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HR must work to maintain safety standards and clean working conditions for employees based on Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements. Employees also have the right to expect a workplace free of sexually suggestive signs or comments, and disabled employees must have access to the building.
HR must make sure lighting and air quality are adequate. Some companies have reneged on promises they made regarding pension programs.
HR has an ethical responsibility to make sure that any benefits offered to employees actually pay as intended. This means monitoring company-managed benefits as well as insurance companies to make sure there are no financial problems that would shortchange employees. Hiring and termination decisions must be made without regard to ethnicity, race, gender, sexual preference or religious beliefs. In this factsheet written by the Institute of Business Ethics IBE , we examine why business ethics is so important for organisations, their employees and customers.
We look at ethical values — the moral compass by which we live our lives — and examine how the IBE's Business Ethics Framework lays the foundation for an effective ethics programme. We believe that work can and should be a force for good, for everyone involved in the world of work. Because when work is good, people are more likely to be happy and fulfilled, businesses are more likely to be productive and profitable, and communities are more likely to flourish.
How do we stop the same things happening again? Do we simply write more rules? How do we embed ethical behaviour in our organisations? Ethical cultures are vital in helping businesses shift focus from short-term profits to long-term sustainability, ensuring that work benefits everyone — from employees to shareholders.
As the expert on people and organisations, HR has unique access to staff throughout their career — from induction training to exit interviews. Few will deny the importance of trustful relationships with employees, customers, suppliers and the community. Indeed, the success of any organisation depends on it. As a result, the organisation is susceptible to ethical lapses and risks to its reputation. In their Purposeful leadership report, the CIPD investigates what business ethics means for business leaders at various levels of the organisational hierarchy, and the extent to which these leaders can help organisations articulate and embed ethical values.
HR has a responsibility to the organisations they work for to contribute to organisational objectives, and a responsibility to their profession to contribute to the public good.
Providing leadership in upholding ethical standards in organisations is therefore a critical element of professionalism. However, professionals in any context will inevitably experience situations where there is conflict between professional and organisational ethics. Developing a strong sense of purpose and identification with the HR profession can equip them with the courage to challenge unethical organisational practice. Ethical dilemmas can arise in many day-to-day ways and at all levels within organisations, from those related to strategy and policy in the boardroom to those faced by managers or individuals in the course of their work.
The boundaries of right and wrong as defined in law are clear. However, behaving ethically is discretionary. Ethical values are the compass by which we live our lives. They are what is important to us. For example, is it important to you that you give an honest quote, even if that means losing out to the competition who may not be so honest? Would you stand up to your boss if you felt they were asking you to do something unethical?
These core values will be the foundation of any ethics programme. The personal values of employees may or may not align with organisational values, therefore organisations may need to provide support for employees in how to deliver them.
Some organisations provide employees with 'ethical tests' to help them make decisions in line with broader ethical values and principles. These might involve a series of questions, such as: But how is excellence defined in that organisation? What does it look like? How is it achieved? Is it with integrity, or is it at the expense, for example, of child labour or poor working conditions?
To do business ethically, a company or organisation needs an ethics programme to support and bring its values to life, with the complexity of the programme being tailored to its size. It should include a code of ethics as the key element. If values are a compass to guide behaviour at work, then a code of ethics is a map that helps individuals navigate ethical dilemmas in the workplace. You can view the elements of an effective ethics programme in the attachment below. These may be formal or informal programmes depending on the size of the organisation, but whatever the style, HR has a powerful role to play.
Talking internally about values and ethics will also enhance the employer brand with employees. Where there has been an ethical lapse or scandal, communications can help rebuild internal trust by revitalising the commitment to behaving ethically. Where different cultures have merged for example, in an acquisition , internal communications of ethical values can help develop cohesion, consistency in behaviours, and common purpose.
Global companies will find this approach helpful as it supports the task of uniting different cultures in the corporation behind one set of values. A great way to do this is to nominate ethics ambassadors and obtain case studies from each business area. HR professionals play a central role in supporting a workplace culture where the motivation for 'doing the right thing' is because it's the right thing to do.
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Sometimes, that may mean compromising performance in the short term. Ethical businesses support that, because of the benefits in the long term. In short, an organization's culture can be at odds with what's the best thing to do for HR managers. As conflict arises, the HR manager must be adept at resolving conflicts between the demands of company culture and those of ethical behavior.
Some of the major issues an organization deals with is handling ethical challenges in workforce diversity. HR managers do much of the screening while the hiring process is still on. By its very nature, screening leaves some people out and permits others to move forward. In short, the ones left out will be affected by not getting the job, no matter how much they need it.
HR managers can neglect the emotionalism of such situations by adhering strictly to the skill sets and other needs of the position, but there will always be a gray area where HR managers may scale how much each applicant wants and needs the job. The HR managers must regularly monitor the company's hiring practices to make sure there is no discrimination in the hiring process based on ethnicity, sexual orientation, race, religion and disability. For example, if an HR manager recommends a candidate in order to fill a quota, that decision is unethical, because it will remove other applicants that may be more qualified.
Privacy is always a sensitive matter for an HR manager.