HRM

Session 13

Vijayta Doshi
 Consequential Rule-based theory or
Character theory or
theory or Deontological
Virtue Ethics
Utilitarianism Approach
Basis of Consequences or outcome Character of the act itself Character and intentions of the actor;
ethics based Aristotelian approach: Focus is on the
inner character and not on individual’s
behavior or action

Proponent John Stuart Mill Immanuel Kant Robert Solomon;

Adam Smith’s moral sentiments

Essence Maximize the most good for Individuals should be treated with A “good” person who acts out of
the greatest number of respect and dignity and should not virtuous and “right intentions” is the
people be treated as a means to an end one with integrity
Human Resources

• Business is not all about making profits

• We should try developing ethical enterprises
• Attitude of business to its employees should be of care
• Prime purpose of business is to make money

• To increase long-term shareholder value

• Businesses not interested in making employees happy or improving

their quality of life!
‘Value’ of Employees

• Business organizations want Profits

• Profits inherently linked to Employee Productivity
• Productivity is related to Employee Happiness

• So, I care for your Happiness.

 Happiness & Productivity
• Bad conditions at work ð Decrease in productivity of employees
• Mistrust at workplace ð Decrease in productivity of employees

• Happy Staff RECIPROCATE with Hard Work ð Shareholders benefit in the

long run
• Thus, employee motivation, workplace conditions, interpersonal trust,
employee happiness, etc. make Sense
What makes employees Happy?
• Better Pay?
• Rewards and Recognition?
• Career Growth?
 Ethical Issues in HRM

Recruitment & Equality Training & Compensation Redundancy

Selection (Hiring) Development (Firing)
Recruitment & Selection (Hiring)
Recruitment & Selection
• Business has a duty to select the right person for the right job
• Challenge: What should be the basis of selection?
Interviews Recommendation Letters
Assessments Academic Credentials
Tests Work Experience

• Recruitment and Selection criteria should (be):

• Relevant
• Open (what they are supposed to capture)
• Sound (test and results)
• Respect the privacy of the individual
Interviews
• Panel Selection: select only trained people as interviewers
• Interviews must be conducted in a fair and equitable manner
• Some questions should be prepared in advance
• Panel members should take down notes in evidence of their decision
• Suitable candidates should be ranked
• Panel members must submit all notes/papers to the panel chairman
• Confidentiality: Details about the candidate must not be shared with others
• All files must be purged after a pre-established time-period (typically six
months)
Equality
Equality
Article 16 in The Constitution Of India 1949
• Equal Opportunity 16. Equality of opportunity in matters of public
Employer employment

• Consideration of (1) There shall be equality of opportunity for all

• Ethnic minorities
citizens in matters relating to employment or
• Older and Handicapped
appointment to any office under the State
workers
(2) No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race,
• Caring for Women: caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of
• Pregnancy leave
them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in
• Paid Leave for child care
respect or, any employment or office under the State
By Dave Ulrich
The Case of Marianne Bullock

In her seven month as a home health care worker for a large Massachusetts agency,
Marianne Bullock never missed a day of work. But her daughter Sora, then 18 months
old, contracted a stomach virus, Bullock called her supervisor to say she needed to
stay home. “I told her I expected to be back in 24 hours, but the next day Sora wasn’t
taking any fluids so I asked for another day off”. On the third day, Sora seemed better
but as Bullock headed out to work, the little girl threw up. Marianne called her
employer to report Sora’s continued illness.

If you were the employer, what would you do?

Ethics of Care?
• Bullock was fired
• When I called in, the care manager that I spoke to said “You just might as well not come
back"
• Her husband, a carpenter, did not earn much
• The loss of her pay check pushed Bullock in deep poverty
• Her family had to struggle for several months before she could get
another job
Training & Development
Training & Development: Ethical Issues
• Selection of Programs • Selection of Candidates
• Proper mix of internal versus • Who to train – New or old? Top
external programs management or other?
• Should help employees gain • Should not select candidates on
common understanding and the basis of prejudices, agendas
provide exposure to other
perspectives
• Evaluation of Programs and
Trainers
• Selection of Trainers • Evaluation criteria should be
• Proper mix of instructors from the objective and predefined
outside and home-grown teachers • Evaluation should be confidential
Program Evaluation
• How do you rate your learning in relation to Objective “X”?
Poor Fair Very Good Excellent

• How do you rate your learning in relation to Objective “Y”?

Poor Fair Very Good Excellent

• My expectations with the training program have been met

In a Poor way In a Fair way In a Very Good way In an Excellent way
Trainer Evaluation
• Command of subject
Poor Fair Very Good Excellent

• Communication skills
Poor Fair Very Good Excellent

• Being responsive to trainees

Poor Fair Very Good Excellent
Compensation
Compensation
• Compensation Criteria Should • Basis of Compensation should be
be: Fairness
• Designed to serve the business
aim
• Based on the recognition of value • Two (rather four) types of
to the business Organizational Justice:
• Clear, and publicly available • Procedural (systemic) &
Informational (social)
• Distributive (systemic) &
• Pay, Bonus, Perks should help Interpersonal (social)
motivate employees to work
productively
Organizational Justice
• Procedural Fairness of processes
Do I have a say? Are the process ethical, accurate and
consistent?

• Distributive Distribution of resources

Are the rewards shared in a fair manner?

• Informational Adequacy of explanations

Were the explanations given in a timely and truthful
manner?

• Interpersonal Adequacy of respect

Was I treated in a fair and dignified manner?
Redundancy (Firing)
Redundancy
• Only permanency in Business is • Skills become redundant, fire
Change • Demands are shrinking, fire
• And change could mean Job • What should be the attitude of
losses the businesses to people it can
• Laws for redundancy: no longer employ?
• Notice Period, Severance • Is firing always bad?
Payments
• However, Laws are the bare
minimum to which businesses
must conform
“In business…the role ethics is to apply general ethical values and
principles not to particular situations but in particular situations”.
~Jack Mahoney
 Ethical Decision Making
• Mirror test
• Front page test
• Consequences test
• Reciprocity test
• Universality test
• Role model test
• Loved ones test
• Advisory group test
• Sanctuary test

Source: http://triplecrownleadership.com/ethical-decision-making-
simple-tests/
Name of One Ethical Representative from Each Study Group