Problem Based Learning-Human Resource Management (Term Paper Sample)

Problem Based Learning-Human Resource Management
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Problem Based Learning-Human Resource Management
Sue Davenport, the Human Resources Director in her company, is faced with a dilemma of what to do or recommend to her company. Sue, is in a dilemma because she has been recently promoted to become the head of a newly created Quality Assurance Division, in which she would control the personal expenditure of the company’s senior employees. This was as a result of reporting Murphy, one of the senior employees in the company, to the Audit Committee and the Board of Directors about his misappropriation, embezzlement, and ‘petty’ thefts of the company’s funds. To make the matter complex, Murphy is a longtime friend of the company’s CEO who seems to shield him from discipline. The CEO had threatened to fire Sue and Robert, the Internal Auditor when they went to report Murphy to him. The CEO defends Murphy by saying that he has been a valuable asset to the company because he has been making millions of dollars to the company, and therefore, his sins are negligible to call for his dismissal or discipline. The Audit Committee and the Board also agree with the CEO’s idea because they readily accept Murphy’s baseless reasons of why he has been stealing the company’s funds.
Sue has a relatively large family of four children, who are depending solely on her. Additionally, her salary has been increased. Sue argues that it is important to discipline Murphy for his actions because failure to do that would send the wrong picture of the company to other employees. The chair of the Audit Committee counters her argument by saying that Murphy’s actions are not known by many and that the morale would die if he is punished. Sue is in a dilemma because she knows that what Murphy did was a breach of the Code of Ethics, and as a member of AHRI (Australian Human Resources Institute), she has the duty of abiding by the Code of Ethics. Still, she has a family to cater for, and she has the fear of losing her job if she continues agitating Murphy to be disciplined. Also, Sue has questions about her promotion to her new position with expanded responsibility. As a human resource professional, I will address various HR issues that would help Susan to crack her dilemma and present the most efficient decision to the CEO about what should be done to Murphy, and to prevent such situations from happening in the future.
Employees should allow the ethical code of conduct to act as their guide in everything they do. They are presented with a great deal of ethical, legal, and moral responsibilities that they should adhere. Therefore, it is important to adhere and focus on these responsibilities when working, recruiting, training, or terminating other employees because compliance with these responsibilities can lead to negative or positive consequences (Gael, 2014). Additionally, compliance with the ethical code leads to a reduction in time wasted in conflicts and cases, and also simplifies complex situations and events. Therefore, for Sue to make appropriate decisions, she should focus on the ethical code of conduct to determine what to decide for Murphy, and also to ensure that the situation does not recur in future. For Sue to make an appropriate decision, it is important for her to make decisions that concur with the code of ethics. Additionally, making ethical decisions involves evaluation and selection of the best alternative that corresponds to the ethical values. Making ethical decisions requires the following (Wiley, 2000);
Commitment: Strong desire to do what is right and act ethically regardless of the situation or cost
Consciousness: Awareness to act ethically and to apply moral principles to daily activities.
Competency: Ability to gather and assess information, come up with possible alternatives, and forecast possible risks and consequences
Therefore, Susan should do the following to make an appropriate decision, which would benefit her and the company. She should identify the common features of poor decision-making, learn to counter requests to perform unethically, and recognize techniques to lead ethically (Boatright, 2009).
Identify common features of poor decision-making
It is common for ethical employees to make unethical or poor decisions when they are overconfident, when faced with a complex situation that they cannot understand, and when the corporate governance structures do not exist or are weak. Confidence is always recommended in a business, but it is not advised to allow overconfidence to lead you in making illogical justifications or overlooking the complexity of a situation or problem. Additionally, it is important to have strong corporate governance structures to act as guidelines for making decisions. Lack of corporate governance structures in Sue’s company is what made the case of Murphy to be complex and difficult to handle. This is because all the opinions of the officials were varied and no one was considered to be wrong. Sue should present to the CEO a proposal of establishing clear and ethical governance structure of what should happen or be done in certain situations such as the one at hand.
Learn to counter requests to perform unethically
For someone to live a happy life, it is important to act ethically. Acting ethically, means that one must avoid any forces that drive him or her in acting unethically. In a corporation, the best way to learn how to act ethically is by comprehending the company’s ethical codes or guidelines and the employee manual so as to learn what is acceptable or unacceptable in the company; if it is unclear, it is important to research and find out what happens. If the subject or situation under consideration is unethical, it is important to seek advice from the HR department or any legal professional familiar with such a situation. Hence, if Sue avoids disciplining Murphy, it means that she has decided to act in an unethical way because it is clear that he has been stealing from the company. As earlier stated, the complexity of a situation should not make someone act unethically. Thus, Sue should not fear to lose her job; instead, she should seek advice from a legal professional who would guide her on what to do to avoid being victimized for her ethical act. Susan should call for the discipline of Murphy as per the employee guideline manual and rules.
Recognize techniques to lead ethically
Leading ethically involves acting ethically. If the boss leads and acts in an unethical manner, then he stimulates little or no respect from those he or she leads. Moreover, the other employees develop temptations to do unethical actions if they learn that their leaders are acting unethically. Another way that leaders can adopt ethical behavior is by stipulating the company’s fundamental values, guiding beliefs, and the code of ethics. Boatright (2009), states that enforcing an operational code of ethics provides an efficient tool for employees to resist any pressure to undertake illegal or unethical actions. Boatright adds that another technique that leaders can adopt to resist unethical deeds is by reinforcing ethical actions and punishing unethical deeds with the suitable consequences. Susan is a leader in the company; therefore, she is bound to act ethically to lead ethically. It is clear that Murphy acted unethically by stealing funds from the company. As the director of the newly created Quality Assurance Division and previously the Director of Human Resource, it is upon her to act ethically by ensuring that an ethical action is taken to Murphy. Her argument that stated that not disciplining Murphy would send the wrong message is ethically valid.
Based on Susan’s case, it is also clear that the company has a weak code of ethics as well as the Human Resource Management (HRM) and Employee Relations (ER) rules. Therefore, to avoid future dilemma and complications, it is important for Susan to present the CEO with an idea of instituting reliable and effective ethical principles and consequences for those who act in an unethical manner. The ethical guidelines should be instituted to cater for all positions in the company, whether in management or the junior staff. An effective Ethical code of conduct should be guided by the following key concerns (Julian, Holland, & Gough, 2013).
Professional Responsibility
All human resources in a company should commit and contribute to their corporation with moral integrity. It is also vital for the human resources in an organization to make decisions that are guided by the set ethics, act by the law, advocate for other employees, and impact their organization in a positive manner.
Ethical Leadership
All the employees should be conversant with the ethical guidelines and should lead according to the ethical codes. It is crucial for the leaders to have good skills to make ethical decisions because poor decisions can lead to adverse effects on the organization or even the person herself.
Fairness and Justice
The ethical code that is set to guide the human resources in an organization should incorporate fairness and justice. The code should provide a framework that discourages biases and compromise while promoting equality. That is to mean that all the employees should be equally treated, without any leniency to any group of employees. Rewards and punishment should be fair to everybody in the organization. Additionally, recruitment, training, promotion, and retrenchment or dismissal should be based on fairly set guidelines. Justice should also be done in a fair manner to all the employees.
Therefore, Murphy lacked professional responsibility by stealing the organization's cash and manipulating transactions against the organizations rules. Although he was a valuable asset in the company who brought big p...