HRM textbook

490 PART 5 EMPLOYEE RELATIONS
But she was concerned about ethics for a second reason.
She d been around long enough to know that employees do
not like being treated unfairly, and that unfairness in any
form could manifest itself in low morale, commitment, and
performance. Indeed, perhaps her employees low morale
and commitment as measured by her firm s attitude
surveys stemmed in part from what they perceived as
unjust treatment by the hotel s managers. Lisa therefore
turned to the task of assessing and redesigning the Hotel
Paris s ethics, justice, and fair treatment practices.
To do this, Lisa and her team wanted to proceed methodically
through the company s entire HR process, starting with
recruitment and selection. For example, working with the
company s general counsel, they produced and presented
to the CEO a new Hotel Paris code of ethics, as well as a
more complete set of ethical guidelines. These now appear on
the Hotel Paris s careers Web site link, and are part of each
new employee s orientation packet. They contracted with a
vendor to provide a customized, Web-based ethics training
program, and made it clear that the first employees to participate
in it were the company s top executives. However, she
knew this was just the start.
Questions
1. List three specific steps Hotel Paris should take with
respect to each individual human research function
(selection, training, and so on) to improve the level
of ethics in the company.
2. Based on what you read in this chapter, create in outline
form a strategy map showing how the Hotel s HR
functions can foster employee ethics.
3. Based on what you learned in this chapter, write a short
(less than one page) explanation Lisa can use to sell
to top management the need to improve the hotel chain s
fairness and justice processes.
KEY TERMS
ethics, 461
distributive justice, 462
procedural justice, 462
organizational culture, 466
nonpunitive discipline, 472
ETHICS QUIZ ANSWERS
Electronic Communications
Privacy Act (ECPA), 475
dismissal, 476
termination at will, 476
wrongful discharge, 476
insubordination, 477
termination interview, 481
outplacement counseling, 481
exit interviews, 482
downsizing, 483
Quiz is on page 460.
1. 34% said personal e-mail on company computers is wrong.
2. 37% said using office equipment for schoolwork is wrong.
3. 49% said playing computer games at work is wrong.
4. 54% said Internet shopping at work is wrong.
5. 61% said it s unethical to blame your error on technology.
6. 87% said it s unethical to visit pornographic sites at
work.
7. 33% said $25 is the amount at which a gift from a
supplier or client becomes troubling, while 33% said
$50, and 33% said $100.
8. 35% said a $50 gift to the boss is unacceptable.
9. 12% said a $50 gift from the boss is unacceptable.
10. 70% said it s unacceptable to take the $200 football tickets.
11. 70% said it s unacceptable to take the $120 theater tickets.
12. 35% said it s unacceptable to take the $100 food basket.
13. 45% said it s unacceptable to take the $25 gift certificate.
14. 40% said it s unacceptable to take the $75 raffle prize.
15. 11% reported they lie about sick days.
16. 4% reported they take credit for the work or ideas of others.
ENDNOTES
1. James Stewart, Is Buffett Whitewashing
Soquel s Exit? The Wall Street Journal,
April 2 3, 2011, p. B7.
2. Keith Winstein, Suit Alleges Pfizer Spun
Unfavorable Drug Studies, The Wall
Street Journal, October 8, 2008, p. B1.
3. Kevin Wooten, Ethical Dilemmas in
Human Resource Management: An Application
of a Multidimensional Framework,
A Unifying Taxonomy, and Applicable
Codes, Human Resource Management
Review 11 (2001), p. 161. See also Sean
Valentine et al., Employee Job Response
as a Function of Ethical Context and
Perceived Organization Support, Journal
of Business Research 59, no. 5 (2006),
pp. 582 588.
4. Paul Schumann, A Moral Principles
Framework for Human Resource Management
Ethics, Human Resource Management
Review 11 (2004), p. 94. A third
survey found that roughly 10% 20%
of employees observed specific personnel-related
unethical behaviors at
work, including abusive or intimidating
behavior toward employees; lying to
employees, customers, vendors, or to the
public; violations of safety regulations;
and misreporting of actual time worked.
2005 National Business Ethics Survey:
How Employees Perceive Ethics at Work,
2005, p. 25. Copyright © 2006, Ethics
Resource Center (ERC). In O. C. Ferrell,
John Fraedrich, and Linog Ferrell, Business
Ethics (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2008),
p. 61
5. Manuel Velasquez, Business Ethics: Concepts
and Cases (Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall, 1992), p. 9. See also O. C.