Ethical_Issues_in_Management__Hiring

Ethical Issues in Management: Hiring Members of management function in many different capacities. One of the most important roles and responsibilities is that of the hiring of new employees. When in the process of selecting people to hire, management looks for individuals that are qualified to do the job for which they are being hired. They also seek to hire individuals that will support the company’s vision and values. Throughout the entire process of hiring, members of management must take care to avoid any comments, actions, or decisions that could thought to be ethically questionable so as to avoid any legal troubles. In addition, organizations need to ensure that they are following all employment regulations set in place by government and have processes in place that are not thought to be ethically questionable and are in line with these regulations. Ethical Issues There are many moral and ethical issues that management has to deal with when hiring new employees and that is why the entire process of hiring new employees is not an easy one. One issue a manager may have to face when considering prospective employees is that of nepotism. Nepotism is “favoritism granted to relatives or friends, without regard to their merit” (Nepotism, 2010). In the case of a hiring manager, a nepotism-type conflict could arise if a person used his or her position of power or authority to influence the hiring process of a friend or relative. There are many practical steps that a hiring manager can apply to avoid or resolve any issues with nepotism when in the hiring process. Some of these steps include: reviewing the company’s policies on nepotism and ensure that you follow them, work with your human resources department to resolve any issues, and not allowing rumors to thrive and encourage unjustified views of nepotism that could impact the organization in a negative manner. (Heinz, et al, 2006) Federal Laws As mentioned in the previous paragraph, there are many regulations that are in place concerning the hiring of employees and most of them protect the prospective employees. The first law is the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) “which protects men and women who perform substantially equal work in the same establishment from sex-based wage discrimination” (EEO, 2010). The second law is Title Seven of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This act “prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” (EEO, 2010). The next law is the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA); this law “protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older” (EEO, 2010). The fourth law, sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, “prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities who work in the federal government” (EEO, 2010). The fifth law is “Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (ADA), which prohibit employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in the private sector, and in state and local governments” (EEO, 2010). The seventh law is Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), “which prohibits employment discrimination based on genetic information about an applicant, employee, or former employee” (EEO, 2010). All of these federal laws prohibit hiring managers from discriminating against any prospective employee on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, and genetics. These laws are enforced by the United States’ Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). An organization, if thought to be in violation of any of these laws by a prospective employee, could face a lawsuit and may have to money if found guilty, due to the Civil Rights Act of 1991 which “provides monetary damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination” (EEO, 2010). Social Issues In addition to the Federal Laws that members of management need to comply with when going through the hiring process, there are also many social issues that can make the process very difficult as well. Presently, a huge social issue that is facing many Americans is that of the economy. The present issues with America’s economy includes unemployment, decline in housing market – foreclosures, and the huge debt of America, both as a country and with America’s citizens. One might ask how the state of the economy becomes a social issue that could pose an ethical dilemma for a hiring manager. Well for one thing, many employers are now requiring potential employees to submit to a credit check during the hiring process. This is not a standard across all companies but it is becoming more and more popular given the times in which we are living. Potential employers have always been “permitted to conduct an employment credit check” (Credit Check, 2010) as part of a background check. Presently, there are no laws prohibiting this, however, I do feel that this is something that is ethically questionable and could be found to be discriminatory. There are many reasons why a person’s credit score may not be favorable, especially these days. A person who is currently interviewing may have been out of work for over a year and in that time was unable to pay his or her bills on time. In extreme cases, this person may have gone through a home foreclosure due to being unemployed for so long. These are all things that will affect a person’s credit score. Does this mean that the person is not responsible and would be unable to perform the job for which he or she is applying - absolutely not. Another social issue that presents an ethical dilemma for hiring managers is that of illegal drugs and the prevalent use in America’s society today. Because of this fact, many employers require potential employees to be drug tested. This is meant to be a good requirement as prospective employees would choose not to do drugs so that they could be hired. However, some feel that this type of test is not ethical because it invades a person’s privacy and violate his or her rights. Workplace Example In the next few paragraphs I will review am example that could present an ethical dilemma to a hiring manager. A hiring manager at a pharmaceutical company needs to fill an opening in the accounting department. There are two candidates – one is the son of a manager in the accounting department and the other is an external candidate. The son of the manager meets the minimum qualifications for the job and the other candidate has a Masters degree in accounting from a great school and has also passed the CPA examination. Both candidates apply through the normal channels, however, the father of the one candidate comes to you and implies that you can expect a raise if you hire his son. While there are no federal laws that should govern what the manager should do, there should be guidelines from the company that prohibit this sort of favoritism when hiring employees. More than anything, the hiring manager should realize that his or her actions could hurt the company if he or she decides to go with the less qualified candidate. In addition, it could be perceived that employees are hired based on favoritism and this would not be good for the organization. (Heinz et al, 2006) References Credit Check. (2010). Employment Credit Check. Retrieved on April 25, 2010 from the Employee Issues website: http://employeeissues.com/credit_check.htm. Equal Opportunity Laws (EEO). (2010). Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination Questions And Answers. Retrieved on April 25, 2010 from the The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website: http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/qanda.html. Heinze, T. C., T. K. Kizirian, and W. Leese. (2006). Teaching Cases On Conflicts Of Interest In The Workplace: How To Avoid Ethical Dilemma. Journal of College Teaching and Learning. Volume 2. Number 4. October 2006.http://www.cluteinstitute-onlinejournals.com/PDFs/200631.pdf. Nepotism. (2010). Retrieved on April 25, 2010 from Wikipedia.com: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepotism.