HR’s
Role in Organizational Ethics
The human resource department of an organization plays a
huge role in ethical behavior. They set the tone for the rest of the company.
They make the ethical programs and train employees on how to be ethical and
what to do in unethical situations. They set up the hotlines for employees to
leave anonymous tips and they also make ethical models, just like the one I
have shown above. They ensure that all of the activities going on inside of the organization
are ethical, legal, and up to par on government standards and regulations.
According to the textbook, the 13th edition of
Human Resource Management, employee engagement is defined as, “the extent to
which individuals feel linked to organizational success and how the
organization performs positively”. (Mathis
and Jackson 12)
Employee organization is essential in an organization and
it can make or break the success of the company. If employees feel that they
are part of the group and can contribute, they are more likely to be motivated
to do good work. An employee needs to feel valued in order to be driven and
inspired.
Ethics
Program
When a company has an ethics program, it helps to make it
possible to be more ethical. There are four main elements of an ethics program.
They are as follows:
- “A written code of ethics and standards of conduct” (Mathis and Jackson 13)
- “Training on ethical behavior for all executives, managers, and employees” (Mathis and Jackson 13)
- “Advice to employees on ethical situations they face, often made by HR” (Mathis and Jackson 13)
- “Systems for confidential reporting of ethical misconduct or questionable behavior” (Mathis and Jackson 13)
Ethical
Model
An ethical model is made to help everyone in the organization
better understand business ethics and how to make sure they are always being ethical.
There have been many different ethical models that have been created over time
by all different kinds of business people and managers. I found the ethical
model below that was made in late 1980's and early 1990's.
“Trevino (1986) offered a
general theoretical model, whereas Ferrell and Gresham (1985), Hunt and Vitell
(1986), and Dubinsky and Loken (1989) offered models that focus on marketing
ethics. Rest (1986) presented a theory of individual ethical decision making
that can easily be generalized to organizational settings. Among the empirical
contributions to date are the works of Hegarty and Sims (1978, 1979), Fritzsche
and Becker (1983), Frederick (1987), Laczniak and Inderrieden (1987), Fritzsche
(1988), Dubinsky and Loken (1989), and Weber (1990). One reason for this
relative paucity of theoretical and empirical work in ethics may be that few
scholars are interested in both ethics and organizational behavior and decision
making. The models that have emerged are the products of scholars in psychology
or psychology-based disciplines, including organizational behavior and
marketing.” (Jones 366-395)
HR-Related
Ethical Misconduct Activities
Three main examples of human resource related misconduct activities
are as follows:
- Compensation - being unfair during performance reviews, lying on work reports, lying about the number of hours or time worked, etc.
- Employee Relations – lying, stealing, giving false information, etc.
- Staffing and Equal Employment – favoritism, discrimination of any kind, false background checks, giving or using false information, etc.
Organizational
Ethics: A Stacked Deck
“The idea of a ‘stacked deck’ has three elements which
are of significance here. There is (1) a magician, ‘the deck stacker’, (2) a ‘straight
man’, the member of the audience asked by the magician to ‘pick a card’, and
(3) a situation in which the ‘straight ma’s’ choice turns out to be exactly the
card the ‘deck stacker’ had intended to be chosen. Similarly, in organizational
ethics there is (1) an organization which has so structured relationships
within it that (2) members in the performance of their responsibilities
typically choose (3) the organizations preferred way of doing rather than
alternative behaviors which might be though by some to be ethically superior.” (Carroll 95-100)
Sarbanes
– Oxley Act (SOX)
“The Sarbanes – Oxley Act (SOX) was passed by congress to
make certain that publicly traded companies follow accounting controls that
could reduce the likelihood of illegal and unethical behaviors.” (Mathis and Jackson 16)
There are three main rules
that SOX enforces, they are listed below.
Rule One: “The first rule
deals with destruction, alteration, or falsification of records” (Rouse)
“Sec. 802(a) ‘Whoever
knowingly alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals, covers up, falsifies, or makes
a false entry in any record, document, or tangible object with the intent to
impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any
matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States
or any case filed under title 11, or in relation to or contemplation of any
such matter or case, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than
20 years, or both.’” (Rouse)
Rule Two: “The second rule defines the retention period for records
storage” (Rouse)
“Sec. 802(a)(1) ‘Any
accountant who conducts an audit of an issuer of securities to which section
10A(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C 78j-1(a)) applies,
shall maintain all audit or review workpapers for a period of 5 years from the
end of the fiscal period in which the audit or review was concluded.’” (Rouse)
Rule Three: “This third rule refers to the type of business
records that need to be stored, including all business records and
communications, including electronic communications” (Rouse)
“Sec. 802(a)(2) ‘The
Securities and Exchange Commission shall promulgate, within 180 days, such
rules and regulations, as are reasonably necessary, relating to the retention
of relevant records such as workpapers, documents that form the basis of an
audit or review, memoranda, correspondence, communications, other documents,
and records (including electronic records) which are created, sent, or received
in connection with an audit or review and contain conclusions, opinions,
analyses, or financial data relating to such an audit or review.’” (Rouse)
References
Mathis , Robert L. , and
John H. Jackson . Human
Resource Management . 13th
ed. . Mason : South-Western Cengage Learning , 2011. Print.
Jones , Thomas M. .
"Ethical Decision Making by Individuals in Organizations: An
Issue-Contingent Model." Academy of Management Review . 16.2 (1991): 366-395. Print.
<http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/258867.pdf?acceptTC=true&acceptTC=true&jpdConfirm=true>.
Carroll, Archie B. .
"Organizational Ethics: A Stacked Deck ."Journal
of Business Ethics . 3.2 (1984): 95-100. Print.
Rouse, Margaret .
"Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)."searchcio.techtarget. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec 2013.
<http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/Sarbanes-Oxley-Act>.
