People and Organizations : Principles and Practice in Global Contexts - MN7181 - The Ethical Context of HRM - Blog # 9
People and Organizations: Principles and Practice in Global Contexts – MN7181 – The Ethical Context of HRM – Blog # 9 What are Ethics? As Boxall et al (2007: 5) pointed out: ‘While HRM does need to support commercial outcomes (often called “the business case”), it also exists to serve organizational needs for social legitimacy.’ This means exercising social responsibility, ie being concerned for the interests (well-being) of employees and acting ethically with regard to the needs of people in the organization and the community. To grasp this ethical dimension it is necessary to understand the nature and principles of ethics, the ethical role of HR and the ethical guidelines they can use. It is also necessary to know about approaches to resolving ethical dilemmas. There has been an increasing concern about the prevalence of unethical behaviors within business organizations. Increased media attention has exposed numerous instances of abuses, scandals, fraud and corrupti...