Ethical and Legal Issues in Human Resource Development

Evolving Roles and Emerging Trends

Claretha Hughes

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN:
  9783319995274
• eBook ISBN:
  9783319995281
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business Ethics
• Index: Business

This book explores the role of HRD professionals in ethical and legal decision making in the workplace. While previous books have described the need for ethics in HRD, this book presents ways that HRD scholars and professionals can influence, through collaborative relationships, effective implementation of ethical policies and legal standards in the workplace. The ethical policies of an organization provide a key insight into its values, and this book shows the relationship between those values and HRD practices, such as training and development, career development, and organization development. Exploring such topics as protected classes, diversity intelligence, employee rights, and employee privacy, this book will inform HRD scholars and professionals on researching and enhancing ethical and legal decision making in the workplace.

© The Author(s) 2019

Claretha HughesEthical and Legal Issues in Human Resource Developmenthttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99528-1_1

Begin Abstract

1. Introduction: Examining Ethical and Legal Issues in Human Resource Development

Claretha Hughes¹

(1)

University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Fayetteville, AR, USA

Claretha Hughes

End Abstract

According to Hatcher (2002), little had been done at that time by human resource development (HRD) to address issues related to ethics and social responsibility besides Swanson’s (2001) addition of the ethics rug beneath the HRD three-legged stool and Kaufman and Watkins’ (2000) work related to addressing societal issues and using strategic planning for HRD (Kaufman, 1992; Kaufman & Guerra, 2002; Watkins, Leigh, & Kaufman, 2000). Swanson depicted ethics as the rug upon which the economic, system, and psychological HRD theories sit and stated that “an ‘ethical rug’ serves as a filter through which the integrity of both HRD and the host organization can be maintained” (p. 305). There are few theoretical frameworks in HRD for consistently addressing ethics and corporate social responsibility (Ardichvili, 2013; Noelliste, 2013). Therefore, the organization, its processes, and individual performance are often lacking in ethical influence from empirical work of HRD scholars and professionals despite the fact that “[t]he whole theory of HRD is proposed to be the integration of psychological, economic and system theories within an ethical frame” (Swanson, 2001, p. 307).

Nowell-Smith (1957) noted that the words “morals” and “ethics” were derivatives of words meaning “custom” or “behavior.” Despite being some of the most ethically and legally supportive scholars and professionals, HRD scholars and professionals seem to continuously exert efforts to justify their credibility either within business and industry (Addison & Haig, 1994; Delaney & Sockell, 1992; Gubbins, Harney, van de Werff, & Rousseau, 2018; Rosania, 2000; Woodd, 1997) or within the academic community (Ruona, 2016). Having and abiding by a code of ethics supports ethical and legal efforts but does not ensure that all situations encountered within the workplace or through human interactions, in general, are covered. HRD scholars and professionals are in a unique position to bridge the gap between ethical and legal philosophizing and practice.

Many interactions between people occur daily through either face-to-face engagements or technological interventions (email, social media, and/or artificial intelligence). The emphasis used to be on face-to-face interactions, but the introduction of technology has exponentially escalated the need for comprehensive understanding of ethical and legal issues by HRD scholars and professionals who are often tasked with developing appropriate ethical and legal training and education content and materials for employees and students. Most of the content and materials are designed for enhancing interpersonal interactions among people who must comply with regulations, guidelines, conduct, law, procedures, rules, constraints, and standards that may be new to them. This newness may cause them to not be prepared for the potentially negative influence of the opinions of others on their behavior in the workplace (Ashforth & Anand, 2003; Trevino, 1986; Trevino & Brown, 2004).

This book will explore the role of HRD professionals in ethical and legal decisions making in the workplace. Many workplace decisions may be considered legal but not ethical or vice versa. Distinguishing whether an incident is organizational policy or a legal mandate can create confusion in the workplace. Confusion and competing concerns in the decision-making process may cause a disconnection between employee morals and compliance with the law. It can also cause employee indecisiveness with regards to whether or not they are making a moral decision and whether or not they are in compliance with the law. HRD professionals are expected to encourage individual growth and development of employees’ and leaders’ ethical and legal mindsets through continued dialogue about integrity (Marsick, 1997; Noelliste, 2013). The mindset is very important since behavior emanates from the mind (Dweck, 2006).

Ethical frameworks for decision-making are developed at both individual and organizational levels. Legal frameworks are often mandated through governmental and judicial processes. Often organization leaders do not have a role in the development of legal requirements of their organizations other than through lobbying efforts, and yet they have significant influence on ethical standards and implementation strategies for both ethical policies and legal mandates. HRD scholars and professionals can, and often should, engage in helping leaders as they work to design, develop, and implement ethical and legal compliance strategies.

To be able to assist leaders, HRD scholars and professionals must have the ethical and legal expertise to be effective. Attaining this effectiveness can occur through education and/or training in ethics and legal workplace requirements on a continuous basis as laws are always being adjusted or new ones developed. HRD professionals can also partner with legal scholars and/or firms for their expertise when developing teaching and training materials. Many corporations partner with legal firms who provide legal training for their executive and supervisory level leaders. This is important because unethical behavior may not always start at the senior leadership level in organizations, but senior leaders may be the only ones who can effectively stopped the behavior (Paine, 1994; Thomas, Schermerhorn Jr., & Dienhart, 2004; Treviño, Brown, & Hartman, 2003).

Understanding which aspects of the HRD function are most directly affected by ethical and legal decision-making of HRD scholars and professionals is essential. The relationship between HRD practices and organizational values is very important. Organizational values influence how the employees are treated in the workplace. HRD professionals’ development of leaders can have direct influence on how those leaders treat employees in their direct interactions with them. Essentially, the HRD professionals’ roles include establishing formal and informal work processes, policy development, and communicating shared visions of building and developing a competent, diverse workforce (Rana, Ardichvili, & Polesello, 2016; Vickers, 2005). HRD professionals’ work can support the culture of the work environment by striving to help create a healthy internal company climate that empowers leadership to manage ethical and legal issues and maximize employee performance. The intersection of ethical and legal decision-making is vitally most importance because leaders should not make unethical legal decisions. If they know that the law requires that they treat an employee fairly and they choose not to follow the law because they are unethical, their chosen behavior can have detrimental effects on employee morale and organization viability. HRD leaders in particular need to practice creating employee goodwill for the organization. I define employee goodwill as doing the right thing for the employee at all times so that the employee feels good about working for the organization.

Hassan (2007) discovered that:

HRD practices like p...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Front Matter
• 1. Introduction: Examining Ethical and Legal Issues in Human Resource Development
• 2. Toward a More Specific and Collaborative Understanding of Ethical and Legal Issues in HRD
• 3. Values and Decision-Making
• 4. Connecting Ethics and Diversity Using Diversity Intelligence
• 5. Workplace Hiring and Retention
• 6. Laws, Ethics, and Policies
• 7. Research Ethics, Governance, and the Future
• Back Matter