Human Resource Management 1 ELEVENTH EDITION GARY DESSLER

Human Resource Management 1 ELEVENTH EDITION GARY DESSLER Part 5 | Employee Relations Chapter 14 Ethics, Justice, and Fair Treatment in HR Management Power. Point Presentation by Charlie Cook The University of West Alabama

Ethics and Fair Treatment at Work • The Meaning of Ethics Ø The principles of conduct governing an individual or a group. Ø The standards you use to decide what your conduct should be. Ø Ethical behavior depends on a person’s frame of reference. • Ethical Decisions Ø Normative judgments- Good bad, right wrong, better or worse. Ø Morality- Society’s accepted standard of behavior. © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 2

FIGURE 14– 1 The Wall Street Journal Workplace. Ethics Quiz Note: The spread of technology into the workplace has raised a variety of new ethical questions, and many old ones still linger. Source: Wall Street Journal, October 21, 1999, pp. B 1–B 4. Reproduced with permission via Copyright Clearance Center. © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 3

TABLE 14– 1 Specific Observed Unethical Behaviors Abusive or intimidating behavior toward employees 21% Lying to employees, customers, vendors, or to the public 19% A situation that places employee interests over organizational interests 18% Violations of safety regulations 16% Misreporting of actual time worked 16% E-mail and Internet abuse 13% Discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, age, or similar categories 12% Stealing or theft 11% Sexual harassment 9% Provision of goods or services that fail to meet specifications 8% Misuse of confidential information 7% Alteration of documents 6% Falsification or misrepresentation of financial records or reports 5% Improper use of competitors’ inside information 4% Price fixing 3% Giving or accepting bribes, kickbacks, or inappropriate gifts 3% Source: From 2005 National Business Ethics Survey: How Employees Perceive Ethics at Work, 2005, p. 25. Copyright © 2006, Ethics Resource Center (ERC). Used with permission of the ERC, 1747 Pennsylvania Ave. , N. W. , Suite 400, Washington, DC 2006, www. ethics. org. Reprinted in O. C. Ferrell, John Fraedrich, and Linog Ferrell, Business Ethics (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2008) , p. 61. © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 4

Ethics and Fair Treatment at Work (cont’d) A behavior may be legal but unethical. Ethics and the Law A behavior may be illegal but ethical. A behavior may be both legal and ethical. A behavior may be both illegal and unethical. © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 5

Ethics, Fair Treatment, and Justice Components of Organizational Justice Distributive Justice © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. Procedural Justice Interactional (Interpersonal) Justice 6

JUSTICE: Fairness – Results – Assumed or implied balance of fairness and equality Commutative Justice – Attempting to give all parties equal treatment without unique differences being considered. Distributive Justice – Allocation of justice that takes into consideration individual differences Example: ADA – American’s with Disabilities Act – passed in 1990 © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 7

FIGURE 14– 2 Perceptions of Fair Interpersonal Treatment Scale Source: Michelle A. Donovan et al. , “The Perceptions of Their Interpersonal Treatment Scale: Development and Validation of a Measure of Interpersonal Treatment in the Workplace, ” Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, no. 5 (1998), p. 692. © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 8

What Shapes Ethical Behavior at Work? Individual Factors The Organization’s Culture Ethical Policies and Codes © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. Ethical Behavior At Work Organizational Factors The Boss’s Influence 9

FIGURE 14– 3 How Do My Ethics Rate? Source: Adapted from A. Reichel and Y. Neumann, Journal of Instructional Psychology, March 1988, pp. 25– 53. With permission of the authors. © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 10

TABLE 14– 2 Principal Causes of Ethical Compromises Senior Mgmt. Middle Mgmt. Front. Line Supv. Prof. Non. Mgmt. Admin. Salaried Hourly Meeting schedule pressure 1 1 1 Meeting overly aggressive financial or business objectives 3 2 2 2 Helping the company survive 2 3 4 4 3 4 Advancing the career interests of my boss 5 4 3 3 4 5 Feeling peer pressure 7 7 5 6 5 3 Resisting competitive threats 4 5 6 7 Saving jobs 9 6 7 7 7 6 Advancing my own career or financial interests 8 9 9 8 Other 6 8 8 9 Note: 1 is high, 9 is low. Sources: O. C. Ferrell and John Fraedrich, Business Ethics, 3 rd ed. (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1997), p. 28; adapted from Rebecca Goodell, Ethics in American Business: Policies, Programs, and Perceptions (1994), p. 54. Permission provided courtesy of the Ethics Resource Center, 1120 6 th Street NW, Washington, DC: 20005. © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 11

Employees and Ethical Dilemmas • Questions employees should ask when faced with ethical dilemmas: Ø Is the action legal? Ø Is it right? Ø Who will be affected? Ø Does it fit the company’s values? Ø How will it “feel” afterwards? Ø How will it look in the newspaper? Ø Will it reflect poorly on the company? © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 12

What Is Organizational Culture? • Organizational culture Ø The characteristic values, traditions, and behaviors a company’s employees share. • How is culture is revealed? Ø Ceremonial events Ø Written rules and spoken commands Ø Office layout Ø Organizational structure Ø Dress codes Ø Cultural symbols and behaviors Ø Figureheads © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 13

Human Resource Management’s Role in Promoting Ethics and Fair Treatment Ethics Training Selection Performance Appraisal Workplace Aggression and Violence © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. HRM–Related Ethics Activities Reward and Disciplinary Systems HR’s Ethics and Compliance Activities 14

FIGURE 14– 4 U. S. Data Trust Web site Source: Reprinted with permission of U. S. Data Trust Corporation. www. USData. Trust. com/company. © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 15

Employee Discipline and Privacy Fair and Just Discipline Process Clear Rules and Regulations © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. A System of Progressive Penalties An Appeals Process 16

Restrictions on Workplace Monitoring • The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) Ø Restricts employer interception and monitoring of oral and wire communications. v “business v “consent purpose exception” • Common law Ø Provides protections against invasion of privacy. © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 17

FIGURE 14– 8 Sample Telephone Monitoring Acknowledgement Statement Source: Reprinted with permission from Bulletin to Management (BNA Policy and Practice Series) 48, no. 14, Part II, (April 3, 1997), p. 7. © 1997 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 18

The Plant Closing Law • WARNA - Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (1989) Ø Requires employers of 100 or more employees to give 60 days notice before closing a facility or starting a layoff of 50 people or more. Ø The law does not prevent the employer from closing down, nor does it require saving jobs. Ø The law is intended to give employees time to seek other work or retraining by giving them advance notice of the shutdown. © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 19

Layoffs and Downsizing • Bumping/Layoff Procedures Ø Seniority is usually the determinant of who will work. Ø Seniority can give way to merit or ability. Ø Seniority is usually based on the employee’s hiring date, not the date he or she took a particular job. Ø Companywide seniority allows an employee in one job to bump or displace an employee in another job. © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 20

Layoffs and Downsizing • Alternatives to Downsizing Ø Voluntarily reducing employees’ pay. Ø Concentrating employees’ vacations. Ø Taking voluntary time off. Ø Releasing temporary workers. Ø Offering early retirement buyout packages. © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 21

Adjusting to Downsizings and Mergers • Reduction in Force Guidelines Ø Identify objectives and constraints. Ø Form a downsizing team. Ø Address legal issues. Ø Plan post-reduction actions. Ø Address security concerns. © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 22

Adjusting to Downsizings and Mergers (cont’d) • Guidelines for treatment of departing employees during a merger: Ø Avoid the appearance of power and domination. Ø Avoid win–lose behavior. Ø Remain businesslike and professional. Ø Maintain a positive feeling about the acquired company. Ø Remember that how the organization treats the acquired group will affect those who remain. © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. 23

KEY TERMS ethics code distributive justice procedural justice interactional (interpersonal) justice organizational culture nonpunitive discipline Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) dismissal © 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. All rights reserved. wrongful discharge unsatisfactory performance misconduct insubordination termination interview outplacement counseling exit interviews bumping/layoff procedures downsizing 24