Human Resource Management
Chapter : Ethics, Employee Rights,
and Fair Treatment at Work
Ass. Prof. Ipek Kalemci TUZUN
Ethics and Fair Treatment at Work
 Ethics are principles of conduct that govern an
individual or a group
 The law is not the best guide as things that are legal
are not always the right thing to do and sometimes
the right thing to do isn’t legal
 Ethics means making decisions that represent what
you stand for, not just what the laws are
Ethics in the Workplace
 Ethical companies

Appear to be highly
aware of ethical
issues

Practice fair
treatment of
employees
What Treat Employees Fairly?
 To avoid workplace unfairness issues such as low
productivity and high turnover
 To avoid legal ramifications because employees have
both legal and moral rights
What Shapes Ethical Behavior at Work?
 Individual factors
 Traits
 Organizational pressures
 Ethics policies and codes
 Enforcement
 Organizational culture
The “Quick” Test
 Is the action legal?
 Is it right?
 Who will be affected?
 Does it fit the company’s values?
 How will it “feel” afterwards?
 How will it look in the newspaper?
 Will it reflect poorly on the company?
The Manager’s Role
 Clarify expectations
 Use signs and symbols
 Provides physical support
 Use stories
 Organize rites and ceremonies
Why Cultivate Ethical Behavior?
 Managers begin with establishing moral awareness
 Managers can influence employee ethics by
cultivating the right norms, peer behavior, leadership,
reward systems and culture
 Managers need to be on the lookout for

Moral disengagement

Systemic cognitive biases
Why Cultivate Ethical Behavior?, cont.
 Managers should encourage an individual’s morals
 Managers must be aware of the seductive power of
unmet goals
 Managers must be careful of offering monetary
rewards for ethical behavior as this can backfire
 Managers must be certain that they do not reward
bad behavior
Why Cultivate Ethical Behavior?, cont.
 Managers must make sure that unethical behavior
is punished
 Managers must encourage open discussion of
ethical issues
 Managers must make be aware of the tendency of
individuals to shift moral compasses
HR Management’s Role in Ethics and Fair
Treatment
 Staffing and selection
 Training
 Performance appraisal
 Reward and disciplinary systems
 Addressing workplace aggression and violence
issues
 Building two-way communication
Employee Discipline and Privacy
 HRM must adhere to the Three Pillars in order to
create a fair and just disciplinary system

Clear rules and regulations

A system of progressive penalties

Maintain an appeals process
Fair Discipline Guidelines
 Make sure the evidence supports the charge of
employee wrongdoing
 Make sure to protect the employees’ due process
rights
 Adequately warn the employee of the disciplinary
consequences of his or her alleged misconduct
Fair Discipline Guidelines, cont.
 The rule allegedly violated should be “reasonably
related” to the efficient and safe operation of the
particular work environment
 Fairly and adequately investigate the matter before
administering discipline
 The investigation should produce substantial
evidence of misconduct
 Apply applicable rules, orders or penalties without
discrimination
Fair Discipline Guidelines, cont.
 The penalty should be reasonably related to the
misconduct and to the employee’s past work history
 Maintain the employees’ right to counsel
 Don’t rob your subordinate of his or her dignity
 Remember that the burden of proof is on you
 Get the facts
Fair Discipline Guidelines, cont.
 Don’t act while angry
 Use ombudsman
Discipline Without Punishment
 Issue an oral reminder
 Should another incident arise within six weeks, issue
a formal written reminder and place a copy in the
employee’s personnel file
 Give a paid, one-day “decision-making leave”
 If no further incidents occur in the next year or so
purge the one-day paid suspension from the person’s
file
Employee Privacy
 People view invasions of privacy as unethical and
unfair!
 Privacy violations include:




Intrusion
Publication of private matters
Disclosure of medical records
Appropriation of an employee’s name or
likeness for commercial purpose
Employee Privacy, cont.
 Employee monitoring issues such as managing and
monitoring e-mail, biometrics and location monitoring
are an urgent problem!
 About 1/3 of US companies recently investigated
suspected leaks, via e-mail, or confidential or
proprietary information
 HRM must take legal issues into consideration
Managing Dismissals
 Termination at will
 Exceptions to termination at will

Statutory exceptions

Common law exceptions

Public policy exceptions
Grounds for Dismissal
 Unsatisfactory performance
 Misconduct, including insubordination
 Lack of qualifications for the job
 Changed requirements or elimination of the job
What Is Insubordination?
 Direct disregard of the boss’ authority
 Direct disobedience of, or refusal to obey, the boss’s
orders, particularly in front of others
 Deliberate defiance of clearly stated company
policies, rules, regulations and procedures
 Public criticism of the boss
 Blatant disregard of reasonable instructions
 Contemptuous display of disrespect
What Is Insubordination?, cont.
 Disregard for the chain of command
 Participation in (or leadership of) an effort to
undermine and remove the boss from power
Avoiding Wrongful Discharge Suits
 Wrongful discharge occurs when an employee’s
dismissal does not comply with the law or with the
contractual agreement stated or implied by the firm
via its employment application forms, manuals or
other promises
 Avoid these suits by laying the groundwork – starting
with the employment application – to protect the
company
 Maintain fairness safeguards, including severance
pay
Managers Avoidance of Personal Liability
 Follow company policies and procedures
 Administer the discipline in a manner that does not
add to emotional hardship
 Do not act in anger as doing so undermines the
appearance of objectivity
 Utilize the HR department for advice regarding how
to handle difficult disciplinary matters
The Termination Interview
 Plan the interview carefully
 Get to the point
 Describe the situation
 Listen
 Review the severance package
 Identify the next step


Outplace counseling
Can be part of severance package
Exit Interviews
 Exit interviews are often conducted with employees
who are leaving the firm for any reason
Layoffs and the Plant Closing Law
 Layoffs occur when workers go home for a time due
to lack of work – usually not permanent
 Downsizing is reducing, usually dramatically, the
number of people employed by a firm
 Both require compliance of WARN – the Worker
Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act – which
requires employers of 100+ employees to give 60
days’ notice before closing a facility or starting a
layoff of 50 or more people