GGSR CHAPT 5

• Ethics


  A branch of philosophy that prescribes and guides acceptable human conduct
• Morality


  The study of what is morally right or wrong
• Human conduct


  Individual/group interaction with other people and the environment
• Business ethics


  The study of ethics with a particular focus on business
• Kinds of ethical issues

  • Systemic
  • Corporate
  • Individual
• Systemic ethical issues


  • Issues (like culture of corruption in government institutions) that need to be addressed through coordinated actions of different social groups
• Corporate ethical issues


  • Issues that can and should be solved within the company (e.g. habitual tardiness)
• Individual ethical issues


  • Issues that need to be resolved through individual decision making and behavioral change
• Utilitarian ethics


  Consequence-based ethics where actions are evaluated based on benefits and costs
• Deontological ethics


  Duty-based ethics that states the morality of an action is based on normative rules rather than consequences
• Virtue ethics


  Character-based ethics that focuses on an individual's character in ethical decision making, rather than consequences or duty
• Ethical relativism


  The view that ethical standards cannot be absolute and applied to all societies, as what is right for one culture may be wrong for another
• Kohlberg's stages of moral development

  • Pre-conventional level
  • Conventional level
  • Post-conventional, autonomous, or principled level
• Negative right


  A duty from others not to interfere with an individual's activities
• Positive right


  The duty of others to allow another person to do whatever he or she needs to follow or perform freely
• Moral right (human right)


  An entitlement that every human being anywhere in this world possesses, such as the right to public assembly, right to work, freedom of expression
• Categorical imperative


  A command addressed to individuals who may or may not follow such command
• Legal right


  A right given by law to find resolutions or remedies to a conflict
• Contractual rights and duties

  Rights that a company is benefitting from a contract, and contractual obligations that the company is expected to perform under the contract
• Moral responsibility


  One's moral duty or moral obligation
• Conditions for moral responsibility


  • The person causes or fails to prevent an avoidable wrong
  • The person must know that what he or she is doing
  • The person must act on his own free will and not coerced
• The absence of any of the three conditions for moral responsibility will eliminate an individual's responsibility for an injury and thus release him or her from blame
• There are mitigating factors that can lessen an individual's moral responsibility depending on the seriousness of the wrong act
• Human Resource Management (HRM)

  The moral conscience of a company as it handles the management of all employees and makes tough ethical decisions
• Functions of Human Resource Management

  • Recruitment
  • Compensation
  • Performance appraisal
  • Labor relations
  • Compliance management
• Traits that must be manifested through HRM processes


  • Be an ethical HR leader
  • Support training and development
  • Acknowledge the importance of diversity in the workplace
  • Manage conflict of interest
  • Keeping things confidential
• HR training and development is given less importance by management but continuous professional development makes employees stay at their jobs
• Diversity in the workplace


  • It is an issue that addresses recruiting efforts across race, class, gender, and religious belief
  • Hiring people must primarily be based on the ability to get work done
  • Embracing diversity by understanding and accepting people from different backgrounds helps in the ethical decision-making process
• Conflict of interest (COI)

  • One of the biggest barriers in organizational development and performance is self interest of particular individuals/groups
  • One of the best way to manage COI is through the company's code of ethics and/or code of discipline
• Confidentiality


  • It is unethical to divulge information without the employees' consent
  • It is the legal obligation of HR to ensure that secrecy of information such as salaries, sexual harassment, wrongful acts, and others
• HR should be aware of existing labor laws and compliance practices at all times
• Code of Ethics


  • It is an inspirational document that describes the values and beliefs that guides the company and the conduct of its members
  • It is a set of principles designed to guide every member of the company to carry out their respective business activities with integrity
  • It is disclosed to the public so that interested parties who wish to do business with the company know how the company operates
  • It establishes trust and credibility among its employees and other stakeholders
  • The willful violation of the code may result in termination
• Code of Discipline


  • It sets out rules and regulations that the individual must follow, and serves as a guide for employees in varying circumstances
  • Violations by employees maybe dealt with a corresponding punishment or sanctions (i.e. penalty, suspension, or termination)
  • The Code of Discipline comes from the ever important Code of Ethics, and is generally longer in length and narrower in scope since it covers specific action expectations
• Despite the prevailing industry practice of receiving commissions from suppliers, it is maintained that ethical standards of refusing to do so
• Clients should be told that their fees, nothing else
• The practice has allowed to protect the clients' interest and maintain the integrity of the clients
• By refusing commissions they have developed a portfolio of repeat clients that is the bulk of their practice, which is important as companies build long lasting relationships with the clients
• Examples of Issues to Contend with

  • Conflict of interest
  • Commercial bribery and extortion
  • Gifts
  • Employees theft
  • Computer theft
  • Trade secrets
  • Insider trading
• Conflict of interest


  It occurs when a person in a position has an "interest" that may motivate them to do the job in a way that may not be in the best interest of the company. COI may come in various forms of relationships such as financial and power (influence)
• Commercial bribery and extortion


  When consideration is given or offered by one party outside the company (supplier) to the employee (buyer) when he or she transacts favorably with the employee's company