IPW 2013 - Ethics and HRM - Anne Sachet-Milliat - ISC Paris

Ethics and Human Resources

Management International Project Week

Metropolia Business School - Helsinki

14-20 May 2011

Session 2 :

Ethical dilemmas and Management

1

Session 2: Ethical dilemmas and

Management

1/Definition of an ethical dilemma

2/Managers’ values

3/Individual and organizational factors of

ethical decision making within organizations

4/The main moral philosophies

IPW 2013 - Ethics and HRM - Anne Sachet-Milliat - ISC Paris 2

Objectives

To study the ethical decision process while

confronted with an ethical dilemma

To study managers’ values and their

influence on ethical decision making

To study the main philosophical approaches

of ethics and their influence on managers

IPW 2013 - Ethics and HRM - Anne Sachet-Milliat - ISC Paris 3

Ethical dilemma

An ethical dilemma is a situation that will

involve an apparent conflict between moral

imperatives, in which to obey one would

result in transgressing another.

IPW 2013 - Ethics and HRM - Anne Sachet-Milliat - ISC Paris 4

Ethical dilemma (2)

General Dilemma Ethical Dilemma

To accept a job in Finland

Or

To accept a job in Australia

To respect the confidentiality of

the information concerning the

policy mass redundancies

Or

To inform a colleague, whom

you appreciate, that he/she will

soon be made redundant

Doesn’t imply a moral reason to

act one way or the other

Imply a moral reason to act one

way or the other

IPW 2013 - Ethics and HRM - Anne Sachet-Milliat - ISC Paris 5

Managers’ values

« A value is an enduring belief that a specific

mode of conduct or end-state of existence is

personnally or socially preferable to an

opposite or converse mode of conduct or

end-state existence » Rokeach 1979

«normative beliefs about proper standards of

conduct and preferred or desired results »

Nystrom 1990

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Value structures (Stern and al. 1998)

Altruistic values

Traditional values

Egoistic values

Openness to change values

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The basic model of ethical decision

making process (Rest)

Problem recognition

Search

Evaluation

Choice

Outcome

IPW 2013 - Ethics and HRM - Anne Sachet-Milliat - ISC Paris

The way in which individual actually process or make

ethical decision

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The factors which influence ethical

decision making (1)

Individuals ethical perceptions are

influenced by individual attributes,

experiential and environmental factors, as

well as the nature of the dilemma itself.

The descriptive model of business ethics

discribe persons who have personal cognitive

and emotional attitude, have an history,

specific demographic characteristics that

interacts which situationnal factors. IPW 2013 - Ethics and HRM - Anne Sachet-Milliat - ISC Paris 9

The factors which influence ethical

decision making (2)

Societal level

Industrial level

Company level

Personal level

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Case study: Smoke signal case

Identify the different ethical dilemmas

Identify for each of them the conflicts of

values or principles

What would be for each of them a moral

response or a self interested response ?

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Moral philosophies

Two major frameworks in moral philosophy:

deontology and teleology

Teleological (or outcome based) theories

tend to judge the goodness or badness of

behavior on the consequence of the act

Deontological (or duties based) theories

focus on rule-based behavior

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Teleological theories

Teleological theories, such as utilitarianism

(Bentham 1748-1832), focus on the outcome

of behaviors

Fundamental questions when confronted with

an ethical issue:

What are the consequences of my acts on

others?

Are they beneficial for the greatest number?

IPW 2013 - Ethics and HRM - Anne Sachet-Milliat - ISC Paris 13

Deontological theories

Deontological theories such as Kant’s

categorical imperative focuse on the

correctness of the act itself

Fundamental questions when confronted with

an ethical issue:

Are the means which I use right?

Is my conduct the right conduct for any person

in similar situation?

Do I treat others as ends in themselves?

IPW 2013 - Ethics and HRM - Anne Sachet-Milliat - ISC Paris 14

The categorical Imperative – Kant

(1724- 1804)

"Act only according to that maxim whereby

you can, at the same time, will that it should

become a universal law.“

"Act in such a way that you treat humanity,

whether in your own person or in the person

of any other, always at the same time as an

end and never merely as a means to an end”

Groundwork of the metaphysic of morals

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Ethics of responsibility – Hans Jonas

(1903-1993)

Temporal dimension of responsibility

Restrospective responsibility refering to acts of

the past

Prospective responsibility concerning future

acts

Inequality of knowledge is the true condition

of prospective responsibility

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Fundamental questions when confronted with

an ethical issue

Which are the person for whom I am

responsible?

Do I assume the consequences of my past

acts?

Do I anticipate the future consequences of my

acts? (precautionary principle)

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Neutralizing verbalization

The ability to find a formula which describes

the unethical or illegal act in words which do

not conflict with the image of oneself as a

trusted person. (Cressey 1986)

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Towards a more demanding business

ethics in HRM

• The principle of human-being respect applied to employees Ethics of duty

• Non discrimination and respect of private life Ethics of rights

• Health at work, safety in the workplace

Ethics of responsibility

• Fair compensations Ethics of justice

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