Ethical Issues in Human Resource Management

Ethical Issues In HR

Jastinder Pal SinghMBA (2015-17)

School of Management Studies, Punjabi University, Patiala

Ethics

• Ethics are moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity.

• Its about being loyal towards your duty, organization and society in terms of physiological contract.

Leadership Values Integrity Respect Loyalty Concern

Characteristics of Ethics

Ethical culture in work life

• Honest communication • Fair treatment • Special consideration • Fair competition

• Responsibility to organization • Corporate social responsibility • Respect for law

HR Dilemmas

• Right v. Right “Selecting the best option”. • It’s right to tell the truth, but it is also right to be kind

and considerate of peoples’ feelings and emotions. • It’s right to apply rules and procedures equally,

without favoritism, but it is also right to give special treatment to hard-working, dependable, and productive employees.

• Public image• Values: the cementing force• Facilitates decision making• Ethics and profits walk hand

in hand• Low limits, Ethics stimulate• Contribution to human

welfare• Protection of social interest• Recognition of neighbors and

competitions• Respect to Employees• Balancing all stake holders’

interests

Need of Ethics in HR

Types of corruption:-– Nepotism– Conformity– Bribery

– Embezzlement– Kickbacks– Godfatherism.

Ethical Issues (Unethical Practices) in HR

Corruption

• Placing misleading advertisements for jobs.• Misrepresenting the requirements of a particular position.• Responding to a hiring manager who has asked you to find

a way “around” not hiring a qualified candidate for discriminatory purposes.

• Not reviewing candidates based on their merits.• Matching a job with person or vice-versa• Role of out side pressures in selection of wrong ones• Selecting more than required number of people

Recruitment & SelectionEthical Issues (Unethical Practices) in HR

Training• When training need of employee is

identified on the basis of a single or nebulous factor.

• When there is absence of relativity between training purposes and training output.

• When the trainees consider attending training programmes merely as a change and a medium of gaining pleasure.

• When there is absence of feedback on training

• When training is considered as an instrument of individual growth by employees.

• When training programme has been ‘finished’ and not ‘completed’.

• When training infrastructure is not fully utilised.

• When a trainer comes unprepared and completes his task in a hampy campy manner.

• When trainers are selected for training programme under pressure of favoritism or nepotism.

• When the feedback about the training programme is featured as ‘dull’ ‘monotonous’ and ‘useless’.

Ethical Issues Arises :


Performance Appraisal• Central tendency, halo effect, mirror personality etc• Method of appraisal is not proper• Superfluous reporting of his traits to employee is

also unfair and unjust


Salary and Wage Administration• Paying same remuneration to one who is serious, sincere

and hardworking and also to one whose contribution is least.

• Loss suffering company being expected to declare bonus.• Paying at different rate

to man and a woman doing the same kind of work.

• Getting an employee signed on full pay and actually paying him less than that.


PrivacyIt is ethical when HR manager do not disclosepublically

• Background Information• Drug/Medical Testing Reports• Monitoring on/off the job• Employee records


Effective dismissal

(Factors)– Legal and valid reasons for dismissal – Explain the reasons – Be firm with your decision

(Process)—Informal action —Disciplinary meeting —First written warning —Second written warning

It is not unethical when


To Create Ethical discipline

• Job description is clear • ”What to do ” attitude compared to ”Don’t do

this” attitude • Top managers example

Your senior officer highly recommend for a person during selection process, but that person unfit for that job, what you will do ?

Will you select that person directly for happiness of your senior ? OR Put that person in recruitment process with others ?

Some Practical Examples

Solution:If the candidate does not meet the minimum criteria for selection go back to your senior, provide evidence of the selection scores and feedback, state the reasons why the candidate cannot be recruited and ask him/her to propose an alternative candidate

You are told to fake appraisal documents to help someone get promoted. What do you do?

Solution:Introduce stringent procedures which require documents to be approved by a number of different stakeholders so documents cannot be altered without questions being asked.

Measures To control Unethical Practices

• The establishment of ethics codes• Improved remuneration• Administrative reform• Compulsory disclosure of assets and gifts• Policy and programme rationalisation• Introduction of core values and competencies• Ethical conduct by public servants• Senior managers increasing and enforcing ethical awareness

and taking action against unethical conduct.

The Retrenchment Drama, Jet Airways (India)

• The case is about the retrenchment drama that unfolded in one of India’s leading aviation companies, Jet Airways (India) Limited in Oct 2008.

• More than thousand employees were laid off.

• It was a part of major Cost-cutting exercise to tackle Global slowdown and price hike of Aviation fuel.

Case Study

Events of Case

• Oct 16, 2008, Jet announced that it would lay off nearly 1,100 of its staffs to streamline operation.

• A day after it had already laid off around 800 of its cabin crew members. Simultaneously announced second phase of lay-off of 1100 employees, mainly from departments like flight attendant, cockpit crew etc.

• Amidst great furor and opposition by various organizations and political parties, Naresh Goyal , chairman of Jet, reinstated the employees a day later the great emotional drama.

• November 2008, Jet decided on a 20% cut in the salaries of its pilots, engineers, and some other staffs.

Case Study

Unethical Practices

• Employees were FIRED with no PRIOR NOTICE • The entire force of unconfirmed staff was

being laid off on a 30-day compensation package

• Company took action only against lower staffs.

Case Study

Why it was wrong

• The very existence of any company is because of its employees.

• Company keeps on focusing on customer satisfaction when its own people are so highly dissatisfied.

• Employees are more than just-a-resource.

Case Study

Some most crucial questions unanswered…. • Where would those 1900 employees go? • Why took action only against lower grade

staffs? • Why Senior management was very less

affected?

Case Study

• What would be the future of those students currently taking courses in cabin crew etc?

Thank you

Recruiting & HR

Ethical Issues in Human Resource Management