Management Ethics: Case Study of HRM and Ethical Decision Making

This essay presents a case study in management ethics, focusing on Robert, an HRM professional at Tasmanian Bread Mills Pty Ltd. Robert faces a significant ethical dilemma when offered a promotion by a multinational cereal company that intends to shut down the northern mill. The essay explores Robert's moral reasoning, analyzing his decision to decline the promotion to protect the jobs and well-being of his community. It examines the moral norms and values that guided his actions, including selflessness and prioritizing community over personal gain. The essay further discusses how Robert might have enacted his values by negotiating with the company, and identifies the emotional, cognitive, cultural, political, and institutional factors influencing his ethical stance. It highlights the importance of ethical leadership and decision-making in HRM, referencing relevant academic literature to support the analysis. The essay concludes by emphasizing the significance of balancing personal ambitions with the broader impact on society and the workplace.

Running head: MANAGEMENT ETHICS
MANAGEMENT ETHICS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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What is the morally right thing to do in the case and why do you think it is right, given
your moral world view?
In the following assessment, Robert the HRM for Tasmanian Bread Mills Pty Ltd was
offered a promotion by a large foreign owned multinational cereals company who bought both of
the mills as well the distribution facilities for the Robert’s mill. He was told that he would be
promoted to the senior HR professional and he would be relocated to the head office located at
Hobart because the cereals company wanted to shut down the northern mill within a year. He
was also advised by the company to not share this information with anyone in the town or at the
mill. Though this promotion was beneficial for Robert in way ways, first of all he would have
received a great career boost and second of all, his wife wants to move to Hobart because of her
parent’s health condition and there were many jobs which were related to his wife’s skills
(Floridi 2013). However, Robert did not accept the offer at the end because he knew that the
town would actually suffer if the mill closed down and a lot of people would have lost their jobs.
If the multinational cereals company gave more time to Tasmanian Bread Mills then the workers
at the mills would have time to look for a better opportunity and they would not have lost their
jobs overnight. Robert thought this from a moral standpoint and he did not think of his personal
benefits over so many people of his community (Newman and Cain 2014). Due to a short notice
period, many people would have lost their jobs. The foreign company wanted to avoid any kind
of industrial conflict and media campaigns so they thought of the company over the employment
of so many people.
What moral norms or values would voice, and how do they flow from your world view?

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It can be agreed by many people that Robert did the right thing by not going ahead with
the agreement. Despite the fact that the offer would have been very beneficial to him, however
by being selfless and putting his community over his own goals, he was morally correct. He and
his wife had left the in 2011 to work and after working for 10 years as a HR professional, he
came back to the town. It is clear that he has a deep connection to the town and the community
because he could have applied for better positions for large multinational organizations however
he chose his town by coming back and he again his chose his town later when he did not accept
the proposition of the foreign company (Scott 2016). A person who can distinguish between
what is wrong and what is right and chooses right over wrong is moral. Moral values such as
truth, freedom or charity, they all have one similarity that is when they are working
simultaneously, they either protects or enhances life. Whereas when a person whose morality is
reflected in his will when he is about to do the right thing, though it would be hard or dangerous
is called ethical. In this assessment, Robert has both morality and ethics (Boehm, Kunze and
Bruch 2014). He knew that he was letting go of a golden opportunity however he knew that
what would be beneficial to him and his wife would actually cost the jobs and lives of many
people in the society (Ionita 2014). If there was a scenario where the workers of the mill were
given a notice then Robert might have reconsidered, however the situation he faced gave him no
other alternatives but to decline the offer.
How would you enact these norms and values given the circumstances set out in the case.
In the given assessment, I did not agree with the foreign company because my personal
benefits would affect the entire town. Therefore disagreeing to the company is one thing;

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however, finding a different alternative where I would get to keep the tie up with the foreign
company and at the same time the people from the town would not have lost their jobs that
would be beneficial to all. First, I would have explained to them that closing down the mill
would actually be the last option, because a lot of people’s jobs are at stake as well as the public
facility status of the town (Komarova Loureiro, Haws and Bearden 2015). As there is no other
major employer in the town and the labor market of Tasmania has been down for many years it
would definitely be hard for the people. Second, I would actually show the company that success
of the mill that has played a vital role in the economy of the town. Even though the company was
brought by a multinational company, it was not bankrupted or was running on a loss (Lamba and
Choudhary 2013). I would actually have point to bargain with them that the status of the
Tasmanian Bread Mills still matters. However, in the worst case scenario if the company does go
ahead with shutting down the mill, as the HR I would actually request them to extended the time
and let the workers know because just to avoid the media and industrial conflicts, a lot of people
would lose their jobs (Parkes and Davis 2013). It would not only be unethical but also
unwarranted from the foreign company. The idea is to convince them and the advantage of the
mill’s profit can be considered a bargaining chip. Furthermore, as the HR it is my duty to inform
the mill of the current situation because this to the employees is a conspiracy to get what they
want and if I go ahead with the imitative then I will not be any different from the foreign
company (Kreps and Monin 2014). In the assessment, I would agree with Robert however I
would try to bargain with the company to see if there would a a positive result for both of the
sides.

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Identify the emotional, cognitive, cultural, political, and institutional “enablers” and
“disablers” that would likely influence your ability to voice your moral values, in the
circumstances described in the case.
Enablers are those who would look for possible solution rather than obstacles and
disablers are those who look at their past experiences before making a decisions rather than
seeing what is before them (Fosfuri, Lanzolla and Suarez 2013). Studies show that in Australia,
the hierarchy is created for the betterment of the employees as the managers are depended on
their employees for their individual performances. At the workplace the communication is rather
informal than most countries and there is a connection between the employees. It is known that it
is a loosely knit-society and people are quite social as they look after themselves and their
families. The workplace is quite display initiative and hiring and promotion is done through the
basis of what an employee has done or achieved over a course of time. Since the early 2000s,
there has been a downfall in the share of routine in cognitive jobs (Vines, Dunphy and Monk
2014). Political factors have the reasons for the increase of IT sectors in Australia started a set of
occupations to be the next possibility. Technology made possible for cognitive jobs to be
performed from other parts of the world where labor cost is low. Non-routine jobs are now
steadily significant because jobs like architecture requires creativity and thinking ability whereas
jobs like child care work requires presence and dedication (Prooijen and Jostmann 2013). This is
beneficial to Australian community due to high educational level in the society. Australian
people exhibit a great respect for traditions and culture and they focus on achieving quick results
rather than long term methods. It is known that they possess a positive attitude towards optimism
and also place a high importance to leisure time. Emotional factors are beneficial for an HR
when it comes to persuasion and making people understand. In this case, by making the foreign

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company understand that why the mill should still operate. When they have to work they do not
focus on any other things and when they enjoy, they act as they please. It can be said that is
rather an indulgent society. Therefore in the above case all the five factors of emotional,
cognitive, cultural, political, and institutional plays a major role. As an HRM it is also essential
to possess these traits so that by the means of communication and negotiation, the mill would
remain active. When looking at the cognitive aspect, the enablers are crucial for a human
resources manager as their job is to make people understand. Disablers on the hand would be that
it cannot be directly observed, cognition relies mostly on inference and it ignores the traits
towards behavior that have been shown to affect it. It is essential in this case because through
cognition it would be easier to make the foreign company understand and come to an agreement
that would be beneficial to the mill and the town. Whereas institutional factors has analyzes the
drivers of offshore business process and information technology outsourcing. This in case,
examine the mechanisms by which regulative rules, social rules, culturally supported habits and
subconsciously accepted rules and customs influence assessment, selection as well as
continuation of outsourcing projects.

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References
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age‐inclusive HR practices on firm‐level outcomes. Personnel Psychology, 67(3), pp.667-704.
Floridi, L., 2013. Distributed morality in an information society. Science and engineering ethics,
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Fosfuri, A., Lanzolla, G. and Suarez, F.F., 2013. Entry-timing strategies: The road ahead. Long
Range Planning, 46(4-5), pp.300-311.
Ionita, C.R., 2014. About Moral And Philosophy Of Law. The Morality Of Legal Science.
Supplement Of, P.220.
Komarova Loureiro, Y., Haws, K. and Bearden, W., 2015. Moral Malleability and Morality
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Kreps, T.A. and Monin, B., 2014. Core values versus common sense: Consequentialist views
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Newman, G.E. and Cain, D.M., 2014. Tainted altruism: When doing some good is evaluated as
worse than doing no good at all. Psychological science, 25(3), pp.648-655.

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