Ethical Issues in Human Resource Management
Definition of HRM
HRM is a management function involving the recruitment of suitable human resources, training, developing and sustaining their competencies, motivating them, offering them rewards on a rational and equitable basis, and ensuring their continued commitment to the organization for achieving its overall objectives.
Growth of Human Resource Management
• 1890–1910 – Fredrick W. Taylor formulated scientific management, which included a careful selection of employees; finding out the best method of doing the job; systematic training of workers; provision of suitable implements; and giving adequate rewards for good performance.
• 1910–1930 – Greater importance to welfare of workers, emergence of industrial psychology and improvements in the mode of recruitment procedures
• 1930–1945 – Principle of Hawthorne studies gains momentum in personnel management in an industrial organization. Greater emphasis given to motivating factors affecting worker productivity.
• 1945–1965 – More emphasis on collective bargaining and labour relations. Compensation and benefits gained importance as unions negotiated for and obtained paid vacations, paid holidays and insurance coverage.
• 1965–1985 – Equal employment opportunity and affirmative action became crucial human resource management responsibilities
• 1985–2005 – Increased diversity of the labour force, in terms of age, gender, race and ethnicity; globalization of business and the accompanying technological revolution; focus on HRM as a “strategic function”
Different aspects of HRM
• Recruitment
• Training and development
• Learning organizations
• Performance management
• Pay
• Team work
• Motivation
HR related ethical issues
• Discrimination issues
• Suppression of democratization in the workplace
• Privacy issues
▪ Recruitment and selection
▪ Performance tracking
▪ Privacy issues of computerized employee records
▪ Electronic surveillance
• Safety and health
• Performance appraisals
Emerging challenges of HRM
a. Globalization of markets and intensification of competition has made employers and employees conscious of their changing and strategic roles in organizations;
b. Corporate restructuring has become an absolute necessity for organizations;
c. Need for reconciling to multiple work ethos as a result of mergers and acquisitions;
e. Emphasis on total quality management;
f. Changing job profiles and the need for and ability to get adjusted to them;
g. Adoption to changing workforce profile consequent on structural changes;
h. Increasing role of women employees in organizations;
i. Increasing use of Information Technology that is altering the very nature of work delivery in organizations; and
j. Increasing emphasis on knowledge management and the need for acquisition and use of knowledge to keep pace with the fast changing world.
Role of HRM in creating an ethical organization
• The top management should be committed to ethical behaviour
• They should be the role models to their employees
• The organization should evolve codes of ethics for its employees and enforce them.
• Ethics committees should be formed with top executives as members to advice on ethical issues.
• Company journals to publish articles on ethical issues and pose hypothetical ethical dilemmas and discussions on how to resolve these
• An ethics office with ethics officers to oversee the process and help communicate policy to employees.
• Organize employee ethics training which can play an integral role in ensuring compliance with the ethics code.
• A disciplinary system to deal with ethical violations promptly and decisively.
Categories
• Employers
• Employees
• Government Agency
• Manpower Consultancy
• Outside Sources
Discrimination Origin
• Age
• Sex • Handicapped
• Religion or Caste
• Country of Origin
• Whimsical – No Fixed Reason