
compensation Privacy issues
responsibility appraisal
plans

Ethics in HR

Race and Safety and Employment Restructuring

diversity Health issues issues and layoff
Watch this video and
share your thoughts
INTRODUCTION VIDEO1:
HTTPS://DRIVE.GOOGLE.COM/FILE/D/153LJDHJCW2EBJQT3M2AU280QLBST
7FIT/VIEW?USP=SHARING
 Workplace unfairness
• Unfairness is demoralizing, it has negative effect on the organization
• For example, abusive supervisors, support from higher-ups worsen the
condition.(45% said they have abusive bosses)
• Unfairness is subtle, for example unstated policies for sales/travelling
consultants in 7 days a week.
• Workplace bullying from bosses, colleagues is common.
• The result is workplace deviance behaviour such theft and sabotage
• On the other hand, the perception of fairness increases employee
commitment, enhanced satisfaction.
Procedural Justice: The
fairness of the process

Distributive justice: The

fairness and justice of a
decision’s result
 Corporate social responsibility
•The extent to which companies should and do channel resources toward
improving one or more segments of society other than the firm's owners or
stockholders
•Section 135 of the Companies Act 2013 provides the threshold limit for
applicability of the CSR to a Company: (a) net worth of the company to be
Rs 500 crore or more; or (b) turnover of the company to be Rs 1000 crore
or more; or (c) net profit of the company to be Rs 5 crore or more.
•Ensure that the company spends, in every financial year, at least 2% of the
average net profits of the company made during the 3 immediately
preceding financial years,
Bullying and Victimization
Singling out someone to harass and mistreat
Victims will often suffer in silence in fear of retribution (revenge).

Bullying involves three things:

● Imbalance of power. People who bully use their power to control or harm, and
the people being bullied may have a hard time defending themselves.
● Intent to cause harm. Actions done by accident are not bullying; the person bullying
has a goal to cause harm.
● Repetition. Incidents of bullying happen to the same person over and over by the
same person or group, and that bullying can take many forms, such as:
◦ Verbal: name-calling, teasing
◦ Social: spreading rumors, leaving people out on purpose, breaking up friendships
◦ Physical: hitting, punching, pushing
◦ Cyberbullying: using the internet, mobile phones, or other digital technologies.
 What Shapes Ethical Behavior at Work?
Why do people do bad things? It’s complicated
The authors titled their paper “Bad Apples, Bad Cases, and Bad Barrels.” This title
highlighted their conclusion that when
1. “Bad apples” (people who are inclined to make unethical choices), must deal with
2. “Bad cases” (ethical situations that are ripe for unethical choices), while working in
3. “Bad barrels” (company environments that foster or condone unethical choices), . .
. then people tend to act unethically.
How Any Manager Can Create an Ethical Environment
REDUCE JOB-RELATED PRESSURES: “meeting schedule pressures,” “meeting overly aggressive financial
or business objectives,” and “helping the company survive” “Advancing my own career or financial interests”

PRESSURE FROM THE BOSS: Level of misconduct and ethical behavior are closely related.
• Tell staffers to do whatever is necessary to achieve results
• Overload top performers
• Look the other way when wrong doing occurs
• Take others credit, shift blame, pass the buck.

ETHICS POLICIES AND CODES: “IBM’s code of ethics” receiving gifts(money). Ethics test. Vigilance
officers

ENFORCEMENT: Strong statements by managers. Ethics audits , training programs and awareness session.

WHISTLEBLOWERS: NHAI – Mr. Sathyendra Dubey. Whistleblower Protection Act 2011

ORGANIZATION CULTURE – Employee get the signal about what’s acceptable and unacceptable. Clarifying
expectations, Using signs and symbols and providing physical support.

FRAUD CONTROL – Hotlines, surprise audits, fraud training.

Some guidelines to keep in mind when managing
ethical behaviour at work
• It starts with moral awareness – moral issue exist in situation?
• Cultivate norms, leadership, reward systems and culture
• Moral disengagement – view victims as “outsiders”
• Powerful morality comes from within.
• Highly challenging goals and – pursued blindly and job pressure.
• Rewarding bad behaviour – big sale through devious means.
• Punish unethical behaviour
• Openly talk about ethics
• People change their “moral compasses”
Manager face ethical issues every day
In RECRUITMENT
Talent Acquisition manager proposed the software that enable company to
scrutinize what employees and job candidates did on social networking site.
Now HR Head need to make purchase decision of this SOFTWARE?
a. Is it spying employees?
b. Is it okay to monitor employees/candidates footprints on social media?
Why
What are HRM - Related ethical activities
Selection
• Fostering the perception of fairness in the processes of recruitment and hiring of
people.
• Formal procedures
• Interpersonal treatment
• Providing explanations
• Selection tools – honesty test, background checks.
• Two-way communication
Training
1. How to recognize ethical dilemmas
2. How to use ethical frameworks to resolve problems
3. How to use HR functions in ethical ways.
 What are HRM - Related ethical activities
Performance Appraisal
• Appraisal that make it clear that the company adheres to high ethical standards by
measuring and rewarding employees who follow those standards.
Reward and Disciplinary systems
• The organization swiftly and harsher punishes unethical conduct
Workplace aggression and violence
• Taking care that HR actions do not foster perceptions of inequities that translate into
dysfunctional behaviors by employees.
 Discipline without punishment
(Nonpunitive discipline)
1. Issue an oral reminder
2. Should another incident arise within six weeks, issue a formal written
reminder, a copy of which is placed in the employee's personnel file.
3. Give a paid, one-day "decision-making leave"
4. If no further incidents occur in the next year, then remove the one-day paid
suspension from the person's file. If the behavior is repeated, the next step is
dismissal.
Employee Privacy
Employee privacy violations upheld by courts:
• Intrusion
• Publication of private matters
• Disclosure of medical records
• Appropriation of an employee's name or likeness.
Actions triggering privacy violations:
• Background checks
• Monitoring off-duty conduct and lifestyle
• Drug testing
• Workplace searches.
• Monitoring workplace
Managing Dismissals
Dismissal
• Involuntary termination of an employee's employment with the firm.
Terminate-at-will Rule
• Without a contract, the employee can resign for an reason, at will, and the
employer can similarly dismiss the employee for any reason (or no reason),
at will.
Avoiding wrongful discharge suits.
Bases for wrongful discharge suits
• Discharge does not comply with the law.
• Discharge does not comply with the contractual arrangement stated or
implied by the firm via its employment application forms, employee
manuals, or other promises.
Avoiding Wrongful Discharge Suits.
• Set up employments policies and dispute resolution procedures that make
employees feel treated fairly.
• Do the preparatory work that helps to avoid such suits.
Continuing case:
Carter Cleaning company
Jack Carter and Jennifer Carter
The laundry and cleaning business
Jennifer noticed that two employees eating pizza at the front counter. It
was looking messy.
Grounds for dismissal, the matter called for more than just a warning and
less than dismissal.
Poll
a) What would you do if you were Jennifer?
Termination Assistance
Outplacement counselling
• A systematic process by which a terminated employee is trained and counseled
in the techniques of conducting
• a self-appraisal and securing a new job appropriate to his or her needs and
talents.
• Does not imply that the employer takes responsibility for placing the person in
a new job.
• Is part of the terminated employee's support or severance package and is often
done by specialized outside firms.
Exit interview
• Its aim is to elicit information about the job or related matters that
might give the employer a better insight into what is right-or
wrong-about the company.
• The assumption is that because the employee is leaving, he or she
will be candid.
• The quality of information gained from exit interviews is
questionable.