BUSINESS AND ITS INTERNAL CONSTITUENCIES: EMPLOYEE ISSUES, THE INDIVIDUAL IN THE ORGANIZATION

By: Asha Ashar

Salma Anwar

DISCRIMINATION

To treat one particular group of people less favourably than others because of their race, colour, nationality, or ethnic or national origin.

Direct discrimination occurs when a 'protected characteristic' such as race, colour, nationality, or ethnic or national origin is used as an explicit reason for discriminating.

Indirect discrimination

DISCRIMINATION

not being based on individual merit; deriving from some morally unjustified

attitude; and having a harmful or negative impact on

the interests of those against whom it is directed.

Harmful impacts of job discrimination include, most importantly, loss of jobs, promotions, and pay.  Past and present victims include religious groups, ethnic groups, racial groups, and sexual groups

IN BUSINESS PRACTICES

recruitment practices such as word of mouth referrals of present employees; screening practices requiring job qualifications irrelevant to the task; or depending on biased interviewers;

promotion practices relying on tracking systems, e.g., seniority, and reliance on subjective recommendations of biased supervisors;

conditions of employment that involve payment of unequal wages to people doing essentially the same work;

discharge policies including firings based on negative recommendations of biased supervisors and reliance on seniority for determining layoffs

TERMS

Equal Opportunity Affirmative Actionreverse preferences

three models of the business organization and the place of individuals in it, each bringing different moral issues into focus.   The rational structure model The political model with its focus on competing   The caring organization model, with its focus on

RATIONAL STRUCTURE

The rational structure model defines the business organization as a structure of formal relations, explicitly defined and openly employed, to achieve some technical or economic goal Three main levels of employees are commonly distinguished:

an operating layer of employees middle management, directing the operating

layers and being directed in turn by top management;

top management, consisting of Vice Presidents, the Chief Executive Officer, and the Directors or the owner of the firm

RATIONAL STRUCTURE

conflicts of interest arise when an employee or officer of a company is engaged to carry out a task in which they have a private interest

Commercial bribes Extortion Workplace theft Computer theft   Trade secrets are "proprietary

information". 

RATIONAL STRUCTURE

fairness of the wage and the fairness of the working conditions:

POLITICAL MODEL

The political model of the organization focuses on real – both official and unofficial – power and authority relations

:employee rights and office politics With regard to employee rights, a comparison may

be drawn between the defining features of political or governmental authority and of corporate management.  Both involve a centralized body of decision-making officials (top

management in the case of corporations); having the power and recognized authority to enforce

their decisions on subordinates; making decisions determining the distribution of

benefits and having a monopoly on such power.

RIGHTS

PrivacyPhysicalPsychological

InformationRight to participate in decision

makingRight to organize labour unions

CARING ORGANIZATION

The caring organization includes both the "rational structure" and the "political" views of the organizations.  "caring organization" picture allots a far more central place to non-power relations of cooperation such as friendship, respect, and loyalty

Organizations should rely more on cooperation and sharing, and less on compulsion and competition. 

CARING ORGANIZATION

Companies That Care, "A company that cares is one that sees creating a positive work environment for employees, and being an active corporate citizen, as integral components of their identity. Their day-to-day business practices clearly reflect those priorities."

CHARACTERISTICS OF CARING ORGANISATION

1. Sustains a work environment founded on dignity and respect for all employees

2. Makes employees feel their jobs are important

3. Cultivates the full potential of all employees 4. Encourages individual pursuit of work/life

balance 5. Enables the well-being of individuals and

their families through compensation, benefits, policies and practices

CONTINUED

6. Develops great bosses who excel at managing people as well as results

7. Appreciates and recognize the contributions of people who work there

8. Establishes and communicate standards for ethical behavior and integrity

9. Gets involved in community endeavors and/or public policy

10. Considers the human toll when making business decisions.

WHAT ARE THE KEY ETHICAL ISSUES FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE CARING ORGANIZATION?

1. The moral problems of caring too much.

2. The moral problems of not caring enough.