ETHICS IN HUMAN RESOURCES




ETHICS IN HUMAN RESOURCES




Ethics was defined in many ways, this fields was focused on theatrical principles and standards that should govern human interaction. Ethical ideals such as honesty, truth, fairness are standards for how people should treat each other. Ethical concepts such as rights, duties and responsibilities build the structure of social relations. They define the field of individual authority and specify what exactly individuals owe to each other and what they owe to the community. Today ethics is perceived as a fundamental aspect of management. An ethical design of management is essential to attract support and positive involvement of all participants in the success of the company: employees, customers, shareholders, creditors, suppliers and the community in which the firm operates.



Human resources managers strive to hire candidates who fit in with an organization's culture. They must also keep an eye on diversity and equal opportunity as well as both traditional and legal hiring practices. IN short, an organization's culture can be at odds with what's the best thing to do for HR managers. As conflict arises, the HR manager must be adept at resolving conflicts between the demands of company culture and those of ethical behavior.



The Importance of Ethics in Human Resources


Legal Considerations


Company Reputation


Employee Loyalty


Promoting Ethic




Ethical Issues Faced by Human Resource




(1)          Employment Issues

a. Pressure to hire a friend or relative of a highly placed executive.

     b. Faked credentials submitted by a job applicant.

     c. Discovery that an employee who has been with the organization for some time, is skilled and has established a successful record, had lied about his educational credentials.



(2)         Cash and Incentive Plans

Basic Salaries

Executive Perquisites



 (3) Employees Discriminations

A framework of laws and regulations has been evolved to avoid the practices of treatment of employees on the basis of their caste, sex, religion, disability, age etc. No organization can openly practice any discriminatory policies, with regard to selection, training, development, appraisal etc. A demanding ethical challenge arises when there is pressure on the HR manager to protect the firm or an individual at the expense of someone belonging to the group which is being discriminated against.

(3)         Performance Appraisal

Ethics should be the basis of performance evaluation. Highly ethical performance appraisal demands that there should be an honest assessment of the performance and steps should be taken to improve the effectiveness of employees. However, HR managers, sometimes, face the dilemma of assigning higher rates to employees who are not deserving them; based on some unrelated factors eg. closeness to the top management. Some employees are, however, given low rates, despite their excellent performance on the basis of factor like caste, religion or not being loyal to the appraiser.

(4)         Privacy

The private life of an employee which is not affecting his professional life should be free from intrusive and unwarranted actions.

(i) The first dilemma relates to information technology. A firm’s need for information particularly about employees while on job may be at odds with the employee’s privacy. Close circuit cameras, tapping the phones, reading the computer files of employees etc. breach the privacy of employees.

(ii) The second ethical dilemma relates to the AIDS testing. AIDS has become a public health problem. HR managers are faced with two issues: Whether all the new employees should be subject to AIDS test and what treatment should be melted out to an employee who is affected with the disease. It is however generally understood that since AIDS cannot be contracted by casual and normal workplace contract, employees with this illness should not be discriminated against and they should be allowed to perform jobs for which they are qualified.

(iii) The third ethical dilemma relates to Whistle Blowing. Whistle blowing refers to a public disclosure by former or current employees of any illegal, immoral or illegitimate practices involving their employers. Generally, employees are not expected to speak against their employers, because their first loyalty in towards the organization for which they work. However, if the situation is such that some act of the organization can cause considerable harm to the society, it may become obligatory to blow the Whistle. The HR manager is in the dilemma how to solve this issue between the opponents and defenders of whistle blowing.



(5)         Safety and Health

Industrial work is often hazardous to the safety and health of the employees. Legislations have been created making it mandatory on the organizations and managers to compensate the victims of occupational hazards. Ethical dilemmas of HR managers arise when the justice is denied to the victims by the organization.

(6)         Restructuring and layoffs

Restructuring of the organizations often result in layoffs and retrenchments. This is not unethical, if it is conducted in an atmosphere of fairness and equity and with the interests of the affected employees in mind. If the restructuring company requires closing of the plant, the process by which the plant is chosen, how the news is to be communicated and the time frame for completing the layoffs is ethically important.

Refernces :

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/human_resource_management/human_resource_management_ethical_issues.htm

http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/business/ethics/7-ethical-issues-faced-by-human-resource/64101

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-ethics-human-resources-12780.html

http://www.academia.edu/1289332/ETHICAL_ISSUES_IN_HUMAN_RESOURCE_MANAGEMENT

Image Sources :

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