Employees Flashcards
Why can employees be considered stakeholders?
They constitute the firm and are key representatives
In some cases they may even own the firm
They are a key asset and arguably the most important
What is the hard HR model
Strict control, high job insecurity, employees as a cost to be minimised
See employees as a means to an end (ethics of duties, maxim 2)
Utilitarian approach
What is the soft HR model
Employees are seen as an asset that are to be developed and nurtured
Serological approach- duty to employees
Principle of corporate rights- the organisation has the obligation to not violate the rights of others
Apple arguably practices both
What are the ethical issues in hrm
Core ethical dilemma - people are resources that should be managed in ways that maximises efficiency and minimises costs
What is the ethical issue with the term HRM?
Firms employ labour to achieve ends (Kant)
But humans deserve respect and dignity
Should be treated as just a means to an end
What are the key ethical issues associated with employees?
Privacy Discrimination Sexual harassment Security Participation and association Favouritism
Sense of right is no longer uniform if globalised
What is the race to the bottom perspective?
Multinationals through strong demand and falling prices, move around globally to pick and choose lowest cost centres
Lower costs often accompanied by
Poor labour conditions
Less environmental protection
Low attention to health and safety
what is the problems with governments and the race to the bottom
To attract foreign capital l, governments may cut taxes or loosed social safety nets
Many do not protect human rights and suppress unions
What are the ethical challenges of globalisation
Takes western countries to countries with little or no employment regulation
Labour conditions,
Wage rates and child labour
Legal vacuum- global governance gaps
Employee rights are viewed differently in different cultures
What are the enabling conditions of extreme labour exploitation?
Industry context
Socioeconomic( extreme poverty, unemployment and education)
Geographic( geographical isolation and distance from home)
Cultural context (traditions and entrenched inequalities
What are the key facts Crane discloses about slavery?
30 million slaves in today’s workforce
Estimates of 50,000- 150,000 in the USA
Human trafficking is the fastest growing form of organised crime
What are the 4 features of slavery?
Forced to work through threat
Owned or controlled by employer
Dehumanised and treated as a commodity
Physically constrained or restricted in freedom of movement
What ultimately is slavery
Essentially an attempt to underprice a key resource through illegitimate means
What are the two slavery management techniques
Exploiting and insulating
- access and deployment of violence
- debt management - debt contracts to slaves
- accounting opacity
- labour supply chain management
Sustaining and shaping capabilities
- moral legitimisation - make sure it’s legitimised in immediate community
- domain maintenance
What are the legal and economic aspects of employees as stakeholders
Legal- contractually connected that stipulates rights and duties of both parties
Economic- asset specificity and can create moral hazard
Employees may move geographically
Dependency
Employers also face moral hazard
What are some examples of employee rights
Right to freedom from discrimination Right to privacy Right to due process Right to participation and association Right to fair wages
What is discrimination
When employees receive preferential treatment not on the grounds of their qualifications of experience
Race, gender, religion, disability and nationality
BBC
Ford
What are the issues with law and sexual and racial harrasemnet
Regulation is rather reluctant to take up these issues
Fine line between office romance/ joking
What are equal opportunities and affirmative action
Many companies have sought to tackle issues through equal opportunity programmes Recruitment policies Fair job criteria Training for discriminates minorities Promotion to senior positions
What are the problems with affirmative action programmes
Can be seen as a form of reverse discrimination
Disadvantages those in an advanced position
Justification based on redistributive justice - past injustices are paid for
Distributive justice- rewards such as job and pay should be allocated fairly among groups
What is the notion of privacy
The right to control information about oneself and control situations where such information could be gleaned
What are the 4 types of privacy
Physical privacy
Social privacy
Informational privacy
Psychological privacy
Electronic privacy and data protection are becoming key issues in the workplace
What is the view of employee participation
Employees should have a certain degree of influence on tasks, job environments and company goals
Financial
Organisational
- delegation, information , consultation and code termination
What are the issues with working conditions
Today most industrialised economies have a dense network of health and safety regulations that must be adhered to but globalisation poses an inherent problem
Main issues are around enforcement
What are the challenges of globalisation
National culture v moral values
Different cultures will view employee rights differently
Absolutism v relativism
Absolutism- if an ethical principle is valid it is to be applicable everywhere
Relativism- no one view of ethics is right
What is the race to the bottom perspective
Companies increasingly select economies wher regulation is low and a low social provision for employees
LDCs view their low standards as a competitive advantage to attract investment
What are the enabling conditions of slavery
Industry context Cultural context Geographical context Socioeconomic context Regulatory context
What are the issues with the industry context
High labour intensity - slavery as a means to reduce cost
Low value capture- faced with slavery to survive
Industry legitimacy- hide operations
Why are the issues with socio economic
Extreme poverty- can use correction and deception
Unemployment - need to survive is a key push factor
Education and awareness- no education limits choice of job elsewhere , low awareness of job they are entering
What are the issues with geographic
High isolation of enterprise
- high demand low supply
High political distance
- heightened dependence
Issues with the cultural context
Traditions - e.g Nigeria bonded labour is a tradition
Entrenched inequality
Regulatory
Strength of governance - rife in conflict zones - laws may exist but not enforced Issue attention - existing legal solutions are thought to have solved the problem
What contradiction does hrm often face
Economic v ethical
Surveillance v privacy
