Bussethicch7

LECTURE 7THE WORKPLACE (1):

BASIC ISSUES

AN OVERVIEWThis lecture discusses the following: The condition of civil liberties in the workplace.

The moral aspects of personnel policies and procedures, specifically hiring, promotions, discipline and discharge and wages.

LEARNING OBJECTIVESStudents should be able to:

debate on the moral issues concerning civil liberties in the workplace

 identify the moral concern arise with respect

to personnel matters, namely, hiring, promotion, discipline and discharge, and wages.

CIVIL LIBERTIES IN THE WORKPLACE 

Frequently employees find that treatment to be morally deficient (lacking) and complain that organizations for which they work violate their moral rights and civil liberties (social freedom).

Historically, this authoritarianism stems from 

(a) Employees must leave their rights when they are in the workplace – the system comes first

 (b) The common-law has traditionally given the employer a free hand in hiring and firing employees

 Common law also requires that an employee be loyal to an

employer, acting solely for the employer’s benefit in matters connected to work.

Example for (a) and (b): Louis V. MacIntire and Dupont Company in Orange, Texas (page 204).

Companies That Look Beyond the Bottom Line A growing number of companies encourage employee questions

and criticisms about company policies affecting the welfare of employees and the community.

Examples: Delta Airlines has top officials answer questions submitted anonymously by employees.

 General Electric has hotline for questions, worries and

reports of wrongdoing.

It is a moral duty of companies to respect the rights of their employees.

 Acknowledging and guaranteeing employees’ civil liberties can

enhance their morale and, thus, company’s competitive performance.

PERSONNEL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

(1) Hiring

  One useful method to approach some of the moral aspects of hiring is to examine the principle steps involved in the process:

(a) Screening

Screening begins with a job description and specification.

 Job description lists the relevant details about a job, including

its duties, responsibilities, working conditions, and physical requirements.

Job specification describes the qualifications an employee needs, such as skills, educational experience, appearance, and physical characteristics.

 US Law has forbidden discrimination against individuals on

the basis of age, race, national origin, religion, or gender, and these are items that generally should never appear in job specifications or recruitment advertisements, nor in hiring.

Example: “Help Wanted: Male” or “Over 60”

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 (b) Tests

 Tests are designed to measure the applicant’s verbal, quantitative,

and logical skills.

Some companies use tests that are not designed for the company’s particular situation.

 Moral aspect: Does the test measure what it was suppose to

measure?

(c) Interviews Moral issues in interviewing are related to the manner in which the

interview was conducted.

Human resource experts caution against rudeness, roughness, hostility, and arrogance in interviewing job applicants.

 (2) Promotions

The key moral ideal is fairness.   Problems with the three factors that sometimes serve as

bases for promotions:

(a) Seniority Refers to longevity on a job or with a firm. Problem: Whether the person who serve longer is well-

qualified in comparison to one who is really qualified but has been with the company for shorter duration.

 Seniority does not necessarily indicate competence or loyalty. However, if employees expect seniority to count substantially,

management can injure morale and productivity by overlooking it.

(b) Inbreeding

 Promoting exclusively within the organization Whenever managers must fill positions they should

look only to competence - whether within or out the firm, should receive the position.

 But managers must seriously consider the impact

of outside recruitment on in-house morale. Some argue that management has a moral

obligation to remember loyalty when determining promotions, especially when outside recruitment departs from established policy.

(c) Nepotism The practice of showing favouritism to relatives

and close friends.

A manager who promoted a relative strictly because of the relationship between them would raise a number of moral concerns, including disregard of managerial responsibilities to the organization and of fairness to other employees.

 Different if the firm is a strictly family operation. 

(3) Discipline and Discharge

 Guidelines for behaviour based on factors such as

appearance, punctuality, dependability, efficiency, and cooperation.

 Discipline, although desirable and necessary,

raises concerns about fairness, non injury, and respect for persons in the way it is carried out.

 To create an atmosphere of fairness, the

principles of just cause and due process must operate.

 .

Just cause requires that reasons for discipline or discharge deal directly with job performance.

Example:• Lecturer always late for lecture without valid reason• Housekeeping staff does not tidy the guestroom

properly. Lacked just cause for terminating with one day’s notice

an experienced employee with good record because he had been diagnosed as having brain cancer.

 Due process refers to the fairness of the procedures an

organization uses to impose sanctions on employees. Rules be clear and specific and employees who have violated them be given a fair and impartial hearing.

Four types of Discharge: 

i) Firing is for-cause dismissal – the result of employee theft, release of proprietary information.

 ii) Termination results from an employee’s poor performance – that is, from his or her failure to fulfil expectations.

 iii) Layoff refers to hourly employees and implies that they are “subject to recall” (retrench temporarily).

 iv Position Elimination designates the permanent elimination of a job as a result of work-force reduction, plant closing, or departmental consolidation.

Employers bear the responsibility to terminate workers as painlessly as possible – to provide sufficient notice of termination.

(4) Wages

 Ethical guidelines that may help to minimize the chances of setting unfair wages and salaries:

 (a) What is the law?

The law requires businesses pay at least the minimum wage. 

(b) What is the prevailing wage in the industry? Salaries given for similar position in the industry can provide some

direction for arriving at a fair wage. 

(c) What is the community wage level? Able to sustain the cost of living. 

(d) What is the nature of the job itself? Some jobs require more training, experience and education than

others. Some are dangerous, socially undesirable.  

(e) Is the job secure? What are the prospects?

A secure job with a guarantee of regular work and excellent retirement benefits (such as civil service position) may justify a more moderate wage.

(f) What are the employer’s financial capabilities?

A mature company with a secure market position might easily afford to pay better wages.

(g) What are other employees inside the organization earning for comparable work?What the organization is already paying its present employees for work of a similar nature?

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Discussion Questions 

(1) What rights do employers have with regard to hiring, promotion, and firing? Suggest ways and means employers can reduce discriminatory practices in these areas.

 (2) Employers face the problem of setting wage rate and establishing salaries. Give FIVE ethical guidelines that can help minimize the chances of setting unfair wages and salaries.

 (3) Discuss the possible guidelines that can be used by managers to decide on the wages and salaries of employees.

 (4) Discuss specific ethical guidelines to help minimize the chances of setting unfair wages and salaries.