Human resource management practice I also available by michael armstrong

The ethical dimension 

of HRM

LearnIng outComes

On completing this chapter you should be able to define these key concepts. You should 

also understand:

 

●

The meaning of ethics

 

●

The nature of ethical decisions and judgements

 

●

The ethical concepts of deontology, utilitarianism, stakeholder theory and discourse 

theory

 

●

The significance of the concepts of equity, justice and fair dealing

 

●

HRM ethical guidelines

 

●

How to resolve ethical dilemmas

 

●

The ethical role of HR

Key ConCePts and terms

Bounded rationality

Core values

Deontological ethics theory

Discourse

Distributive justice

Ethics

Fair dealing

Morality

Natural justice

Procedural justice

Social justice

Stakeholder theory

Utilitarianism

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Part 

1

  The Practice of Human Resource Management

96

Introduction

The  theme  of  this  chapter  is  the  importance  of  

recognizing  that  there  is  an  ethical  dimension  to 

human resource management. 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.