ETHICAL PROBLEMS OF MANAGERS

referencing

Chapter 6Trevino & Nelson, Managing Business Ethics. NY: Wiley,

1999.

Objective

1. Identify a range of ethical issues that arise involving human resource activities and general supervision for which managers are responsible.

2. Examine ways managers can influence “direct reports”

Managing the “Basics”

Recruitment, hiring, promotion, Work assignmentsTerminations (firing, layoffs)Performance appraisal & RewardsDiscipline

Recruitment & Hiring

• “Flipping” A search for prospective employees through questionable

electronic means.

• Uncovers employee E-mail addresses through links to corporate Web pages.

• At its most complex, flipping provides unauthorized entry into a company's intranet to view proprietary organization charts and personnel lists.

Alexander, S. Those flippin' recruiters. Computerworld.  November 23, 1998

Recruiting & Hiring

• Direct “Poaching”

Attempting to lure competitor’s employees through direct assault using questionable approaches?

Example: Recruiter approached a competitor’s entry clerk and said he was looking for an entry clerk. Asks if the employee is happy in her job.

College Recruitment Practices

• Employment professionals will maintain equal employment opportunity (EEO) compliance and follow affirmative action principles

• supply accurate info on organization and job opportunities

Principles for Employment Professionals: National Association of Colleges & Employers

College Recruiters will

• refrain from any practice that improperly influences and affects job acceptances. Such practices may include:• undue time pressure for acceptance of employment

offers; and • encouragement of revocation of another employment

offer. • strive to communicate decisions to candidates within the

agreed-upon time frame.• If conditions change and require the employing

organization revoke its commitment, the employing organization will pursue a course of action for the affected candidate that is fair and equitable.

College Recruiters will . . .

• not seek to extract special treatment as a result of support, to the college or career services office in the form of contributed services, gifts, or other financial support.

• maintain confidentiality of student information • avoid disclosure of student information to another

organization without the prior written consent• advise students in a timely fashion of the type and purpose

of any test required as part of the recruitment process and to whom the test results will be disclosed.

• All tests will be reviewed by the employing organization for disparate impact and job-relatedness.

Negligent Hiring & Retention

• “Respondeat Superior” employer can be held liable for wrongful acts of employees who were acting within the scope of employment.

• “Negligent Hiring” holds you responsible to third parties injured by employees when you fail to carefully select competent and safe employees. Employee does not have to be acting on your behalf when the wrongful act is committed .

• “Negligent Retention” if employer learns of an employee's unfitness after (s)he is hired and fails to take any corrective action.

Employers, beware of negligent hiring and retention. West Virginia Employment Law Letter in HR Hero.com (2000).

Avoid Liability Related to Hiring & Retention

• Require job application from employee and follow-up on gaps in employment history.

• Ask for references not related to the candidate. Candidate should be required to sign a release as part of the application, giving you permission to contact references and former employers

• Specifically inquire about the candidate's honesty and reliability & traits that would make him or her unfit as an employee

• Ask the applicant about prior convictions (not arrest record!)• Conduct personal interview• Once Hired, monitor employee’s fitness. • Any allegation of misconduct by an employee should be

thoroughly investigated, documented, and taking immediate corrective action .

References

• Not giving a complete reference is . . . unfair to both the former employee and prospective employer.

• The good employee is punished because of her former employer's reluctance to provide a detailed reference.

• So is the next employer of a poor performer, which inherits an ineffective, unqualified worker.

A Neutral Reference Policy restricts the free flow of information that is critical to an employer's ability to make well-informed, responsible hiring decisions.

To Give or Not to Give (References) EANJ Newsletter Fall 2000

Unfair Labor Practice

"Blacklist" the names of any person spoken, written, printed or implied transmitted between two or more employers of labor, or their bosses, foremen, superintendents, managers, officers or other agents, whereby the laborer is prevented or prohibited from engaging in a useful occupation.

Exemptions: it shall not be unlawful nor a violation of the prohibitions against blacklisting in certain industries:

•bank or savings and loan •credit, travel card company •industrial bank, trust company •credit union or lending institution

references from ex-employers by state

•health care facility

•child care facility

•health, nutritional or personal care in home

Rights vary by State

• Disclosure of Disciplinary Actions An employer or former employer shall not divulge a disciplinary

report, letter of reprimand, or other disciplinary action to a third party who is not a part of the employer's organization, or who is not a part of a labor organization representing the employee without

prior written notice • Explanation of Termination: employees are entitled to

receive a letter from employer stating services rendered, duration of employment and reason for termination.

Check out: Employers Association of New Jersey

Employee Recruitment Ethics

• Shall I tell all? The Mentor's Second Stash o' Stumpers

• What do my references say about you? Is it ethical to use a service to check up on yourself?

Performance Evaluation

Formal: • Written Assessment • Typically influences

salary adjustments• Becomes permanent part

of employee record. • Meet with employee at

least once a year to agree on objectives & how to measure success.

Informal: • Ongoing, continuous feedback. • Typically verbal. • About once a month • Discuss how employee is meeting objectives.

Achieving Effective Performance Appraisals

Case of the Tractor Drivers

1) Determining who conducts appraisal

2) Deciding on a rating philosophy

3) Overcoming rating deficiencies

4) Creating a rating instrument

5) Delivering useful information to employees

Discipline

All employees in an organization must receive consistent discipline for similar infractions.

• Must be constructive and professional.• Discipline in private; kept confidential.• Employees should have input – a chance to tell

“their side” of the story.• Discipline should be appropriately harsh &

consistent with that received by others in comparable circumstances.

Termination

• For Cause – individual committed offense that can result in instant firing. (theft, assault, cheating on expense reports, forgery, fraud, gross insubordination, lying about a business matter)

• Poor Performance• Layoffs - cyclical, routine• Downsizing - business downturn; strategic

reorganization

Ethics & Termination

• Do homework before meeting employee. Be sensitive to personal circumstances when feasible.

• Do it face to face – no memos, email, phone.• Do it quickly, directly, objectively & to the point. Don’t get

personal.• Meet on neutral ground; minimize confrontations; involve

security if volatile.• Explain why termination is necessary, timing & whether there

is severance package.• Have outplacement counseling where applicable.• Keep information about termination private & confidential in

matters other than layoffs.

Managing Up & Across(What goes around, comes around)

• 360° Feedback

• Role Models

• Standards go Both Ways

• Negotiating Rules for Working Relationships