Free «Human Resource Management versus Organizational Ethics» Essay Sample

Over the years of fast development of organizational business behavior, Human Resource Management has drastically changed the original purpose of Human Resources creating a contradicting each other twofold meaning. Today, Human Resource Management is in constant argument with organizational ethics, putting on display the overlapping functions of each of them. Johnson (2003) writes: “All HR practices have an ethical foundation. HR deals with the practical consequences of human behavior” (p. 27). On one hand, the Human Resource Manager, or practitioner, is considered to be a servant, who has to guide through the organizational moments including taking responsibility for the human resources, such as decide upon the staff for particular hiring needs of the employer, their recruitment, training and ensuring the high standards and level of their performance, as well as mange the issues, which can occur while working. On the other hand, the Human Resource Manager is also responsible for ensuring the design of the increasing profit of a particular business while fitting in the optimal conditions and protecting the interest of the organization one recruits for. On this scale, the two basic responsibilities of ensuring the success of the business and provide skilled professionals might touch the issue of organizational ethics, where the HR professional is the one to decide whose interests one has to stand up for.

“Ethical issues are important, and ethical violations are not all that uncommon,” states Ronald F. Smedley in his Ethical Issues in Human Resource Management (2008, p. 2). According to Marvin Brown, the organizational ethics is exclusively individualistic issue, where one is responsible for his own personal behavior and actions, rather than that of others (2010). Brown writes: “Here individuals are viewed not in isolation, but as members of communities that are partially responsible for the behavior of their members. So, to understand and change an individual's behavior, we need to understand and try to change the communities to which they belong” (2010). Nonetheless, according to the communal approach and the business ethics behavior, working in a company generates the consequences of an individuals’ behavior, imposing them on the work of others as well. According to Brown (2010), we should consider both approaches in order to understand the issue better and for the HR to know which approach to choose in order to deal with the problem considering all the ethical and moral values. However, the author also undergoes though considering another problem: “There are times, however, when our willingness to consider both the good of the individual and the good of the community leaves us in a dilemma, and we are forced to choose between competing moral claims” (2010).

However, Hart (1993, p. 23) states that Human Resource Management is “devoid of morality” (Rose, p. 27). In this or other way, the reality shows that the organizational managers undergo sometimes through some harmful for people decisions (Pinnington, Macklin & Cambell, 2007, p. 237). Nevertheless, the main task of the Human Resource manager is to optimize the best working conditions for both parties. This, possibly, can be done by satisfying the needs of the employees first in order to create a healthy environment for enhancing productivity and quality of the working process. For instance, on the example of GOOGLE, Inc. case study, we mark the ideal organizational culture environment, which balances hiring the needs of the organization and satisfies the working professionals with a variety of interesting approaches.

GOOGLE, Inc. “provides into the work environment, and recruitment process”. First, GOOGLE, Inc. for the recruiting process has created 10 top reasons to work for Google and had been hiring people “with the right frame of mind.” Google does not focus its selection process on University grades or experience, but on intelligence and the capacity, and potential of the individual, which is a smart approach. The company also appeals to the professionals by its bright colors of the offices, lava lamps, snacks and other things, which create a positive atmosphere, help to relax the stress, and increase motivation and productivity. In addition, Google management encourages innovative approach and creativity for the recruited personnel. Even though Google admits that there is a problem with having a way to express the creativity, the corporation works on this issue too. Google has created an internal web, which helps the employees express their new ideas. In such a way, the corporation develops the potential of each individual to help one grow and bring in their part into the big picture, which mirrors on the image of the company, reflecting trust, positive attitude, good leadership and relations, as well as high standards and levels of professionalism.

As a result, when thinking over the position to choose in Human Resource Management, one has to take the side of individualistic organizational ethics. In such a way, the HR professional ensures the level of satisfaction of an individual rather than fail the attempts to provide for the company as a whole. Enabling each and every individual separately creates a strong foundation of trust, helps to build strong and agreeable relations between the colleagues, makes the contractors feel protected and ensured. A brilliant example is the world’s most famous GOOGLE, Inc., which is, at the same time, one of the most profitable companies and is found by most people as the best place to work in. Creating a pleasant atmosphere and corporate culture, this company increases the effectiveness and productivity of the personnel, engaging them in becoming more enthusiastic towards work and advancing the working process by motivating each individual separately, but letting them know that they are a part of a whole, and the future of the company depends on them.