Topic 6 - Ethics Flashcards
What is ethics?
Study of what is morally right and what is not. A system of accepted beliefs that control behaviour , especially such a system based on morals.
What are the different ethical perspectives?
Kantian / duty ethics: Rightness of action depends on the intent. Never treat people like a means to an end.
Test (is it ethical?):
Reversibility (would I be okay if it was done to me?)
Universalizability (would it be okay if it was a universal law)
Respect and free consent (are you respecting the other party and not forcing their choices).
Utilitarian ethics: act in a way that produces the greatest good (and the least harm) for the greatest number of people.
Importance is on the consequences of the action (consequentialism): maximise the good outcomes while reducing the bad outcomes.
Care ethics: ethical actions are actions that demonstrate the actor cares for individual whom they have a special relationship with
It’s okay to do more for some people due to having a special relationship with them (especially if they are vulnerable or dependent on you).
Allows partiality in decision making.
Virtue ethics: does an action reflect your virtues (e.g., benevolence, honesty, compassion, courage, or fairness) instead of vices (e.g., greed, selfishness or cowardice)
Distributive justice: ethical actions lead to a fair distribution of benefits and costs across all involved parties.
Issue: vagueness => what makes distribution fair? => different people say different things, e.g.,
Egalitarians: distribute it all equally!
Capitalists: distribute it based on who works more
Socialists: give more to the ones that need it more.
Rawls (1971): distributive justice is judged based on adherence to three principles:
Equal freedom/liberty for different groups
Equal opportunities to participate (not necessarily equal results)
Differences: helping those in severe need (the ones poor in resources should be supported)
What is business ethics?
rules, standards, codes, or principles which provide guidelines for morally right behaviour and truthfulness in business
What are the sub-fields of contemporary business ethics?
- Morality
- Ethical decision-making
- Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
- Stakeholder theory
What is CSR?
Management’s obligation to make choices and take actions that will contribute to the welfare and interests of society as well as the organisation (so should take into account several stakeholder when deciding course of action for organisations).
Can affect firm success.
Product of social responsibility, responsiveness, and business ethics.
How do you assess CSR in corporations?
Integrity: you act according to your own principles (actions match the words)
Justice:
Procedural justice: Are the procedures fair. Perception that resources allocation was based on fair means and rules.
Distributive justice: Are resources allocated fairly. Perception of equality of sharing of resources and equality of awards received.
Interactional justice: Is behaviour based on respect. Perception of fairness of decision maker’s behaviours in relation to the interpersonal aspect of their decision-making. Includes a good explanation of resource allocation decision and treatment of employee while implementing such a decision.
Accountability: taking accountability both for positive and negative consequences of your actions.
What is stakeholder theory?
Key theoretical framework that supports CSR. Goes against stockholder/shareholder theory (company’s main responsibility is to maximize value for stockholders), stating that there are more people important for the organizations.
One of the most important stakeholders of a company is their employees.
Normative theory: including the needs of many is a norm that should be followed (best norm)
But also, instrumental theory: good ethics (considering all stakeholders) is good for business (increases organizational performance).
So moral and helps business and performance.
Being CSR-oriented makes it more likely to attract, engage, and increase talented employees’ performance and sustainability.
Tool for promoting responsible management of workers.
From stockholder/shareholder perspective to a stakeholder perspective!
E.g.: case of PepsiCo and Nooyi (a former CEO of the company): financial/human/environmental and talent sustainability.
What is the tipple bottom line according to Nancy Adler (2022) regarding business ethics?
Good for people
Good for profit
Good for environment/broader society
What is Swailes et al. (2013) contribution to Business Ethics?
Ethical belief systems and their implications for HR.
Describe Swailes et al. (2013) business ethics evaluation framework.
Kantian/Duty ethics: goodwill and intentions behind talent programmed govern their ethicality (e.g., organizational self-interest would be an unethical intent)
Strong interest is present in organizational motives => not ethical actions.
Are employees treated to an end? (e.g., HC theory and RBV are not ethical)
Utilitarian ethics: participants in talent programs can be seen as a means to an end if the majority benefits. Talent programs are moral when they maximise good to the greatest number and give the least harm to others.
What are the consequences, and does it lead to the best possible allocation of good and harm of all stakeholders (better than all alternatives)?
Exclusive talent can be seen as ethical here.
Care ethics: does the TM program attest to the firm’s sense of responsibility and care regarding the people with whom the firm has special relationships.
Can justify applying more resources in a talent pool or nepotism because of a more special relationship.
Virtue ethics: TM is ethical if it properly identifies employee potential and virtues and enables to develop it to the fullest without denying others the same opportunity AND it attests to organizational virtues (and not vices).
Does not mean that there are no vices, only that the focus should be on virtues.
Distributive justice: elite group is justified if participants are there on own merit and not due to the exclusion of others. Excluded are not denied the opportunity to join the elite group.
Does TM provide equal liberties and opportunities while helping realizing employee potential (help those in heeds to the greatest extent possible)
What is Anlesinya & Amponasah’s contribution to Business Ethics?
Responsible talent management.
Responsible management: encompasses sustainability, stakeholder value – responsibility, and ethics.
Responsible talent management (RTM): organizations’ talent attraction, development and retention practices must be reinforced by principles of corporate responsibility, inclusivity and equity and equal employment opportunities. TM practices and strategies that emphasise an organization’s responsibility to identify, develop and nurture the unique and diverse talents of all workers.
Model developed to strongly advocate for integration of socially RM practices with TM practices.
Rooted in organizational theory, stakeholder theory and inclusive TM.
How can you achieve RTM?
Expanding access to available talent development opportunities
Daily managing weaknesses.
Recognising contributions while giving equal opportunities to flourish (ensures commitment)
What are the key principles of Responsible TM?
The more an organization embodies these principles, the more it will manage talent in a socially responsible way.
Principles:
Inclusivity: organizations fail to accurately identify talented individuals => exclude them from practices =>self-fulfilling prophecy in reverse => not a responsible approach (promotes denial of responsibility to provide equal opportunity for development)
But inclusivity =/= equal contribution from all: employee has talent that does not fit the organizations => support their exit.
But according to this, exclusive TM is never responsible / ethical => use the other two to make it more responsible.
Issue: investing in all workers equally is a financial burden => use a hybrid TM (two approaches for the two different groups)
Corporate responsibility: stockholder theory is not enough => add stakeholder theory (Hybrid TM)
It’s also the company’s responsibility to develop all employees’ talents.
RTM:way of shifting responsibility to all employees. Give them opportunities to develop while increasing talent pool membership (Hybrid approach)
Exclusive talent management is the most used, but it’s unseen cost (e.g., high turnover rates and disengagement)are not considered.
Equity and equal employment opportunity: Based on organizational justice theory. Showing all aspects of justice (distributive, procedural and interpersonal justice) in practice of TM => positive employee outcomes.
Success is largely due to support other employees give talented ones => depend on commitment and contribution of B players which are not fairly recognised.
If you’re using exclusive TM =>negative outcomes.
What do RTM practices usually include?
Responsible talent attraction and identification: based on belief each worker has a unique talent or strength that can be used => needs necessary support and opportunity to develop it.
TM should be accessible to all workers. o Requires: Organizational support and develop of all employees’ careers
Leads to an attractive employee brand.
Responsible talent development: try to develop talent of all workers by shifting focus of talent development to learning-oriented development (all workers to reveal full extent of their abilities) instead of performance-oriented.
Responsible talent retention management: exclusive talent management => perceived inequalities and unfairness. Inclusivity => social exchange theory.
State the RTM principles in practice
Talent attraction and identification:
Inclusivity: Identify unique talents for all employees.
Corporate responsibility (CR): honest/transparent representation of company (employee value proposition)
Equity and equal employment opportunity (EEEO): fair (unbiased) procedure to assess talent)
Talent Development:
Inclusivity: develop unique talents of all employees
CR: sustainable developmen tof talent (for long-term employability not short-term gains)
EEEO: equal opportunities for developing one’s talents/potential
Talent retention: invest equally into the retention of all employees
CR: decent and dignified work for all.
EEEO: fair distribution of resource such as support & respect.
What is an important caveat of RTM principles in practice?
Inclusivity Cannot be used to access exclusive talent management (ETM practice is ethical according to it)
But can still use it to give equal opportunities of everyone to be part of the talent pools.
What are some critical perspectives on CSR and exclusive talent management?
It’s hypocritical to pursue both: can’t have elitist and exclusive practices (only focus on well being of both) while claiming CSR since these practices violate assumptions of equity, fairness and impartiality.
How do you make eclusive TM fairer according to capability approach?
Is there equal opportunity to access TM programs?
Can people self-nominate for TM (high potential) programs?
And are they given similar access treatment and opportunity?
Is there a supportive procedure in place for workers to challenge whether their treatment has been equitable when they have doubts.
What is the capability approach?
Ethical evaluation based on an individuals’ capability of achieving the kind of lives, or being the kind of person they have reason to value.·
People should have the:
Capability (freedom to be and do their) valuable functioning’s (what they have a reason to value).
What are the key concepts of the capability approach?
Resources: input. Everyone can have them but their value depends on ability to convert resources into valuable functioning’s (bike example: we can all have the same bike, but context and individual abilities change how we use them)
Should support people to achieve the life they need (equal opportunities).
Individual capability set: individual options that an individual has real access to.
SO you have resources that can be translated into capabilities which you choose.
Achieved functioning: valuable functioning people select. Option chosen.
So what you chose out of individual capability set.
Examine distributive and utilitarian ethics based on the capability approach
Would criticize distributive justice: focus too much of fair allocation of resources, ignoring how well people convert them (so same resources =/= same options).
Would criticize utilitarian ethics: focus too much on achieved functioning which is unfair since it does not take into account external factors that could have stopped them in achieving it.
So according to distributive justice, should give more resources to those who perform better, without thinking on why they performed better.
What is the ongoing ethical debate about inclusive TM?
Inclusive TM is not ethical by definition.·
Critiques: ITM is too concerned with sameness
Isequal investment fair if some contribute more?
Against utilitarian ethics perspective and violates merit-based allocation
Advocates:also, about differentiation (but different than in ETM).
Differentiation in terms of recognizing unique strengths and amount of support needed to convert resources into value (capability approach)
Evaluate FITM based on kantian and virtue ethics
Kantian ethics
Fully inclusive TM fits Kantian ideals (treating others as a universal law, and as ends not means) => FITM is the better option.
Virtue ethics: more virtuous since it is done to advance the well-being and fortunes of others, even if the organization may benefit from their enhanced performance.
What is your opinion of FITM?
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