HRM textbook

CHAPTER 14 ETHICS AND EMPLOYEE RIGHTS AND DISCIPLINE 489
can t write enough laws to tell us what to do at all times
every day of the week in every part of the world. We ve got
to develop the critical thinking and critical reasoning
skills of our people because most of the ethical issues that
we deal with are in the ethical gray areas. Virtually every
regulatory body in the last year has come out with
language that has said in addition to law compliance,
businesses are also going to be accountable to ethics
standards and a corporate culture that embraces them. 126
How can one tell or measure when a company has an
ethical culture ? Key attributes of a healthy ethical culture
include:
Employees feel a sense of responsibility and accountability
for their actions and for the actions of others. 127
Employees freely raise issues and concerns without fear
of retaliation.
Managers model the behaviors they demand of others.
Managers communicate the importance of integrity
when making difficult decisions.
Questions
1. Based on what you read in this chapter, summarize in
one page or less how you would explain Enron s ethical
meltdown.
2. It is said that when one securities analyst tried to confront
Enron s CEO about the firm s unusual accounting statements,
the CEO publicly used vulgar language to describe
the analyst, and that Enron employees subsequently
thought doing so was humorous. If true, what does that
say about Enron s ethical culture?
3. This case and chapter both had something to say about
how organizational culture influences ethical behavior.
What role do you think culture played at Enron? Give
five specific examples of things Enron s CEO could have
done to create a healthy ethical culture.
CONTINUING CASE
CARTER CLEANING COMPANY
Guaranteeing Fair Treatment
Being in the laundry and cleaning business, the Carters
have always felt strongly about not allowing employees to
smoke, eat, or drink in their stores. Jennifer was therefore
surprised to walk into a store and find two employees
eating lunch at the front counter. There was a large pizza
in its box, and the two of them were sipping colas and
eating slices of pizza and submarine sandwiches off paper
plates. Not only did it look messy, but there were grease
and soda spills on the counter and the store smelled from
onions and pepperoni, even with the exhaust fan pulling
air out through the roof. In addition to being a turnoff
to customers, the mess on the counter increased the possibility
that a customer s order might actually become soiled
in the store.
Although this was a serious matter, neither Jennifer nor her
father felt that what the counter people were doing was grounds
for immediate dismissal, partly because the store manager had
apparently condoned their actions. The problem was, they
didn t know what to do. It seemed to them that the matter
called for more than just a warning but less than dismissal.
Questions
1. What would you do if you were Jennifer, and why?
2. Should a disciplinary system be established at Carter
Cleaning Centers?
3. If so, what should it cover? How would you suggest it deal
with a situation such as the one with the errant counter
people?
4. How would you deal with the store manager?
TRANSLATING STRATEGY INTO HR POLICIES & PRACTICES CASE
THE HOTEL PARIS CASE
The Hotel Paris s New Ethics, Justice, and Fair
Treatment Process
The Hotel Paris s competitive strategy is To use superior guest
service to differentiate the Hotel Paris properties, and to
thereby increase the length of stay and return rate of guests, and
thus boost revenues and profitability. HR manager Lisa Cruz
must now formulate functional policies and activities that
support this competitive strategy by eliciting the required
employee behaviors and competencies.
As the head of HR for the Hotel Paris, Lisa Cruz was
especially concerned about her company maintaining the
highest ethical standards. Her concerns were twofold. First,
from a practical point of view, there are, in a hotel chain,
literally thousands of opportunities on any given day for
guests to have bad ethical experiences. For example, in any
single hotel each day there are at least a dozen people
(including housekeepers, front-desk clerks, security guards,
and so on) with easy access to guests rooms, and to their
personal belongings. Guests many younger, and many
unwary are continually walking the halls unprotected.
So, in a service company like this, there is simply no margin
for ethical errors.