Ethical Behaviors in a Workplace

Sali Yakoub

 It is very important to have great ethical behaviors in a workplace. Having good ethics will make the job a lot easier as well as help stock prices of public companies increase dramatically. On other hand, public companies who suffer ethics problems can see their stock prices decline for up to six months after the public learns of unethical behavior (Kinsman, 2006). it is very important to take steps  when it come to hiring candidate for the HR position, the first thing to do is making sure this candidate can handle personal issues, does not lie in the resume or application. Make sure the candidate has good background in teamwork as well as technical skills. It is always a good idea to have the candidate be the talkative person throughout the interview process. A good interview should last up to 45 minutes interview. If the candidate is seen to be a good hire start by asking questions about some marketing and sales skills, all of these aspects test the candidate for good ethical behaviors.

 It is usually not a crime that would stop HR departments from hiring candidates, but the fact that the candidate lied on their application raises many red flags. We are then in a position of deciding whether we would hire this qualified person knowing that they might wind up lying to us down the road. It is a powerful ethical issue that HR faces (Kinsman, 2006). Dress code should not be so strict that the employer may lose potential candidates that are suitable for the position. According to Tamara Devitt, "a policy that is too prohibitive will keep out employees that employers might otherwise want to hire." For example, the number of tattoos and piercings should not be a topic that is talked about in an interview process. Another issue that HR departments encounter is religious discrimination. As reported by David Barron, "Religious accommodation and discrimination issues may come into play. If a tattoo or piercing reflects a genuine religious belief, the employer must accommodate that belief unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the business."

 HR department deal with ethical question that are carried out by real-life problems. People look up to HR and trust the department to help them with personal issues. Many companies these days have setup third-party reporting options, allowing people to anonymously report ethical lapses or inappropriate conduct (Kinsman, 2006). When showing good ethical behavior during work, workers will be encouraged and show the same ethical behaviors. It is always helpful when helping a client with a problem to consider everyday events as well as everyday challenges to help respond to the question through this process the response will be more effective. The following is an example of a typical situation that HR managers are dealing with: "Rumor has it that one of my employees has become very difficult to work with. Technically, her skills are superb but I know she can be a little "rough around the edges." I hate to say anything to her because I do not want to lose her or upset her." (Maxwell, 2004) The way to approach this type of situation is by figuring out the solution on your own without the help of a third party. Once the solution to the situation has been acquired, it should be acted upon as efficiently to avoid losing other staff that have relationship with the employee as well as avoiding causing harm to the company. Most employees will always act upon inappropriate behaviors but it is the manager's job to have discussions with the employees by using guidelines for providing feedback.

There are five guidelines to use when providing feedbacks. These guidelines are "one start with an 'I' statement, two identify the specific behavior and avoid focusing on the person, three describe the impact to you, others, or the organization, four suggest alternative behaviors or course of action and five follow-up with the employee quickly after the conversation to close the loop" (Maxwell, 2004). Have good work ethics could help improve work productivity. In order to progress the organization future, the organization must clean up its act by engaging and creating ethical behavior. For HR professionals with mandates to create productive, respectful workplaces, the negative impact on morale caused by leaders taking greed and corruption to new heights undermines the very goal of improving worker productivity (Hobel, 2004).Stephen R. Covey believes courage, honesty, fairness, and empathy as being traits necessary for ethical behavior (Danley, 2005).

 

Citation

Kinsman, Michael. "Ethical behavior in workplace is desirable, necessary." McClatchy - Tribune Business News. (2006): 1. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <http://search.proquest.com.huaryu.kl.oakland.edu/docview/463512991>.

Danley, Janet. "Ethical Behavior for Today’s Workplace." PACRAO. (2005): n. page. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <http://www.pacrao.org/docs/resources/writersteam/EthicalBehaviorforTodaysWorkplace.pdf>.

Deschenaux, Jaonne. "Workplace Dress, Grooming Codes May Raise Legal Issues." HRMagazine. 57.11 (2012): 18. Print. <http://search.proquest.com.huaryu.kl.oakland.edu/docview/1283332437>.

Maxwell, Mary. "HR Help for Religious Holiday Scheduling, Behavior Issues, And Turnover." Nursing Economics. 22.1 (2004): 39-40. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <http://search.proquest.com.huaryu.kl.oakland.edu/docview/236936785>.

Hoble , John. "An ethical boost for staff morale." Canadian HR Reporter. 17.6 (2004): 14. Web. 24 Feb. 2013. <http://search.proquest.com.huaryu.kl.oakland.edu/docview/220819404>.