MNG10714 Assignment 1: Human Resource Management Ethics Report

This report delves into the crucial role of Human Resource Management (HRM) in fostering ethical behavior and mitigating unethical practices within organizations. It begins with an executive summary and table of contents, followed by an introduction that sets the stage for the discussion. The core of the report examines ethical and unethical practices in HRM, highlighting issues such as employment, discrimination, safety, and privacy. It then explores the vital link between HRM and ethics, emphasizing the importance of ethical hiring, fair treatment, and employee loyalty. The report identifies strategies HR managers can use to minimize unethical behavior, including clear guidelines, ethics training, and efficient reporting systems. It also suggests ways to promote ethical behavior through programs, data analytics, and ethical culture. Finally, the report provides recommendations for HR managers, focusing on recruiting ethical leaders, ensuring accountability, and creating a respectful work environment, with references to support the findings. The report concludes by summarizing the key points and reinforcing the significance of HRM in maintaining ethical standards within the workplace.

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Executive Summary
The aim of this report is to discuss the ethical practices and unethical practices related to human
resources and briefly explain the link between human resource department and ethics.
Furthermore, few ways are identified that are used by HR managers in order to minimize
unethical behavior in the organization and to promote ethical practices. Few ways that are help
in to reduce unethical behavior are establishment of straightforward guidelines, promoting
knowledge in individuals through giving ethics training, and Implementing an efficient reporting
system. Moreover, ethical behavior can be promoted by formulation of programs, by using big
data and analytics tools, limiting behavior of employees, ethical culture and by developing
individual personalities in the organization. At last, recommendations are given that includes
should focus on recruiting ethical leader, ensures accountability by implementing strict policies,
and try to create an environment where people can speak, listened and respected for their actions.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Ethical and Unethical practices.......................................................................................................3
Link between HRM and ethics........................................................................................................5
Recommendations............................................................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
Human resource management deals with manpower planning and development related activities.
This is branch in any organization where ethics play an important role. As this department
concern human issues related to employee development, compensation, industrial relations and
safety and health issues (Greenwood, 2013). Business ethics are implemented in the human
resources department in order to ensure that ethical practices to be promoted in the organization.
Breach of ethics scenario is mainly seen in HR department some of issues are related to work
ethics, salaries and labor exploitation. This report aims to discuss the ethical practices and
unethical practices related to human resources and briefly explain the link between human
resource department and ethics. Furthermore, few ways are identified that are used by HR
managers in order to minimize unethical behavior in the organization and to promote ethical
practices. At last, recommendations are given for how HR managers can help organisations to
eliminate or minimize unethical behaviour, and strengthen strategies for the adoption of
responsible business practices.
Ethical and Unethical practices
According to Kramar, 2014, “ethics is a special branch of philosophy that focuses on the aspect
of morality and includes concept such as bad and good, wrong and right, righteousness and
fairness”. On the other side HRM is a branch in the management that deals with the variety of
ethical issues in the decision making. The decisions are considered as ethical when various
alternatives are evaluated and its effects on live of employees are considered and after that the
best alternative has been selected that leads to good of more number of people. In the current
business scenario, the ethical practices include employee’s consideration in decision making,

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providing effective workplace to employees and managing activities of human resource without
any biasness (Ingram, 2019). Nowadays, it becomes responsibilities of organizations to ethically
manage its human resources. Some of ethical practices that are promoted in an organization
include ethical hiring, this principle state that in an organization hiring should be done on the
basis of efficiency and maximum contribution of an individual in building long term value.
Further, factors such as age, gender, religion, nationality are not taken into consideration at the
time of hiring.
Breaches of ethics in human resources directly impact on the image of the company negatively.
This is named as unethical behavior of the company or unethical practices. Some of the ethical
issues related to human resource department are employment issues, employee discrimination,
health and safety issues, privacy issues, unjustified performance appraisal and issues related to
layoff and restructuring (Greenwood,2013). It is the duty of HR manager to ensure that any
employee or worker in the organization does not breach any law and practices and always reflect
ethical behavior. However, most of the organization in the current business situation involve in
unethical practices. For example, increasing illness, injuries and accidents at the workplace
includes breach of safety and health policies in the organization as it is duty of HR manager to
safeguard its employees. Some of employee relations issues are biasness at the time of hiring,
unjustified promotion, termination, discrimination, over exploitation of workers and poor
incentive plans and structure.
In a survey in Australia done by Australian HR Institute in 2016, it is identified that most of
employees in an organization face issues related to unfair treatment of employees and
harassment and bullying at the workplace (Begley and Passey, 2017). Further, the reasons behind
this ethical misconduct or unethical practices are lack of effective leadership, management

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culture and behavior, greed, accountability, conflict of interest, and pressure of results. All these
are reasons that promote unethical behavior in an organization and impact negatively on the
image of the company. According to Greenwood 2013, the human resource plays an important
role in controlling these unethical practices and to promote ethical behavior in the organization
as duties and responsibilities of human resource manager are aligned and linked to the
management of people in the company that give a power in hand of manager to control unethical
and ethical behavior of an individual.
Link between HRM and ethics
HRM is an important branch in management that ensures proper management of human resource
of the organization. In human resource management, the concept of sustainable HRM taking
place in this changing environment. This term has been used to refer to human and social
outcomes which contribute to the continuation of the organization in the long term that is to a
sustainable organization. Kramar, 2014, presented the fact that HRM has impact on external
factors that includes social, economic and human aspect of the society and with that it is known
that the role of HRM in the field of ethics is crucial.
The role of HR in ethics includes ensuring the implementation of the right side of the law, by
safeguarding the company reputation, keeping loyalty of employees, and by promoting ethics
programs. HRM ensures that all the policies and rules are implemented in the organization in
order to ensure harmony in operations of the company. Further, HR managers maintain
relationship with employees that reduce the chances of discrimination issues, unfair employment
practices, sexual harassment in the organization and boost creativity, innovation and efficiency in
employees so that they can perform their best. Moreover, HRM help in to keep employee loyalty

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by treating employees fairly this garner long term employee loyalty and trust which leads to
many benefits to employers and also leads to ethics practices by employees.
Here, reducing unethical behavior and promoting ethical behavior is a power that is in hand of
human resource manager (Begley and Passey, 2017). HR Managers take many steps to minimize
unethical practices in the organization. Some of steps that are taken by HR managers to reduce
unethical practices in an organization are
 Establishment of straightforward guidelines that includes company expectation for ethical
behavior of employees at the work.
 By promoting knowledge in individuals through giving ethics training and by building
skills of employees that support them to work ethically.
 Implementing an efficient reporting system that ensures that employees disclose
violations to supervisor, this will reduce unethical practices
 Being proactive by implementing necessary control system by HR manger also contribute
in reducing the unethical practices in the premises and by employees
 Another effective way adopted by HR managers to prevent unethical behavior in the
organization is by establishing management review board that investigate appropriately
possible breach of code of conduct (Begley and Passey, 2017).
 At last, HR managers ensure at the time of hiring that only those employees are
considered whose values fit into the vision of the company this ensures balance between
employees and reduce the risk related to unethical practices and behavior in the
organization.

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The HR role in promoting ethical behavior in organization include formulation of programs
such as ‘live our values’ with that they embedded organizational culture and values in
employees through that each and every employee become aware about the values and policies
of the company. The HR managers try to promote ethical practices by using big data and
analytics tools. According to Schmidt, 2018, the ethical behavior of individual in the
organization is not only promoted by code of conduct, code of practices, and limiting behavior of
employees rather ethical behavior developed through ethical culture and by developing
individual personalities in the organization.
Recommendations
By understanding the role of HRM in promoting ethical behavior in the organization it is
recommended that HR manager should focus firstly on recruiting leaders who prove to be role
models for the organization principles and values. As by recruiting leaders who possess ethical
values can drive the organization towards ethical practices and influence others also to follow
ethical behavior in order to be sustainable organization. Further, ethical leaders can set an
example for employees this promote ethical behavior in the existing workforce. Hence, here it is
recommended that HR managers start focusing mainly on recruiting the right leader that have
ethical values and prove to be suitable fit as per the vision of the organization (Neves et.al,2018).
Secondly, it is recommended that HR manager should formulate policies related to
accountability. As formulating proper reporting system and relationship help in to bring
transparency in activities and leads to higher accountable. According to Guerci et.al,2019
holding people accountable no matter what their status reduce the unethical behavior and boost
ethical behavior in the organization. As with that practice, the people who are ethical and have

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values and belief get courage to raise their voice. Further, with this it becomes easy for HR
manger to identify people who violated the rules and reflect unethical behavior. Along with that
HR manager can take strict actions against those who are accountable for unethical behavior as
this creates ethical environment and culture in the organization.
Lastly, it is recommended that HR manager can boost or promote ethical behavior in the
organization by creating an environment where people can speak, listened and respected for their
actions. With that ethical culture and environment in the organization can be created that ensures
that all employees’ opinion can be taken while taking decision (Schmidt, 2018). By doing this
harmony and coordination in an organization is initiated that leads to creation of ethical
environment and boost ethical behavior of individuals.
Conclusion
It is concluded from the above analysis that HRM plays a crucial role in promoting ethical
behavior and an organization and reducing unethical behavior. As in an organization the role of
HRM department is to manage people and solve human issues. The main reason behind unethical
practices are lack of leadership, poor culture, conflict of interest, greed, pressure of results and
lack of accountability. All these factors lead to unethical behavior or violation of code of ethics
in an organization. In order to boost ethical behavior it is recommended to HR mangers that
should focus on recruiting ethical leader, ensures accountability by implementing strict policies,
and try to create an environment where people can speak, listened and respected for their actions.

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References
Begley, P and Passey, K 2017, Ethics in business: Perspectives of accountants and HR
practitioners. Australian HR Institute. Accessed From:
https://www.ahri.com.au/media/1203/ethics-in-business-report.pdf
Greenwood, M., 2013. Ethical analyses of HRM: A review and research agenda. Journal of
Business Ethics, 114(2), pp.355-366.
Guerci, M., Decramer, A., Van Waeyenberg, T. and Aust, I., 2019. Moving beyond the link
between HRM and economic performance: A study on the individual reactions of HR managers
and professionals to sustainable HRM. Journal of Business Ethics, 160(3), pp.783-800.
Ingram, 2019. The importance of ethics in human resources. Accessed From:
https://smallbusiness.chron.com/importance-ethics-human-resources-12780.html
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), pp.1069-1089.
Neves, P., Almeida, P. and Velez, M.J., 2018. Reducing intentions to resist future change:
Combined effects of commitment‐based HR practices and ethical leadership. Human Resource
Management, 57(1), pp.249-261.
Schmidt, 2018. It’s time for HR to step up and help foster ethical work practices .Accessed
From: https://www.hrmonline.com.au/section/featured/time-hr-step-help-foster-ethical-work-
practices/

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