Ethical and Fair Treatment

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Ethical and Fair Treatment
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What is Ethical Behavior?

• Between right and wrong is a troublesome gray
  area.
• Boeing Aircraft
• Loyalty vs truth
• Individual vs community
• Short-term vs long-term
• Justice vs mercy (Kidder, 1995)
• Kidder, RM. How Good People Make Tough Choices
  Resolving the Dilemmas of Ethical Living. New
  York, NY Simon and Schuster 1995.

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What is the Difference Between Ethics and
Fairness?

• Ethics involve
• Normative judgments (i.e., right vs wrong)
• Morality (i.e., societys accepted standards of
  behavior
• Fairness involves
• Procedural justice (Fair Process)
• Distributive justice (Fair Outcomes)

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So, Whats the Problem?

• Everyone has a different view of ethics
• Reasonable people disagree on what is right,
  just, fair, and reasonable
• Understanding how all of us view what is ethical
  is important for leading others and setting
  policy

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What Influences Ethics?

• Individual influences (moral standards and
  values)
• Organizational factors (reward system, culture)
• Influence of manager/leader (modeling)

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Enforceable Ethical Standards

• Organizations are also realizing that employees
  need clarification on ethical standards and
  expectations
• Ethical behavior should be part of employee
  selection, training, evaluation, and rewards

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Next time.

• Well look at
• Discipline
• Involuntary Termination

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Discipline and Terminations
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In this session.

• Well discuss the purpose of discipline
• Well discuss two types of discipline
• Progressive Discipline
• Discipline without Punishment
• Well look at the least favorite part of
  HRM--letting an employee goand how to avoid
  legal, safety, and financial grief

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What is Discipline?

• Discipline encourages employees to adhere to
  rules, policies, performance standards, and a
  general respect for others
• Unfairness in discipline and general perceived
  unfair treatment of employees is the number one
  reason grievances are filed in union shops
• Discipline generally is a short-term fix of a
  more serious underlying problem with a system or
  a person

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Objectives of Discipline

• What are you trying to accomplish when you
  begin disciplining an employee?
• Correction of a performance or behavioral
  problem

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Progressive Discipline

• Progressive Discipline is a good idea if its
  consistently followed, and a bad idea if it
  isnt!
• Get the correct facts and dont make assumptions
• Document each and every step of the investigation
  and interview
• Establish consequences and rationale
• Follow-through with what you say youll do

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Nonpunitive Discipline

• Nonpunitive Discipline is geared toward gaining
  acceptance of the rules/policies, not just
  short-term compliance with them
• Issue an oral reminder that gets the employee to
  solve the problem himself
• Issue a written reminder if a second incident
  occurs, and meet privately with the employee
• Give a paid decision-making leave that forces
  the employee to decide if s/he wants to stay with
  the organization
• If no further incidents occur over a years
  period, the most serious disciplinary step is
  removed from the employees file

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Terminating an Employee

• Technically, Employment-at-Will is a doctrine
  that allows the employer or the employee to
  terminate, for any cause or no cause at all, the
  employment relationship
• Problems with terminations, however, often result
  in Wrongful Discharge suits because of state
  and federal laws that limit managements right to
  terminate employees at will
• Make sure the termination interview follows the
  (6) guidelines on page 315, especially to avoid
  work place violence and legal retribution

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Wrongful Discharge

• Avoiding Wrongful Discharge suits require
  employers to
• Follow policy and procedures so that terminations
  are perceived as fair
• Make sure no Implied Contract exists in any
  documentation (e.g., handbooks, applications,
  appraisals, promotion and salary increase
  letters, etc.)

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Layoffs, Downsizing and Retirement

• Nondisciplinary terminations are more common
  today, mostly because of poor management of an
  organization
• Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act
  of 1989 requires 60 days notice for employers of
  100 or more who plan on closing their plant (or
  who plan to layoff at least 50 people or 1/3 of
  their workforce)
• Retirements are very difficult for most employees
  who have worked all their lives, because they are
  a bit lost after they retire

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Remember.

• Discipline is for correction of a problemnot
  license to punish and demean employees
• Even though discipline and terminations are
  unpleasant, continued poor performance is worse!