Managing People: An Ethical Analysis of British Gas' HRM Strategy

This assignment presents a case study analysis of British Gas and its human resource management practices, specifically focusing on a "smoke and rehire" strategy. The report examines the ethical implications of this strategy from an economic standpoint, considering its impact on employees, customers, and the company's reputation. It discusses the human relationship theory and virtue ethics theory, evaluating their relevance to the case and recommending ethical improvements. The assignment aims to provide a solution to a contemporary HRM issue within a rapidly growing business, incorporating relevant models, theories, and concepts while highlighting the role of HRM in managing the employment relationship. Desklib offers access to similar case studies and solved assignments for students.

Business Ethics and
Responsible
Management

Contents
Contents...........................................................................................................................................2
PART 1............................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
(A)................................................................................................................................................1
This problem must be examined from an economic standpoint by the firm...............................1
Would that be a problem that has an impact on the general opinion of oneself..........................1
There are a range of methods to look regarding that now...........................................................2
Parties affected as a result of the situation...................................................................................2
Instances of businesses which are accountable and those who are not.......................................3
(B)................................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION and RECOMMENDATIONS...............................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7
PART 2............................................................................................................................................8
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................8
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................8
Reflective essay...........................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

PART 1
INTRODUCTION
British Gas has a "smoke and hire new" plan in order. This corporation has developed a new
contract with its workers that includes additional criteria of service (Barnes and Watson, 2019).
Furthermore, they are required to not only complete extra labour but also work on weekends and
vacations. Such elements are not acceptable, yet because to unemployment anxiety, the ratio of
effectiveness still seems to be 98 percent. The decision to take this move was based on earnings
fluctuations and resource savings.
(A)
This problem must be examined from an economic standpoint by the firm
The term "ethical problem" refers to a contradiction among principles and community as a
result of a specific event, circumstance, or engagement. Businesses must comprehend the
economic side in order to function efficiently. The example analysis of British Gas highlights an
economic dilemma that perhaps the corporation must consider from an ethical point of view. The
problem isn't one of honesty or openness; it's one of manipulation and inaction.
 Workers will be exploited by the firm, who will reap the benefits of their anxiety of
losing their jobs. The business has inserted an additional clause to the contract that
requires workers to perform 3 additional sessions on the very identical pay scale.
 In addition, 66 percent of those surveyed have said that they will not purchase something
at all from the business. As a result, a broader range of users would be affected.
Furthermore, and over 70 percent of the total of respondents believe it is entirely illegal.
The organisation must be aware of such difficulties and undertake steps to address them.
Such activities may detract from the industry's worth and have an effect on the total assessment.
These would be the problems that a large number of parties consider (Heirati and Siahtiri, 2019).
Would that be a problem that has an impact on the general opinion of oneself
Several human being's feelings are influenced by the firm's dismissal and continue to
employ practice. Individuals seem to believe that such behaviour is unethical and criminal. Boris
Johnson, the Party Leader, also believes that it really is inappropriate and unpopular with the
general population. Many have stated that as a result of the group's operations, people will not

acquire anymore from them in the future. The outcome would be negative for the business,
lowering its organizational investments and reputation. When we evaluate the firm's position of
view, one can see that they have been absolutely correct from an ideological viewpoint. The
business has been losing money for the past several months, and profits have been reduced
within last two decades. Furthermore, from a constitutional standpoint, it is perfectly legitimate.
The management has managed to reorganize in order to increase profits and maintain its standing
in the marketplace. This firing and continue to employ ensures that everybody keeps their
employment because no one gets sacked, but the firm's norms and circumstances have altered.
There are a range of methods to look regarding that now
British Gas has been active in the marketplace for several decades. The business has almost
always fought for the benefit of its shareholders in order to optimize their worth. The following
is the function of corporate social responsibilities:
 To increase the total worth of the shareholders and provide them with a positive profit at
a time whenever the corporation's stock valuation had already been low (Hitpass, 2017).
 To boost efficiency such that the company could get back on course, because otherwise it
will have to shut down activities shortly.
The worth of shareholders is a big concern for the company. The firm's entire worth has
decreased in the last 3 periods, while profitability has half in the last five seasons. This indicates
that perhaps the rivalry is tough and also that the company is no longer committed to providing
an elevated service. The corporation has selected this approach in the best interests of its
shareholders. As handing schedules are expanded, this method will allow them to grow
competitiveness. This allows the firm to provide additional products in a larger number, which
leads to boost the stock profits. By respecting its workers, the corporation has selected this
approach. If a firm wants to do something, they simply declare of that kind material exclusive,
and nobody will notice. They made this information public and informed everybody regarding
the revised limits and conditions. As a result, from an economic point of view, they have not yet
actually done something unlawful. For workers and external parties, everything is very
transparent. In addition, the corporation is giving the employment to the very similar employees.
Parties affected as a result of the situation
Shareholders are an important aspect of any company. They assist a company in expanding
and reaching unprecedented altitudes. Workers, consumers, and the business themselves are the

main participants affected by the British Gas firing and reappoint programme (Holotiuk and
Beimborn, 2017).
 Corporation as the firm's reputation has dwindled because most of its consumers have
decided to just not buy from them again. It hinders its learning and expansion, and it may
also decrease overall competitiveness. In the last two decades, revenue has been cut in
half.
 Workers are the second stakeholders which has the most impact. Workers are recruited
on the provision that they adhere to the company's user agreement. They may not be
effective for extended periods of time since they are uninterested in the activity.
 Clients as buyers are associated with the firm since it has a strong image and reputation.
The corporation has selected a direction that really is detrimental to human feelings.
Consumers had chosen not to buy from them any longer.
 Management as they are working in direct with the company and thus their prosperity is
very crucial for them.
 Market as the company is operating in the industry and its downfall and rise subsequently
affects the market.
Workers do not lose or earn something since they have employment, and they're on the
identical contract with more business time. Although the firm have added workers, it really has
lost its decent relationship with the customer.
Instances of businesses which are accountable and those who are not
Certain companies are accountable, while others are not. The British Gas conduct measure
demonstrates corporate carelessness, since they do not consider their workers or their reputation.
The firm has made an erroneous judgment, and it is difficult for them all to determine if the
activity is correct or incorrect. Coca cola and Sprite, on either side, focuses on the best goods
which preserve their consumers' safety and encourages individuals to work new thinking. As a
result, British Gas must concentrate on the factors that constitute them progressive (Lacoste,
2016).
(B)
Human relationship theory- The human relationship theory is a major approach which is
helpful for a business to develop effective competitive approach in the marketplace. In the recent
times, many different organisations practice this theory in order to gain desired success at the

marketplace. Most of the famous companies in the business world also require a beneficial
approach in development of this theory for better business development. This theory is helpful in
developing ethical relationship between employees which increases overall coordination between
different workers.
Advantages- On the other hand this theory is also helpful in increasing harmony between
employees which is majorly beneficial in development of whole business entity. Most of the
successful companies in the international marketplace focus on implementation of this theory
with full supervision and control for long term success (Pieroni, McAloone and Pigosso, 2019).
This is the major responsibility of a business to develop a precise approach in whole market for
development of sustainable business practices. In major companies there is a key responsibility
of human resource management to develop focus on implementation of this theory to lead the
marketplace. In order to gain competitive advantage in a short period of time, it is majorly
important for a company to develop a business plan based on human relationship theory.
Disadvantages- There are also many companies in domestic and national marketplace
which takes assistance from top level management and strategic management in order to
overcome various issues and challenges at the marketplace. The significance of ethics in a
business also increases goodwill and reputation of a business in the corporate world.
In many cases of British Gas has also taken consent of board of directors to perform
business activities with support of this theory. Majority of times, the management of employees
increase coordination and communication with precise support of human relationship theory. It is
recommended for a company to focus on external and internal factors in order to develop
economic growth in a set period of time. The employee relationship in an ethical manner is also
developed with the help of providing them good support through major ethical practices.
Companies and business entities rely on top level management for decision making related to
ethical development of the company. In order to gain success in short period of time, it is
important for a company to develop focused growth with proper planning. In British gas it is
major responsibility of human resource and strategic management to focus on developing
appropriate supervision and control on different aspects of this theory (Randhawa, Wilden and
Gudergan, 2021).
Virtue ethical theory- This is one of the major universally adopted theories which is related
to development of philosophical approach in the company. Also this is a major theory which

focuses on decision making with significant amount of efforts. The application of this theory
makes an organisation like British gas to achieve business targets and objectives. In this theory
there is a formulation of quick decision making which is overall beneficial for a company.
Advantages- The virtue ethical theory is applied by many different business organisations
to gain a competency edge at the marketplace. In the corporate world this theory is practiced by
management to develop ethical and sustainable operations. Also with the support of this theory
the decisions are made on quick basis which is majorly helpful for a company. The management
present at British Gas majorly focus on monitoring and supervision on this theory to make risk
free decisions. All major companies in the international marketplace focus on this theory to
develop a systematic approach at the marketplace. In all major companies application of virtue
ethics theory leads to development of ethical operations. The philosophical approach developed
with the help of this theory is also helpful in development of ethics and integrity in employees.
Disadvantages- In the era of stiff competition between companies, it is compulsory for a
company to practice this theory for long term success of the organisation. This theory is also
helpful in formulation of major and key decisions while taking into consideration a major
approach which is ethical in nature.
The virtue ethics theory is used by British Gas to develop all major type of ethics in
company. All business entities like British Gas should focus on development of the employees
by providing them regular training in order to make employees more ethical and honest. In order
to increase efficiency and effectiveness of British Gas it is important to develop usage of virtue
ethics theory. All companies in the competitive marketplace develop a key focus on management
approaches which are ethical in nature to support business practices. There is a need of
implementation of this theory with proper focus and control for gaining market value in a short
period of time. The main focus of this theory is to develop ethical power in employees so that
they can take major decisions of organisation in more precise manner (Ransbotham and Kiron,
2017).
CONCLUSION and RECOMMENDATIONS
The team has made several erroneous actions that have harmed their marketplace reputation.
If the firm also isn't making enough money, management must consider alternatives to firing and
rehiring. These are among the measures which British Gas must begin taking:

 Aside from firing and rehiring, the firm needs to create a structure and study the
marketplace, which is why overall income has decreased by half within last two decades.
It could be responsible for poor manufacturing or fierce competition. The essential factor
is to recognise the flaw and afterwards make a determination.
 Staff should be educated in case the organisation uses old practises. They must employ
innovative procedures which will allow the organisation to regain control of its
operations.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Barnes, C.M. and Watson, N.F., 2019. Why healthy sleep is good for business. Sleep medicine
reviews, 47, pp.112-118.
Heirati, N. and Siahtiri, V., 2019. Driving service innovativeness via collaboration with
customers and suppliers: Evidence from business-to-business services. Industrial
Marketing Management, 78, pp.6-16.
Hitpass, B., 2017. BPM: Business Process Management: Fundamentos y Conceptos de
Implementación 4a Edición actualizada y ampliada. Dr. Bernhard Hitpass.
Holotiuk, F. and Beimborn, D., 2017. Critical success factors of digital business strategy.
Lacoste, S., 2016. Sustainable value co-creation in business networks. Industrial Marketing
Management, 52, pp.151-162.
Pieroni, M.P., McAloone, T.C. and Pigosso, D.C., 2019. Business model innovation for circular
economy and sustainability: A review of approaches. Journal of cleaner production,
215, pp.198-216.
Randhawa, K., Wilden, R. and Gudergan, S., 2021. How to innovate toward an ambidextrous
business model? The role of dynamic capabilities and market orientation. Journal of
Business Research, 130, pp.618-634.
Ransbotham, S. and Kiron, D., 2017. Analytics as a source of business innovation. MIT Sloan
Management Review, 58(3).

PART 2
INTRODUCTION
Ethical framework is very critical in each and every business firm and thus has to be precisely
analysed and that too in an impactful manner so that it can add value to the company which is
operating in the market irrespective of the sector in which it is operational and thus the below
report is evaluated in the same manner.
MAIN BODY
Reflective essay
People who manage ethically act in accordance with a certain framework of beliefs and
ideals which the consensus recognises as a strong foundation for the general welfare.
Authenticity, tolerance, confidence, justice, openness, and sincerity are among them.
"Management displaying and supporting prescriptively suitable activity via individual acts and
human relationships" is how moral management is described. Whenever it comes down to it,
moral engagement is described as placing individuals in these places of administration and
direction who might encourage and model proper, honesty and integrity in its activities and
interactions within the industry. Morality is becoming a more essential component and topic of
conversation in nowadays political corporate environment (Sedláček and Sterk, 2017). As a
result, in the corporate sector, ethical management is critical to comprehend, grow, and
recognise. If you would like to become a successful corporate manager, you'll need to understand
regarding moral management. Once you have a situation of authority and influence in an
organisation, it is ones obligation to set an example of ethical behaviour in the company. To be a
successful manager, you must have honesty, basic morality, and values. Consumers, workers,
and the organisation benefit of the entire benefit from moral management for a myriad of
purposes. Management abilities are essential for fostering a good moral atmosphere in the
organisation. Managers may assist shareholders respect the organisation by try to make them
experience comfortable about it. Whenever clients realise that a business has executives and
managers, they are much more inclined to experience feelings committed. Whenever an
organisation has moral management, it is more inclined to get positive publicity. If authentic
behaviour is demonstrated, customers and suppliers would believe they could believe and
operate effectively within an organisation. In the near future, responsible managers could assist

increase worker enthusiasm and allow employees to experience enthusiastic regarding respective
profession and administration. This could boost happiness and cooperation in the workplace,
making everybody seem more comfortable. Long-term, responsible governance plays an
important role to avoid corporate fraud, social challenges, and moral questions. It could also
assist firms in gaining more collaborations and consumers that could result in greater revenue in
the long run. Worker loyalty is indeed a critical component of a company's long-term
sustainability (Sopandi, 2017). At the conclusion of each day, authentic management and moral
ideals provide significant short- and long-term advantages to both enterprises and people.
Professional morality relates to a human's convictions as to what is good and immoral, and it
influences people in both their professional and interpersonal lives. Whether one manage specific
circumstances at business, and also how user continue to progress in ones profession, would be
determined by own personal morals. We'll look as to what individual morality are, why they've
been essential, how they vary from moral conduct, and some frequently noted moral standards.
Business morality are moral concepts which an individual applies in both personally and
professionally situations while passing judgment and acting. Such morals have an impact on
many parts of a human being's existence, including working habits, personally as well as
professionally objectives, and beliefs. People uses their morals to discern what is good and what
is bad, as well as to affect how others act in tough circumstances. Even though each human's
charter of conduct is unique, most individuals embrace values like integrity and compassion.
Individual moral behaviour are significant for a myriad of purposes, such as the fact that they:
 Enable managers to guide corporate employees more successfully as whenever a manager
maintains a consistent and respected ethical standard on a routine basis, their group is
expected to embrace in their footsteps and have confidence in their accomplishments to
the organisation benefit of the entire (Wilson, 2016).
 Inculcate in leadership a spirit of help and confidence as managers as well as other
experts that act consistently in all situations are much more inclined to be recognized and
appreciated by their peers and subordinates. People that adhere to a strong moral
framework are simpler to trust and are much more possible to benefit legitimacy in the
eyes of everyone else.
 Provide people a strong foundation from which to decide what the best course of conduct
is in every specific circumstance as whenever an individual has strong moral convictions,

individuals are more equipped to evaluate informed choices and react in circumstances
which appear to be difficult.
 Enhance your judgement abilities as the capacity of an individual to take choices is
founded on both social and work morals, as well as the perceptions about what is
acceptable and harmful. Building positive morals simplifies and streamlines the
judgement procedure.
 Create a norm of conduct as morality aid in the establishment of a suitable pattern of
morality for persons in the profession and in society. This is referred to as moral
standards, and it describes a human's capacity to take good choices depending on inherent
individual's perception.
 Encourage ambition as people who have high morals are typically self-motivated and
eager to go above and beyond to finish a mission or objective on schedule and correctly
(Yeoh and Popovič, 2016).
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the above that there are a number of aspects that has to be analysed
and evaluated in a detailed manner so that it can add value to the firm in the long run so that it
can stay ahead in the market for a prolonged period of time.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Sedláček, P. and Sterk, V., 2017. The growth potential of startups over the business cycle.
American Economic Review, 107(10), pp.3182-3210.
Sopandi, E., 2017. Strategy Of Business Development Bamboo Craft (A Study In Pasirjambu
Village Pasirjambu District Bandung Regency). AdBispreneur: Jurnal Pemikiran dan
Penelitian Administrasi Bisnis dan Kewirausahaan, 2(1).
Wilson, M.R., 2016. Destructive creation: American business and the winning of World War II.
University of Pennsylvania Press.
Yeoh, W. and Popovič, A., 2016. Extending the understanding of critical success factors for
implementing business intelligence systems. Journal of the Association for Information
Science and Technology, 67(1), pp.134-147.