One part can be taken by each one of us

Minimum slides – with just pointers & images / smart arts

Explain the cases verbally & not on the slide
Tip : make short pointers / key notes of the case on the slide to remember
the flow – this will project the key notes of the case for the class too.

Time for HR to do some Continuing Professional Development

(CPD) on ethics?
1. Introduction

Human Resource is a business function that is concerned with managing relations between groups of
people. Inevitably, this process may raise questions about what the respective responsibilities and
rights of each party are in this relationship, and about what constitutes ethical practice. Standards,
values, morals and ethics have become increasingly complex in a postmodern society where
absolutes have given way to tolerance and ambiguity

Human resource professionals often find themselves balancing the interests of employees and
employers while also striving to comply with federal, state and local laws. In some cases, an ethical
misconduct definition is clear cut. In others, a human resources manager or director will have to rely
on his or her professional experience and ethics to determine a proper course of action. When
training human resources employees about ethical misconduct, it is often best to explain with
suitable examples

Organizational ethics are rules and standards that guide workplace behavior and moral principles.
Many organizations establish a "code of ethics" that sets company expectations regarding ethical
issues such as privacy, conflict of interest, discrimination and harassment and workplace diversity.
Human resources personnel are charged with setting standards that promote ethical behavior in the
workplace.

a) What is the ethical role of HR? If it is every employee’s role to behave in line with company
ethics and values and if managers are the keepers of the flame, then it can’t be HR’s role to
implement ethical practice can it? Should we instead be an early warning system, ‘the
canaries down the coal mine’, or individual smoke detectors of ethical fires that could erupt
further down the line? Should our role be in engaging employees in the debate and
promoting accountability?
b) What role does HR play when things seem to be going well but we can’t ‘see’ the bad
behaviour eg huge bonus payments, poor patient care etc.? Should HR be critiquing
organisational culture/health as a matter of routine and being more pro-active in diagnosing
problems and assessing ethical risk? Does our culture promote ethical conduct? Is there a
pattern of problematic behaviour unfolding in specific areas and what are we doing about it?
How do we identify ethical blind spots in our organisation’s culture?
c) What message does HR professionals’ own behaviour give? Our decisions affect people’s
working lives and future employment. Are we leading by example in acting with integrity,
openness and honesty? Are we role modelling the right behaviours of inclusion and
acceptance of diversity and honesty?
 2. What is your approach to HR ethics and/or the culture of your organisation?
(These case studies are situations HR faces doesn’t have the solutions but a reflect of what
lies for us, explain each scenario in short as verbally as possible with minimum slides /
pointers for these)

Role conflict - You operate as a trained internal coach on top of your HR manager day job. One of
the managers you are coaching has been working hard on improving relationships within his team.
You have also been encouraging him to provide more honest and constructive feedback so his staff
are clearer about what needs to improve. A grievance is taken out against the manager by one of his
team. The manager emails asking for support at his next coaching session tomorrow. You are also
Chair of the Grievance Committee. What would you do and why?

Organisation change - You are HR Strategic Business Partner for a large manufacturing company
which needs to cut costs and downsize in the face of fierce competition from emerging markets. The
company have a number of manufacturing units in Europe, some of them in areas of above-average
unemployment and deprivation. You are asked to join the leadership team planning which unit(s)
should be closed and when. The assumption of the team seems to be that the decision will be made
on financial grounds. What do you advise and why? What if financial analysis doesn’t produce a clear
candidate? What would you then advise and why?

Behaviour of leaders You are HR Director of a professional services firm. A new Office Manager was
appointed from outside the company a few months ago even though the Managing Partner had
allegedly ‘favoured’ a particular internal candidate. Since then you have heard on the grapevine that
the Managing Partner has been putting the new recruit under pressure, nothing she does is good
enough and arrangements she requested at interview to support her work-life balance do not
appear to be in place. She has not 5 © Institute for Employment Studies made a complaint but last
time you saw her she appeared tired and stressed. What do you do (if anything) and why?

Accuracy in reporting You are a newly qualified HR Manager. Sales staff and senior managers at your
company get bonuses based on sales figures in addition to their base salary. Sales figures were down
last quarter. One of the sales team who you know socially mentions that he is expecting a big sale
the following quarter when one of his customers has their annual sale. He alludes to pressure to
write up the orders early so that they get counted for the current quarter. When you question this
he says ‘We can always take the figures out later if we need to. Everyone else does it. This way
everyone gets their bonuses. Isn’t that what the big bosses really want anyway?’ What (if anything)
would you do and why?

When the boss doesn’t like someone You are an HR Manager in a media company. A receptionist
has received positive appraisals over her twenty-six years with the company. The Creative Director
does not like her: he claims she makes too many mistakes and ‘does not give the right first
impression at the front desk’. He asks the supervisor to document the receptionist’s poor
performance and get the paperwork ready so the termination process can begin. The supervisor is
stunned. She thinks the receptionist is a good employee but she can’t afford to lose her own job by
crossing swords with the Creative Director. What would you recommend the supervisor do? What
are the potential consequences of her potential actions?

The below para is the key lesson to be imparted on the above examples which helps in knowing
the ethics & HR view point

At the core of these dilemmas is your ability to judge when a manager’s ‘latitude’ in decision-making
becomes unethical. But this is by no means straightforward. There are many different ways of
looking at each of the cases above. As well as our own moral codes we also have different levels of
experience in different HR and business contexts, which will affect our individual perspective on
each case. Those new to HR roles may assume that their judgement will develop through experience
and mentoring: but extensive experience can sometimes result in the sharing of corporate blind
spots. If you are not 100 per cent certain that you have taken the full range of relevant ethical issues
into account for each dilemma presented above, then I suspect you are not alone. Ethics is one of
those topic areas where discussion between colleagues with differing levels of experience and
different perspectives, can be beneficial for all concerned in ensuring you reflect on a full range of
potential solutions and their possible consequences.

2. Theories of Ethics – There are many we are explaining few commonly used in Business for
decision making

a) Deontology
b) Utilitarianism - Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that determines right from wrong by
focusing on outcomes. It is a form of consequentialism. Utilitarianism holds that the most
ethical choice is the one that will produce the greatest good for the greatest number. It is
the only moral framework that can be used to justify military force or war. It is also the most
common approach to moral reasoning used in business because of the way in which it
accounts for costs and benefits. However, because we cannot predict the future, it’s difficult
to know with certainty whether the consequences of our actions will be good or bad. This is
one of the limitations of utilitarianism.
3 principles of Utilitarianism - Pleasure or Happiness Is the Only Thing That Truly Has Intrinsic
Value. Actions Are Right Insofar as They Promote Happiness, Wrong Insofar as They Produce
Unhappiness. Everyone's Happiness Counts Equally.
c) Rights Based ethics - The concept of rights based ethics is that there are some rights, both
positive and negative, that all humans have based only on the fact that they are human.
These rights can be natural or conventional. That is, natural rights are those that are moral
while conventional are those created by humans and reflect society's values. Rights are
considered to be ethically correct and valid since a large population endorses them. A major
complication of this theory on a larger scale is that one must decipher what the
characteristics of a right are in a society. The society has to determine what rights it wants to
uphold and give to its citizens. In order for a society to determine what rights it wants to
enact; it must decide what the society’s goals and ethical priorities are. Therefore, in order
for the rights theory to be useful, it must be used in conjunction with another ethical theory
that will consistently explain the goals of the society
d) Virtue

https://www.dsef.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/EthicalTheories.pdf - refer this for more

pointers & explanation

3. HR functions & Ethics

a) Overlooking Legal and Compliance Lapses

HR workers may be asked to overlook violations of workplace rules or labor laws. Legal
compliance, however, is essential to the long-term interests of a business, even if it means
embarrassment or losing a valuable employee in the short term.

Example: Susan, an HR director, is approached by Dave, a sales manager. Dave is hiring for a
position on his team, and he asks Susan to screen out any resumes with "foreign-sounding"
names. Susan explains that it is illegal and unethical to do this. Dave becomes angry and leaves.
Later that day, Dave's boss, Andy, approaches Susan and explains that Dave will quit his position
if Susan refuses to comply. Andy asks Susan to go along with Dave's request, noting that Dave is
a "good producer" for the company. Susan refuses and tells Andy that she plans to escalate this
situation. Eventually, both the CEO and the board of directors get involved. Both Andy and Dave
are let go by the company.

b) The Confidentiality Trap

Sometimes, HR professionals become aware of violations while talking with employees. This
situation creates an ethical dilemma because the HR worker would like to keep an employee's
confidence, but the HR rep also has an obligation to report hazards and wrongdoing.

Some experts advise HR professionals to be cautious about promising confidentiality. Employees

should be told that if they report something to HR that violates the law or places other workers
in danger, HR must report what the employee has said.

Example: Matt is an HR director for a large restaurant chain. During a site visit, a clearly upset
kitchen worker named Cheryl approaches Matt and explains that she needs to tell him
something, but is concerned about her job.

Matt tells her that he is ethically and legally obligated to report some issues to corporate
management. However, anything said to him in good faith will be taken seriously. He also tells
Cheryl that she has protection under whistle-blower laws.

Cheryl explains that health and safety procedures are not followed in the food storage area and
her complaints are ignored by restaurant management. Matt thanks Cheryl for her honesty and
files a report. He also arranges for Cheryl to be transferred to another restaurant so that she can
avoid having to work in a hostile environment.

c) Collecting and Protecting Employee Information

HR departments handle a lot of sensitive information, including:

 Identifying information: Names, addresses, phone numbers, birth dates and Social
Security numbers;
 Financial information: Salary history, credit reports, benefits program participation;
 Health information: Information about disabilities and accommodations, time-off for
health problems, insurance information; and
 Work-related information: Aptitude tests, interview records, resumes, disciplinary
records, evaluations.

Sloppy handling of this information could expose an employee to identity theft, embarrassment
and possible harassment. HR departments need to have strict policies for the storage and
handling of employee information. These policies should include:

 What kind of information can be stored by the company, and for how long;
 Who is allowed to access employee information and for what reason or reasons;
 How information is secured against access by unauthorized individuals; and
 How information is destroyed when it is determined that it is no longer relevant.

Example: Greg was recently hired as HR manager for a small business. On his first day at work,
he notices right away that HR files are stored in an unlocked file cabinet in an easily accessed
area. Electronic records are protected only by a password that everyone in the department
knows. After Greg brings up his concerns, the company's CEO authorizes the purchase of more
secure file cabinets and allows Greg to place them in a locked office. Electronic records are then
secured through a proprietary service, and permissions for information access are allocated
more carefully.

d) Discrimination and Harassment

Human resources professionals must ensure the organization remains compliant with anti-
discrimination and harassment laws. Employee discrimination and harassment on the basis of
race, gender or religion is an ethical issue human resources personnel face daily. Laws that
prohibit discriminatory behavior such as the Civil Rights Act and Americans With Disabilities Act
help HR representatives develop training and awareness programs to prevent discrimination and
harassment in the workplace. These laws also establish procedures human resources may use to
report and discipline workers who display inappropriate discriminatory behavior.

e) Privacy

Human resources are involved in most aspects of employee relations including hiring, firing,
compensation, benefits and leaves. Human resources representatives have access to extremely
sensitive information. Keeping this information private is an ethical matter facing HR. Human
resources personnel have an obligation to maintain the confidentiality of an employee's
personal data.

f) Diversity

Workplace diversity encompasses the various qualities, characteristics and experiences that
distinguish one worker from another. These characteristics can be differences in race, gender,
age, social status or other traits that make an individual unique. Treating a person differently
because of these differences poses an ethical issue that faces human resources. HR personnel
implement policies that promote diversity in the workplace and welcome the differences of the
entire workforce.

g) Safety

Employee safety is an issue facing human resources personnel. The department must prevent
and correct potentially dangerous situations. Human resources must promptly act on hazardous
conditions that present safety concerns in the workplace. The department is also responsible for
identifying potentially dangerous employees and ensuring they do not harm themselves or
others within the organization.

4. Positive Results of HR handling Business Ethical issues

(case studies of positive outcomes)