Ethics

• Ethical business practices are those that are socially responsible, morally right, honourable and fair.
• Possible ethical issues in human resource management:
  • Discrimination
  • Issues arising from traditional view of employer/employee relationship
  • Issues affecting employee privacy e.g. workplace surveillance, drug testing
  • Issues relating to fairness of employment contract & power balance
    • Corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to
    • To establish and maintain ethical business practices and CSR, HRM often implements a code of conduct and/or code of ethics for its employees
    • A COC is a statement of acceptable and unacceptable behaviours in a business
    • A COE is a statements of a firms’ values and principles
    • The difference between the 2 is that a COE tends to be broad and value-based in nature, whereas a COC is often more detailed and explicit with its expectations. These can be included in a wider code of practices that outlines the ethical responsibilities of customers, employees and suppliers

Corporate Social Responsibility

• The way that a business considers the financial, environmental and social impacts of its decisions and is often referred to as its ‘triple bottom line’.
• HR policies and procedures of a business are often and integral component of its CSR.
• A business can demonstrate its commitment to CSR by:
  • Investing in community projects
  • Supporting research initiatives
  • Introducing occupational health and safety measures
  • Adopting environmentally friendly practices
  • Drafting and applying a code of ethics to company operations
• Strategies to promote Corporate Social Responsibility within a business include:
  • Promote effective affirmative action and anti-discrimination programs within the workplace
  • Develop initiatives that reduce the business’s impact upon the environment
  • Engage in strategies that promote work-life balance and enhance workplace flexibility
  • Encourage staff to volunteer their time to participate in community building activities.