Role Of The Code Of Ethics In Human Resources And Employment Relations Sector

Human Resource (HR) professionals are responsible for adding value to the organizations they serve and contributing to the ethical success of the organization (shrm.org). By accepting professional responsibility for their individual decisions and actions they advocate for the profession by adding activities that enhance its credibility and value (shrm.org).

Even with organizations like SHRM providing employers with guidance on various human resource matters, there are still circumstances where their guidance does not resolve the issue. In recruiting, training, reviewing, terminating and working with employees, there are a great deal of ethical ramifications.

In my opinion a recruiting Manager, Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) code of ethics has a range of resources when they need to determine if whether their hiring process has been ethical. Low-level recruiting jobs can be among the toughest in HR, as they are under extreme pressure to fill clients’ positions, the pressure can tempt them to make some less than ethical choices. As for the HR profession it is an ethical responsibility for them to promote and foster fairness and justice for all employees and the organization. The guidelines provided by SHRM include but are not limited to: 1. Respecting the uniqueness and intrinsic worth of every individual, 2. Ensure that everyone has the opportunity to develop their skills and new competencies and 3. Act in a responsible manner and practice sound management (shrm.org)

In a situation where the HR professional is faced with a decision to comply with the law, SHRM is able to assist. SHRM provides professionals with online articles, classes and study guides that provide guideline on how to determine which federal laws may apply to the situation. The intent of the code of ethics, is to create and sustain an environment that encourages individuals and the organization to reach their fullest potential in a positive and productive manner (shrm.org)

The third way SHRM can assist HR professionals to making the right choice is when terminating an employee. Like with legal matters SHRM website provides HR professionals with a variety of articles and resources to determine whether the right decision was made. The articles range from termination due to online behavior, ethical vs legal responsibilities and involuntary termination, An HR professional can visit the site prior to terminating an individual and have concrete understanding and resources to confirm that the termination of an employee was ethical, while comparing to company policies.

In one way I do not see SHRM helping with an ethical decision making is when training employees. How can it be determined what is the most ethical way to provide training for a company, all individuals are trained the same as company policy determines it, some exceptions are made to accommodate individuals with special needs. In my opinion there is no way to use the SHRM code of ethics if an individual feels they where trained improperly, or feel they were not given the correct amount of training if in company policy it’s the same across the board for all of those hired. As a recruiting manager it would be difficult to train a new employee on morals and company culture and have them not comprehend the material and going into the SHRM website and finding the right way of explaining the company morals to that individual.

Ethics regarded as accepted principles, notions and judgments on how right or wrong, moral or immoral a situation is. In the professional field, standards are the code of conduct which members of the particular profession are expected to follow. They state that it’s important for any professional involved to be cognizant and adhere to the rules governing the organization to avoid going against the rules and regulations set.

The ethical consideration is a key to protect the professional and the fundamental the individuals participating in the selection process. They also say that recruitment is an area of decision-making that requires a lot of attention, which accompanied by guidelines which are the best practice which ensures the risk of unjust practices and corruption are eliminated or at least minimized. The best thing about recruitment is that it has a broad range of materials to guide its decision-making.