Ethics and Human Resource Management

Human resource management and ethics are the interrelated variables that affect the organization and its performance.  As we know Human resource management is the most valuable area of every organization and every organization should pay more attention to this. Human resources management has a lot of HR function and to do it the right way there should be HR ethics in the organization.

What is a HRM?

Human resource management can be simply defined as managing human resources of the organization to achieve goals and objectives of the organization.

A strategic, integrated and coherent approach to the employment development and well being of the people working in the organization.( Armstrong, 2014).

What is the Meaning of Ethics?

Ethics is defined by the compact Oxford dictionary as being related to moral, treating of moral question' and ethical is defined as relating to morality.

According to Petrick and Quinn, (1997) wrote that ethics is the study of individual and collective moral awareness, judgement, character and conduct.

Ethics and HRM

It is important to understand that Human Resource Management by the nature of its role inside organizations is at the front line of ethics problems on what concerns employees and employers. This is why many companies give HR professionals the role of leadership in establishing and maintaining ethical programs. (Wiley, 2000). Although some activities are outsourced, most HR Managers follow the main stages of an employee’s path in the companies/Organizations: Recruitment and Selection, Reward Management, Performance Appraisal, Career Management and Firing/Separation. (Mercier, 2003).

Professional Human Resource Managers have a responsibility to promote good ethical standards within the organization. It will help to the company in different ways because success of the organization directly depends on its workforce talent. If the organization has ethical issues it will directly affect to employees. In 1992 "Ethical issues in human resource management ''survey five issues were highlighted as follows.

• Staffing based on favouritism.
• Sexual Harassment.
• Using discipline for managerial and non-managerial discipline. 
• Non-performance factor used in the appraisal.
• Allowing difference in pay.

Apart from that, there are another so many ethical problems can be identified within the organization.HR manager should try to understand all the ethical issues and sort it out as much as possible. Most of the time HR ethics can be identified when we are doing below-mentioned HR functions and related activities in the organization.

• Recruitment and selection: This is one of the most important  HR function and when we are doing recruitment we should do it ethically accepted way. Every organization should have recruitment policy and should follow it according to the HR policy manual.

• Justifiable Treatment: Shouldn't happen any discrimination within the workplace. Have to treat all the employees in an equal manner.

• Privacy: Keeping the privacy of employees is the most important task in every organization. Should not disclose employees personal information with others. The HR department has a huge responsibility on this because all the details belong to employees have with them. For example salary information, personnel issues.

• Respect and fairness: Everybody is like to get respect from others and should treat them fairness way. Hence HR department should create the culture in the organization which has respect and fairness.

• Performance Management: Normally performance management is used by the organization to evaluate employee performance to give annual increment, promotion, training and development requirement identification etc. Unfortunately, most of the organization do not follow this function ethically accepted way. There are so many evidence that most of the employees had face discrimination in the performance management process.

• Reward Management: Reward management also the most important function and it concern how to reward of employees fairly without any discrimination. The main purpose of every employee in the organization is earning the money from their job. If this not happened fairly it will be a big issue to the company. Hense company should have strategies and policies to implement an ethical reward system.

• Discipline: Discipline is the must.It can simply be defined as obey the company rules and regulation and punish to correct misconduct. Every organization should have clear disciplinary policy procedures and it should be equal to every person.

Conclusion

Ethics is very important in every organization because of it closely deal with human resource management. Nowadays most of the organization has handed over the responsibility of HR ethics to HR professionals.HR managers are dealing with all the ethical issues in the organization and it will help to the success of the organization. Earlier HRM  has done only administrative and HR functions and because of the popularity of the HR ethics HR Manager acting as ethical agent of the organization. In finally ethics and human resources management has important connection and dealing with ethical problem will be beneficial for the organization.

References 

1.Available at https://www.slideshare.net/saumyasingh7921/ethics-in-human-resource-management[accessed:31December,2018].

2.Available at https://fbr.springeropen.com/track/pdf/10.1007/s11782-010-0111-[accessed:31December,2018].

3.Available at https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/39152505.pdf[accessed:31December,2018].

4.Available at https://repositorio.iscte-iul.pt/bitstream/10071/11294/1/Ethics%20in%20HRM_%20MargaridaPimenta_2015.pdf[accessed: 31December,2018].