HRM307 S1 2018 Essay: Ethical Challenges in International HRM

This essay examines the ethical challenges faced by organizations in human resource management (HRM) within an international context, focusing on the impact of macro-environmental factors. It discusses government regulations, economic conditions, technological advancements, and workforce demographics as key external influences on HRM practices. Specific ethical issues such as executive compensation, hiring dilemmas, privacy concerns, and discrimination are analyzed. The essay identifies cultural factors and restructuring/layoffs as major ethical challenges, emphasizing the need for fairness and equity in HRM practices. The analysis concludes that addressing these ethical challenges requires proactive measures to ensure equal treatment of employees and maintain organizational integrity. Desklib provides a platform for students to access similar essays and solved assignments for academic support.

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Human Resource Management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Introduction
The essay helps in analysing the ethical challenges that are faced by the different kind
of organizations relating to the human resource management in the organization in the
international kind of context. Proper analysis is required to be done in order to understand the
different kind of main challenges in the organization. The different kind of macro
environmental factors has to be analysed in an effectual manner as this will help in reducing
the different challenges in an effectual manner.
The main aim and purpose of the essay is to understand the ethical challenges in the
human resource management of the organization effectually. The proper analysis is required
to be done in order to understand the macro environmental factors as this will help in
analysing the issues effectually and solve them as well.
The structure of the essay will include the analysis of the different kind of macro
environmental factors and the ethical challenges in the HRM of the different kind of
companies as well. Proper analysis of the main challenges has to be done in order to reduce
such challenges and make the system more effective in nature.
Ethical Challenges regarding Human Resource Management
There are different kind of ethical challenges relating to the human resource
management of the different organizations. The different kind of macro environment factors
wherein it affects the business environment along with the HRM. There are different kind of
ethical challenges that affect the entire human resource management. The different kind of
external factors that affect the HRM are as follows:
The regulations of the government are one of the external factors that affects the
Human Resource Management of different organizations. With the different kind of
introduction of the new compliances of the workplace, the human resource management

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department is under pressure constantly and this is required to stay under law as well. These
kinds of regulations influence each process of the entire HR department that includes the
hiring of employees along with training of employees along with termination and
compensation policies (Al Ariss, Cerdin & Brewster, 2017).
It is one of the biggest challenges in the organizations as this is the sole responsibility
of the HR managers to justify the levels of the basic salaries and increase the retaining of the
employees in the organization. Without adhering to the different kind of rules and
regulations, this is not possible for the HR of the company to expand their company and this
cause the organization to shut down. The ethical issues that pertains is related to the executive
perquisites along with different kind of other compensation plans that has to be provided to
the employees in different organizations (Bratton & Gold, 2017).
The other ethical issues that cropped in the Human Resource activities included that
when the incentive plans along with long term compensation are designed in regards with the
consultation with CEO or the external consultant of the respective organization. While the
employees decide on the pay-out, it creates pressure on favouring the different kind of
interests of the entire top management in comparison to the other companies in the market as
well (Albrecht et al., 2015).
One of the biggest external factors that influences the human resource department of
the different organizations are related to the economic conditions (Clark et al., 2016). The
current shape of the entire economy is the biggest economic factors and it affects the talent
pool and it gradually affects the entire ability to hire the different individuals at all in the
organization. Proper creation of proper plan is essential in nature as this will help in
understanding and analysing the economic downturn and understand the happenings around
the world as well (Banfield, Kay & Royles, 2018).

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Proper steps are required to be taken by the individuals in the organization as this will
help in solving the issues and improve the economic conditions in an appropriate manner as
well. There are different kind of companies in the market that can make due if they have
rainy day fund or the plan in order to combat the harsh kind of environment in the entire
market economy. The practitioners of the human resource face different kind of big dilemmas
in the hiring of the different employees (Chelladurai & Kerwin, 2017).
The main dilemma occurs when the new joinee is family friend or the person has been
referred or the other major dilemma occurs when it is seen that the person who has joined the
organization has presented different kind of fake documents in the organizations, this become
a big trouble for the entire HR department to handle such critical cases (Armstrong & Taylor,
2014).
The different kind of technological advancements is one of the most major external
factors and it is the ethical challenges that is faced by the organizations especially in the HR
department of the entire organization. It has been seen that in different kind of organizations,
there are different kind of new technological advancements that has been introduced in the
market is difficult for them to handle the same in an effectual manner (Baum, 2016).
With the introduction of the new technological advancements, it creates a huge
pressure on the HR department of the organizations to understand the different kind of steps
in downsizing and look for different methods to save the money in the organization in an
effectual manner as well (Kramar, 2014).
The HR department of the different organizations feels that the job that was
performed by only two to three individuals in the respective department could be bowdlerized
and it can be performed by one single individual in the organization. The technology is

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revolutionizing the different processes in conducting the business, however this will reduce
the number of employees in the organization as well.
Furthermore, the workforce demographics is the other major kind of macro
environment factors that affect the Human Resource department of the organizations. It has
been seen that when the old generation in the organization retires, it is the duty of the HR
department to hire and attract new employees. Proper compensation packages have to be
provided to the individuals in the organizations as this will help the younger generation to get
attracted and perform the tasks in an effectual manner Jackson, Schuler & Jiang, 2014).
However, it has been seen that there are different kind of Human Resource practitioners face
bigger kind of dilemmas in the privacy issues (Cascio, 2018).
There are different kind of privacy related issues in the organization that is faced by
the employees along with the HR department of the organization as well. The other ethical
issue in the HR department of the different kind of organizations as there are discrimination
of the employees and this is the duty of the HR department to solve the issues with
implementation of different policies in an effectual manner (Brewster et al., 2016).
From the above, it can be analysed that there are different kind of ethical issues in the
organization that has been caused due to the different kind of macro environmental factors.
The demand ethical challenge arises wherein there is pressure on the Human Resource
Manager in order to protect the individual or the firm and the discrimination is caused in the
organization in an ineffectual manner as well.
Main Ethical Challenge
The main ethical challenge that has been faced by the different kind of organizations
due to the macro environmental factors. The cultural factor is one of the major ethical
challenges that is affecting the HR management of different organizations. It has been seen

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that there are different kind of cultural differences that exists between the different employees
in the organization. The restructuring and lay offs in the organizations is the other major kind
of challenge when the restructuring takes place in the organizations and it leads to lay off in
the organizations.
However, this is seen that the it is unethical in nature and this affects the entire
fairness of the organization as there is not equity among the different employees in the
organizations as well. When the layoff becomes permanent, this will create huge pressure on
the employees and this will cause huge issues among the employees as they will be losing
their jobs. Proper steps are required to be taken by the different officials as this will help in
solving the ethical challenges.
Conclusion
Therefore, it can be concluded that there are different kind of ethical challenges in the
Human Resource Management of the different organizations. There are different kind of
structural, technological, cultural along with economic issues in the organizations as this has
affected the morale of the employees in the organizations. Furthermore, it was seen that these
were the different kind of ethical challenges in the organization and this caused huge issues to
the management of the organizations.
Proper steps are required to be taken in reducing the different kind of challenges and
solve them effectually. Proper ascertainment is required in order to analyse the issue and
solve the issues effectually with reducing the different ethical challenges. The different
employees in the organization are required to be treated in an equal manner and this will help
in solving the different issues effectively and efficiently as well.

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References
Al Ariss, A., Cerdin, J. L., & Brewster, C. (2015). International migration and international
human resource management. Contemporary HRM Issues in Europe, 3rd edn,
London: Routledge.
Albrecht, S. L., Bakker, A. B., Gruman, J. A., Macey, W. H., & Saks, A. M. (2015).
Employee engagement, human resource management practices and competitive
advantage: An integrated approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People
and Performance, 2(1), 7-35.
Armstrong, M., & Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrong's handbook of human resource management
practice. Kogan Page Publishers.
Banfield, P., Kay, R., & Royles, D. (2018). Introduction to human resource management.
Oxford University Press.
Baum, T. (Ed.). (2016). Human resource issues in international tourism. Elsevier.
Bratton, J., & Gold, J. (2017). Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Brewster, C., Houldsworth, E., Sparrow, P., & Vernon, G. (2016). International human
resource management. Kogan Page Publishers.
Cascio, W. (2018). Managing human resources. McGraw-Hill Education.
Chelladurai, P., & Kerwin, S. (2017). Human resource management in sport and recreation.
Human Kinetics.
Clark, W. C., Tomich, T. P., Van Noordwijk, M., Guston, D., Catacutan, D., Dickson, N. M.,
& McNie, E. (2016). Boundary work for sustainable development: Natural resource

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management at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
(CGIAR). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(17), 4615-4622.
Jackson, S. E., Schuler, R. S., & Jiang, K. (2014). An aspirational framework for strategic
human resource management. The Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), 1-56.
Kramar, R. (2014). Beyond strategic human resource management: is sustainable human
resource management the next approach? The International Journal of Human
Resource Management, 25(8), 1069-1089.

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Appendix