1013_-_hrm_-_moe_htwe

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Human

Resource

Management

October 14

2011 STUDENT NAME

Student ID

University Name An Essay

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HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

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Contents

Introduction ............................................................................................................... 3

Human Resource Management .................................................................................. 3

Role of HRM in Management ..................................................................................... 4

Goals and f unctions of HRM ....................................................................................... 5

Def inition of Ethics ..................................................................................................... 6

Importance of ethics in business ................................................................................ 6

Importance of ethics f rom HRM's perspective ............................................................ 7

Contrast between HRM and Ethics ............................................................................. 8

Usef ulness of both these theories and disadvantages ................................................ 9

Practical implications of ethics for HRM ..................................................................... 9

Impact of Ethics and HRM on business environment................................................ 10

Conclusion and recommendation............................................................................. 10

Ref erences ............................................................................................................... 11

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Introduction

Human resource management is a very important topic in business. It deals with the

employee management and therefore it is a f unction of the management. Every

f irm in todays world has its own HR department which deals with the HR related

issues and formulates HR policies. Basically HRM is more concerned with the

objectives of the f irm and shareholders who actually appoint them to perform

organizational activities. Ethics on the other hand deals with the well being of the

employees as well as the society which provides the environment for a business.

Ethics tells that every employee in a f irm should be treated equally and be provided

a satisfactory work environment and benef its so that their well being is ensured. But

HRM mostly tries to reduce cost of f irm and optimize the use of human capital by

unfair means. For this reason HRM is unethical f rom the point of view of ethics.

Kantian theory of ethics suggests that HRM is unethical because it uses human

capital of a f irm like a machine and does not ensure well being of them as well as the

society. This essay critically analyzed the topic of unethical practices in HRM and

established arguments why HRM is unethical f rom ethical perspective f rom theory of

ethics by Kant. The essay started by discussing HRMs role, f unction and its

importance. Later theory of ethics and its importance and implication in

management is critically analyzed. Conception of ethics and HRM are contrasted

then and arguments are established to show that HRM is unethical f rom the Kantian

ethics perspective.

Human Resource Management

HRM is probably one of the most crucial issues in the world of business and

management. Human are the most vital parts of management who formulate and

implement the goals of management in a f irm. So, proper management of human

being is very important for management of the f irm to become successf ul. In todays

world well being of a person working in an organization is ensured by HR of that f irm

(Kerr & Glinow 1997). Therefore HRM is the concern of the HRD of a f irm. Success of

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a management entirely depends upon the well managed HRM policy of that

management. Theoretically HRM may be def ined as the policies and practices in

carrying out the people or human resource aspects of a management position,

including recruiting, screening, training, rewarding and appraising (Dessler 2009).

Alternatively it can be said that HRM helps a f irm to create human capital, which are

the most valuable assets of a f irm. Most of the cases due to lack of human capital a

f irm faces diff iculty to grow, become stagnant and ultimately loses its market share

to the rivals in the market place (Boselie, Dietz & Boon 2005). So, Human capital is

the most valuable assets of a f irm not the products or brand value. In some cases

well managed employees of a f irm through favorable HRM policies can help enhance

the brand value of a company and thus perform internal marketing to amplif y the

overall image of the company (Arthur 1994).

Role of HRM in Management

Role of HRM in management is changing continuously (Hiltrop, Despres, & Sparrow

1995). The aspect of globalization has added new dimension to HRM. HRM is the

process which deals with the well being of the employees and eventually ensures the

f unctionality of management. Well f unctional management can easily achieve

organizational goals. So HRMs role is very important in an organization in the

following ways:

Strategic Planning: HRM helps the f irm to select suitable employees and train them

to make them human assets. Well trained employees who are accustomed with the

organizational culture and goal can help the management of f irm to formulate plan.

When plans are formulated in a tactical way then it is called strategic planning. So

HRM helps a f irm to formulate strategic planning.

C reating high performance work environment: By training the employees HRM

ensures that high performance is delivered f rom them. So creating high performance

work environment is another role of HRM.

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Managing technology: Almost all the f irms in todays world are engaged in using

technology. So adaptation of technology to the employees has become a vital role of

HRM. With growing techno investment of modern era and up to dating employees to

this f eature has increasingly becoming a crucial role of HRM (Kalata 1999).

Motivating team performance: HR managers in HRD of a f irm always try to motivate

employees as individual and as team players in a f irm. So this is another important

role of HRM.

I ncreasing efficiency: By developing skills of employees HRM increases the eff iciency

of a f irm. Various studies found that motivation and work eff iciency has higher

degree of positive correlation. So this is another important role of HRM.

Goals and functions of HRM

Goals of HRM are numerous and these goals ensure well f unctioning of HR personnel

to achieve organizational objectives. Recently HRM is severely criticized by various

researchers for using employees as a means and not treating them as a human

being. So currently ensuring proper work environment and keeping employees

happy by not putting excessive pressure on them has become a major goal of HRM.

Because reputation is very important for a company and well reputation of a

company in the market place depends on the well def ined HRM policies so HRM

these days is more focused on building human capital in an eff ective way. Morality of

HR managers is another issue here. HR personnel of f irm should be ethically strong

and give effort to achieve organizational goals (Pinnington, Macklin & Campbell

2007). Organizational success or failure depends on the devotion of the employees

of that organization while they should be treated as human not a means to achieve

organizational goals. So apart f rom other goals HRMs main focus is now on ensuring

proper treatment of employees and thus building the reputation of the f irm in the

market place.

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Definition of Ethics

Theoretically ethics means doing the right things and maintaining morality in such a

way so that society gets benef itted f rom the activities. From the perspective of

business ethics means doing right kind of business in an honest way so that all the

stakeholders related to the business gets benef itted and eventually which will put a

positive impact on the society (Vickers 2005). In business ethics is very important

f rom various perspectives. Ethics is a part of organizational culture and it helps a f irm

to grow reputation. Good ethical conduct is not important for organization as a

whole but also important for the employees when dealing with the internal factors

of the f irm. Like a f irm must behave ethically to its employees and proper ethical

treatment is very important to maintain satisfactory work environment. If there

relics satisfactory work environment in f irm employees will be motivated even more

to work for the prosperity of that f irm and goal of HRM will be achieved.

Importance of ethics in business

Ethics is very important in business because good ethical practice shapes the

organizational culture of a f irm and provide good working environment for the

employees. In business good ethical practice is important f rom various perspectives.

These are as follows:

Maintaining reputation: Market value of a f irm has several determinants among

these good ethical practice is the most important. Good ethical practice increases

the intangible asset value of the f irm and thereby increases the reputation of the

f irm. In todays global business world brand value is more important that products

and brand value can be increased by dedicated employees and to get optimum

devotion f rom the employees ethical practice and rational HRM policies are very

important.

Practicing good organizational culture: Ethics is also very important for establishing

fair and good organizational culture. If ethical treatment is present in all kinds of

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dealings of the f irm then culture of that f irm will be a very sound one and its

reputation will certainly enhance. So for maintaining good and fair organizational

culture importance of ethics is very signif icant.

F ollowing legal bounds: Ethical conducts helps to follow all the legal obligations.

This is true for a business as well. In the world of business there are many legal

obligations which must be followed by the f irm to ensure well being of the society

and the employees. Good ethical practice helps the f irm to obey legal obligations.

Maintaining employee satisfaction: Employees are very important for a f irm to

achieve its goals. Prosperity of a f irm depends on the efforts of the employees. If

satisfactory work environment is maintained and if employees are treated as human

being rather means of business only then the employees will give their optimumservice to the prosperity of the f irm (Wright & McMahan 1992). Treating employees

like anything but human being is a burning issue in todays world of business. Many

f irms treat their employees like machines thus hamper satisfactory work

environment which is very much reproached f rom the point of view of ethical

conduct (Wooten 2001). Many cases HRM formulates the policy to get the maximum

out of the employees by doing inhuman consideration to them. This should be

stopped and a f irm must maintain satisfactory work environment f rom ethical

perspective.

Maintaining C SR activities: Corporate social responsibilities are to be performed by

a f irm to f ulf ill its social liabilities. So, performing CSR activities arise f rom the ethical

consciousness of the management of a f irm. Thus good ethical practice is very

important and motivates the f irm to perform its social liabilities in the form of CSR

activities (Matten & Moon 2004).

Importance of ethics from HRM's perspective

HRM deals with the employees of a f irm by recruiting, training and developing their

skills. If HRM does not train the employees to maintain ethics then the employees

will engage in unethical conducts. This is one aspect of thinking about the

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importance of ethics in HRM. Such unethical practice of HRM to the employees of a

f irm can create organizational unrest and reduces the eff ectiveness of the

employees (Greenwood 2002). Again, If HRM of a f irm treats its employees beyond

the scope of ethics then HRM can be said unethical. HRM can make an employee

resource if it treats them in a proper ethical way or else employees will become a

burden for the f irm (Inkson 2008).

Contrast betweenHRM and Ethics

According to the Kantian theory of ethics HRM is unethical because it treats

employees of a f irm like any other means instead of human being. This theory is

quite right and in modern era because HR department of a f irm tries to get the most

out of an employee and to do so HRM uses the employee like a machine. So

implication of modern HRM actually violates human right which is very unethical.

Contrast between these two conceptions and why HRM is unethical is shown below:

Result oriented: HRM is result oriented and to get the best possible performance

f rom the employees it uses them in an unethical way. In most of the cases HRM tries

to maximize the output f rom the employees without thinking about the well being of

them (Lewis & Heckman 2006). So HRM is result oriented which put pressure on

employees and thats why it is unethical.

Goals: Goals of HRM are to managing the employees optimally so that they become

an asset for the f irm. Employees capacity and well being are not a concern here.

Which is completely opposite f rom the conception of ethics and so HRM is unethical.

Prosperity of the employees: Increased productivity is very important for a f irm and

HRM of the f irm ensures that (Wharton on human resources 2009). While form

ethical standpoint prosperity of employees is crucial HRM does not bother about the

satisfaction and prosperity of the employees thats why it is unethical.

W ork load: HRM basically focuses to reduce the cost of the f irm and thus put work

load to the employees (Tichy, Fombrun and Devanna 1981) where ethics say that

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employees should not be given too much pressure and congenial atmosphere should

be provided. So again it can be said that HRM is unethical.

Remuneration policy: HRM tries to get the work done in lowest possible cost where

ethics tells to give fair remuneration to the employees for the work done. As HRM

looks for best effort at a lower cost so it is unethical.

Usefulness of both these theories and disadvantages

Both these theories are important and usef ul when HRM focuses on reducing cost

ethics ensure employees well being. HRM is usef ul for a f irm to maximize prof it on

the other hand Ethics is usef ul to perform social obligation and employees well

being. Ethics hampers the cost reduction strategy of f irm when strict HRM policies

reduce employee satisfaction to reduce cost. So Although HRM is usef ul for the

prof itability of a f irm but it is unethical for its behavior to the employees.

Reasons: WhyHRM is unethical

According to the Kantian theory of Ethics HRM treats people as a means, a tool, an

instrument, a devise, a resource and not as a human being and person. So HRM

basically violates human rights of the employees and any violation of human right is

unethical. So HRM can be said unethical for its treatment to the employees. HRs

role has been changing for the last several years due to addition of new dimensions

like globalization but its f unction is still the same which is using the employees in an

inconsiderate way (Mackavey 2006). So f rom HRMs f unctions unethical issues arise

and make the whole HRM unethical. Most of ten HRM tries to optimize the welfare of

the f irm or the shareholders at the cost of the welfare of the employees (Johnsen &

Gudmand-Høyer 2010). This is a very unethical activity performed by HRM and

therefore proves that HRM is unethical. HRM of ten takes stern actions against the

employees and reduces their benef its or even f ire them for silly mistakes. This is also

against the ethical conception of Kant (White 2009).

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Employees should be treated as human being because such treatment will motivate

those to work for the betterment of the f irm and eventually shareholders wealth will

be maximized which is the ultimate goal of the HRM. So in practice ethical conducts

should be integrated with the treatments of the HRM and HR policies of the f irm

should be formulated accordingly. But some actions, where appropriate needs to be

taken to prevent the reckless behavior of the employees as well.

Impact of Ethics andHRM on business environment

Impact of Ethics and HRM in the business environment is very important because

ethical implication of HR policies can lead a f irm towards success. If employees are

treated in an ethical way then business environment will be good enough and

congenial for the business. So, ethical treatment of HRM is very important to ensure

a sound business environment.

Conclusion and recommendation

HRM is unethical because of the activities it performs. Most of the cases it tries to

maximize prof it in an unethical way by using the employees like a machine. So it is

quite clear that ethics should be established in the activities of HRM. Ethics should

be considered before making any HR decisions and formulate any kind of HR policies.

Ethically formulated policies of a f irm can ensure satisfactory work environment and

provide saf ety to the employees. Once employees are satisf ied they give their

maximum effort for the betterment of the f irm and try to enhance the value. But

some strict actions also need to be taken in some special occasions where

employees are required to be controlled and driven to the benef it of the f irm. Ethical

consideration is important to the every aspect of the f irm because not only the

employees but there are many other stakeholders apart f rom the stockholders who

also have some implied interest in the f irm. So to protect the rights of the

employees and other stakeholders, ethical implication in HRM policy is very

important. Although there are many criticism about the unethical treatment of HRM

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to the employees but in some cases HRM policies are quite fair and protect the

benef its of the employees. Some ethical theories suggest that HRM treats employees

like machine instead of human being and this kind of perception is very harmf ul for

the reputation of the business. So implication of ethics in HR policies and ethical

HRM practice can satisf y the needs of the employees and protect their rights thus

provide them superior facilities.

References

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