HIRING ETHICAL PEOPLE

Chapter Three

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Chapter 3

Learning Objectives

Screen job candidates for their ethics

Understand which job candidate factors are illegal to consider when hiring

Obtain accurate behavior information from resumes, reference checks, background checks, and integrity tests

Use personality test scales that measure ethics

Ask interview questions that address ethical issues

Understand when drug and polygraph tests can be administered

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

Importance of an Ethics Screen

The most important factor for developing and reinforcing a high-integrity work culture is hiring ethical job applicants

The typical hiring process consists of reviewing resumes and job application forms for knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to perform the job task

Ethics is often assumed or overlooked

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

Step 1: ethics screen noticeStep 1: ethics screen notice

Inform potential job applicants about the organization’s ethics job screen

People who behave ethically want to be members of ethical organizations

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

Step 2: legal ground rulesStep 2: legal ground rules

Gather and use information in a way that does not discriminate against job candidates based on their race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, or disability

Employers signal good ethics to job candidates by respecting the law when recruiting and selecting employees

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Legal Ground Rules (cont.)

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act Prohibits businesses from discriminating among job

applicants based on the person’s race, color, religion, gender, or national origin

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was created in 1965 to oversee provisions of the Civil Rights Act

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Legal Ground Rules (cont.)

Disparate Impacts Disparate impacts occur when members of a

protected class rarely make it through all the job –screening filters, suggesting that one of the decision rules could be unintentionally discriminatory

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Legal Ground Rules (cont.)

Affirmative Action Affirmative action plans remedy past discriminatory

behaviors by actively seeking, hiring, and promoting minority group members and women to equalize opportunities previously limited to Caucasian males

Affirmative action plans remain controversial

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Legal Ground Rules (cont.)

Other legal Issues Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967,

amended in 1978 and 1986 Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

Exhibit 3.2 Job Selection Rule Checklist

Insert Exhibit 3.2

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

Step 3: behavioral informationStep 3: behavioral information

Four recruiting tools provide

useful behavioral information

about a job candidate’sethics:

ResumesReference checksBackground checksIntegrity tests

Behavioral informationabout a job candidate’sethics is more reliablethan attitudinal surveyresults or responses tohypothetical dilemmas

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Behavioral Information (cont.)

Resumes The best predictor of future performance is past

performance A job candidate’s previous accomplishments are

encapsulated on a resume or job application Researchers estimate that more than one in five

resumes contain lies

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

Exhibit 3.3 College Students Job Application Lies

Insert Exhibit 3.3

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Behavioral Information (cont.)

Reference Checks Job candidates usually list references predisposed to

sharing favorable information The previous supervisor’s perspective of the job

candidate’s strengths and weaknesses is probably the most relevant information source

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Behavioral Information (cont.)

Background Checks Conduct background checks to verify a job candidate’s

academic accomplishments, prior work responsibilities, and other work-related issues

Other checks could include criminal records, credit checks, and Facebook use

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Behavioral Information (cont.)

Integrity Tests Also referred to as honesty tests, integrity tests

typically gather information about the job candidate’s behaviors and attitudes toward unethical workplace activities, such as theft

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Step 4: personality traits and related characteristics

“Conscientiousness” measures responsibility, dependability, and work ethic. Is the best predictor of ethics and job performance.

Organizational Citizenship Behavior: work-related helping behaviors that go beyond normal job requirements, such as aiding others with job-related problems

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

Exhibit 3.4 Personality Traits, Related Characteristics, and Ethical Behavior

Insert Exhibit 3.4

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

Exhibit 3.6 Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale

Insert Exhibit 3.6

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

Step 4 (cont.)Step 4 (cont.)

Social Dominance Orientation and Bullying is the belief that an individual’s particular group membership (defined in terms of race, gender, religion, or ethnicity) is superior to membership in other groups

Researchers have found that high SDO scores are associated with racism and sexism

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Step 4 (cont.)Mental Disability Tests

Mental health and other medical tests for job candidates can be administered after a bona fide job offer has been made

Tests such as the MMPI are not a valid way to determine the ethics of job candidates

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Step 5: Interview QuestionsPrevious Ethical Dilemmas

Asking job candidates to describe how they managed an ethical dilemma at a previous employer can be very useful

Human beings are creatures of habit, and the job candidate will bring these response patterns to work

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Step 5: Interview Questions (cont.)

Visual Lie Detection Behavioral responses assumed to be cures for

detecting a lie include the following: Bodily Tendencies: less eye contact, increased blinking,

pupil dilation, fidgeting, shaking knee, tapping fingers…

Verbal Tendencies: Hesitancy in responding, frequent speech disturbances, sighs, higher pitch, longer response before answering…

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Step 5 (cont.)

Present finalists with a realistic job preview, an honest description of daily work activities that highlights both the exciting and tedious aspects of the job

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Step 6: Post-Interview TestsDrug Testing

Drug use can be determined by an analysis of blood, urine, hair, or saliva. Marijuana, the most commonly tested for drug, can be detected in the blood system for 2 days, in urine from 2-14 days, and in hair follicles for up to 90 days

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Step 6 (cont.)Polygraphs

Also known as lie detectors, can be used as a job screen by federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as businesses, engaged in national security issues

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics

Exhibit 3.9 Standard Job Screening Polygraph Questions

Insert Exhibit 3.9

Chapter 3: Collins, Business Ethics