Ethics Seminar

ETHICS IN RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION

PROJECT REPORT ON


SUBMITTED TO: - SUBMITTED BY:

PROF.SATINDER KUMAR ANUPREET GREWALPROFESSOR (SEMINAR) MBA- 2nd (A)

PUNJABI UNIVERSITY PATIALA ROLL NO-6234


PATIALA


Abstract

Human resource management deals with manpower planning and development related

activities in an organization. It is that branch of management where ethics really matter, since

it concerns human issues specially those of compensation, development, industrial relations

and health and safety issues. Discussions in ethics in HRD stem from employee relationships

and whether or not there can be a standard for the same. Employee rights and duties and

freedom and discrimination at the workplace are the major issues discussed . For example,

right to privacy, right to be paid in accordance with the work (fair compensation) and right to

privacy are some areas that cannot be compromised upon. Human Resource Management is a

business function that is concerned with managing relations between groups of people in their

capacity as employees, employers and managers. Inevitably, this process may raise questions

about what the respective responsibilities and rights of each party are in this relationship, and

about what constitutes fair treatment. These

questions are ethical in nature. Ethics set social behavior in the track of personal morality.

Business ethics is supposed to set the business behavior on the track of fairness, justice and

equity. Corporate Governance is responsible for setting business behavior on ethical line. The

paper focuses on ethics in HR. It also aims to discuss the corporate governance, ethical

standards and the ethical issues in HR.


INTRODUCTION TO HR

Human resource management deals with manpower planning and development related

activities in an organization. The Human Resource Department has evolved from a personnel

administration department to a personnel development department. It ensures the recruitment

of value driven people to ethically critical positions.

Human Resource Management is a business function that is concerned with managing

relations between groups of people in their capacity as employees, employers and managers.

Inevitably, this process may raise questions about what the respective responsibilities and

rights of each party are in this relationship, and about what constitutes fair treatment. These

questions are ethical in nature, and this chapter will focus on debates about the ethical basis

of human resource management. Despite these moral appreciations of human resource

management (HRM), there is a strong tradition in business that insists that business should

not be concerned with ethics. As Milton Friedman, a vociferous proponent of this position,

has put it:’ The social responsibility of business is to its shareholders. . . . The business of

business is business’ (1970). The core concern of business – proponents of the market

economy argue – is in attempting to secure the best possible return on any investment. Any

dilution of this focus will lead to the corruption of what is a finely balanced system.

Businesses that seek to be ‘ethical’ as well as profitable will probably fail economically,

following which the whole community may suffer. Rather, let the invisible hand guide the

market and all will prosper. Like some evolutionary force, the best will always survive.

Wealth will trickle down from successful enterprises, and humanity will be best served. Any

constraint on the freedoms of the market – be they motivated by ethical angst or vote-seeking

government policy – will just mess everything up.

Business houses, right from the inception of human race, have been regarded as constructive

partners in the communities in which they operate. Though they have been instrumental in

creating employment, wealth, products and services, yet the pressure on business to play a

role in social issues involving employees, stakeholders, society, environment, government

etc. is continuously increasing.


HR ETHICAL ISSUES

Ethical issues abound in HR activities. Areas of ethical misconduct in the personnel function include employment, remuneration and benefits, labour relations, health and safety, training and development, and HRIS (hr ethical issues).

Cash and incentives plans

This includes base salaries, annual incentive plans, long term incentive plans, executive

perquisites, and separation agreements.

Base salaries

The HR function is often presumed to justify a higher level of base salaries, or a higher

percentage increase than what competitive practice calls for. In some cases, pressure is

exerted to re-evaluate the position to a higher grade for the purpose of justifying a larger than

normal increase.

Annual incentive plan

The HR manager is often forced to design and administer top-management incentive plans, at

higher raters than what the individuals deserve. A common rationale presented to the HR


executive for bending the rules is the fear of losing the outstanding executives, if higher

incentives are not paid.

Long-term incentive plan

Just as with annual incentive plan, many HR executives have the responsibility of designing

and administering the firm’s long term incentive plans, but in consultation with CEO and an

external consultant. Ethical issues arise when the HR executive is put to pressure to favour

top management interests over those of other employees an investors.

Executive perquisites

Executive perquisites make the ethical standard of the HR executive difficult because their

cost is often out of proportion to the value added. For example a story relates to Bangalore –

based ,losing making public sector undertaking whose CEO spend 20 lakh to get swimming

pool built at his residence.

Performance Appraisal

Performance appraisal lends itself to ethical issues. Assessment of an individual’s

performance is based on observation and judgment. HR manager are expected to observe the

performance in order to judge its effectiveness. Ethics should be the cornerstone of

performance evaluation, and the overall objective of high ethical performance reviews should

to provide an honest assessment of the performance and mutually develops a plan to improve

the rate’s effectiveness.

Race, Gender, Age, and Disability

The practice of treatment of employees according to their race, ethnic origin, sex, or

disability has largely been stopped. A framework of laws and regulations has evolved that has

significantly improved work place behaviour. No enterprise today dare to publicly state it

denies minorities, woman, and the disable opportunities for employment, remuneration, and

growth prospects different from those given to others. In this environment the role of HR

function is to:


Monitor the principles and norms of the enterprise to ensure that they reflect the values of

the society as expressed in its law.

Monitor the selection, rewards, development and, the appraisal system to ensure that they

are consistent with the principles and norms.

vigorously pursue violations and, when necessary, vigorously work to defend the

enterprise against unfounded allegations.

Employment Issue

While discrimination and harassment situation receives mort publicity, HR practitioners are

more likely to face ethical dilemmas in the areas of employee hiring. One challenge

commonly encountered is pressure to hire a relative or a friend of a highly placed executive.

Another area related to employment is that of faked credentials submitted by a job applicant.

While discovery of this kind of fabrication usually leads to termination of the employment,

the choice becomes difficult when the applicant has a blend of skills set and a proven track

record with his or her previous employers.

Privacy issues

Privacy issues to protecting a person’s private life from intrusive and unwarranted actions.

The employee believes that his or her religious, political, and social believes as well as

personal life style are private matters and should be safe guarded from being snooped or

analysed. Exceptions are permitted grudgingly only when job involvement is clearly

involved. For example, it may not be inappropriate to intrude into an employee’s private

matter if it is suspected that he or she discusses with competitor, through email messages, the

specification of newly developed product not yet launched into the market.

Safety and health

Much of the industrial work is hazardous. This is because of the extensive use of high speed

and noisy machinery, production processes requiring high temperature, an increasing reliance

on chemical compounds .Accidents, injuries and illnesses are likely to occur under these

circumstances. Over past decade, new categories of accident and illness have emerged,

including the fast growing job safety problem of office injuries.


Restructuring and Layoffs

Restructuring and consequent layoffs have become relevant because of poor management, but

incompetence does not become unethical. There are ethical implications in the process by

which termination decisions are made and actions taken.

For example if restructuring requires closing a plant, the process by which that plant is

chosen ,how the news will be communicated ,and the time frame for completing the layoffs

are ethically important .If conducted in an atmosphere of fairness and equity and with dignity

of the affected individuals in mind, the action is ethical.

Ethical Dilemmas

Several ethical dilemmas comfort an HR manager. The ethical dilemmas arise from three

sources-faces to face ethics, policy ethics, and functional area ethics.

Face to face ethics

These arise mainly because there is a human element in most business transactions. Business

is composed of this human transaction; it should not be surprising that face to face ethical

dilemmas arise often. It is likely that the quality assurance man overlooks minor defects and

approves a lot delivered by a supplier because of the personal relationship that the two enjoy.

Corporate policy ethics

Companies are often faced with ethical dilemmas that affect their operations across all

departments and divisions. The consequences of employment contraction in labour intensive

basic industries because of the improved methods of production .Modern technology has

replaced older methods of production which has in turn resulted in hundreds being jobless.

The ethical burden of deciding corporate policy matters normally rests upon a company’s HR

management. The Hr manager and directors are responsible for making policies and

implementing them too. The ethical content of their policies can have enormous impact

throughout the company. It can set an ethical tone and send right signals to all employees as

well as external stakeholder.

Functional area Ethics


Functional area of a business is likely to comfort ethical issues. Accounting is a critical

function of any business. Accounting statements reveals to the manager and owner the

financial soundness of a company. Managers, investors, regulating agencies, tax collectors

and trade unions rely on accounting data to make decisions. Honesty, integrity accuracy are

absolute requirements of the accounting functions.

Account standard ensure a high level of honest an ethical accounting disclosure. Ethical

dilemmas crop up in purchasing departments where strong pressure is to obtain the lowest

possible prizes from suppliers and where too felt similar need it bag lucrative contracts.

Bribes, kickbacks, and discriminating pricing are temptation to both parties.

There are many definitions for ethics: According to Compton (2007), ethics means a system

of moral principles; the rules of conduct recognized; the rightness and wrongness of certain

actions. But there is only one clear, consistent guideline for incorporating ethical practices

when presenting: Ethical conduct starts with the Presenter. In this research, the main aim is to

show that when presenting certain issues to adult learners, an instructor or HR specialists

according Compton (2007) are expected to:

-Make ethics a priority;

-Set a good example of ethical conduct;

-Keep commitments;

- Be sensitive to culture, beliefs, and environment of the learners.

-Consider ethics in decision making.

Ethical issues are rarely simple to adhere to because individuals' ethical sensitivities vary,

program presenters need to evaluate individual cases to ensure protocols are followed;

Goldman (2008). It is actually not easy, but it is important. Ethics is a social construction;

there is no real line between right and wrong. Societies, as groups, develop basic ethical

values, which individuals use to determine whether actions between societal members and

others are right or wrong (e.g., ethical or unethical). Societal institutions, such as religion,

schools, and organizations, help shape individual determinants of ethical behavior. However,

each individual has different ethical practices and principles that are based on underlying


values (Lawrence, Weber and Post, 2005).

How does an adult educator unpack ethical issues within mentoring contexts, especially when

those issues nest in interpersonal relationships? A variety of uncomfortable situations may

arise, First, Presenters may be friendly with their learners, but friendships between presenters

and learners are tricky and have the potential to hurt both parties involved.

Human Resources professionals are responsible for several roles in the workplace, including

implementing and managing policies, recruiting and retention, and training and development.

The HR department is responsible for making sure that organizations conduct business

ethically and that shareholders are treated ethically.

The HR department must be able to monitor compliance with federal and state laws and

regulations as well as monitor the conduct of the organization. Implementing and managing

policies is just one piece of the HR and ethics relationship, the HR professional must also

conduct themselves in an ethical manner. This paper will examine the role that human

resources plays in organizational ethics, and how important HR functions are to

organizationalethics.

In business ethics can define as the ability and willingness to reflect on values of an

organizations decision-making process, and determine how the values of the organization and

the decisions of the organization affect stakeholders.

Human Resources Management primary responsibility is to develop practices that will

enhance an organization’s competitive advantage over other organizations in the same

market. Human Resources also have a responsibility to ensure that their organization

conducts business ethically and that shareholders are treated ethically. Business decisions,

and policies that are implemented have ethical consequences and HR should have input in all

business transactions. Human Resources professionals have many roles concerning ethics in

the workplace, monitoring: observing actions of the organizations members, investigation:

investigating complaints concerning ethical issues, and spokesperson: ethics advocate,

leadingbyexample.

“Ethics is integrally related to the contributions of HR because wherever two people exist in a

relationship, ethical issues are present”


Wikipedia defines ethics as "elements of professional practice that are part of dispute

resolution or which have some great potential for: bodily harm, urban planning, medicine,

law, politics and theories of civics Today when a person turns on the news all they hear about

is the ethical crises making the headlines. Companies have to protect themselves from ethical

issues like embezzlement, fraud, or misuse of company products or services. An ethics

statement explains how a business operates. The objective of the ethics statement is to ensure

that the highest standards of ethical behaviour is practiced while conducting business and

ultimately acting in the best interest the company. A large part of a Human Resource

professional's role is to be strategic business partners.

Most people are disgusted with the state of ethics in America. They are sick of dishonesty

and unethical dealings by both the company and its employees. An ethical dilemma can be

defined as an undesirable or unpleasant choice relating to a moral principle or practice. One

problem is that ethics is never a business issue or a social issue or a political issue - it is

always a personal issue. People say they want integrity, but at the same time, ironically, the

majority of people do not always act with the integrity they expected from others. What do

we do in such situations? Do we do the easy thing or the right thing? For example, what

should I do when a clerk gives me too much change? What should I say when a convenient

lie can cover a mistake? How far should I go in my promises to win a client? As human

beings, we seem prone to fail personal ethics tests. Many people believe that embracing

ethics would limit their options, their opportunities, and their very ability to succeed in

business.

John Maxwell, in the first chapter of "There's No Such Thing As "Business" Ethics: There's

Only One Rule For Making Decisions" titled "Whatever Happened to Business Ethics?" says

that most people are disgusted with the state of ethics in America, and are sick of dishonesty

and unethical dealings by both the company and its employees (2003). One of the definitions

of an ethical dilemma states that it is undesirable or/and unpleasant choice relating to a moral

principle or practice. One problem is that ethics is never a business issue or a social issue or a

political issue - it is always a personal issue. People say they want integrity, but at the same

time, ironically, the majority of people do not always act with the integrity they expected

from others. The question is - what should be done in such situations? And what is it indeed-

the easy way or the right way? For instance, what should I do when a clerk gives me too

much change? Should I lie in case there is a chance to cover a mistake? Is there a limit in my


promises aiming to win a client? As human beings, we seem prone to fail personal ethics

tests.

Ethical challenges abound in HRM. Each day, in the course of executing and communicating

HR decisions, managers have the potential to change, shape, redirect, and fundamentally alter

the course of other people's lives. Managers make hiring decisions that reward selected

applicants with salaries, benefits, knowledge, and skills, but leave the remaining applicants

bereft of these opportunities and advantages. Managers make promotion decisions that

reward selected employees with raises, status, and responsibility, leaving other employees

wondering about their future and their potential.

Managers make firing and lay-off decisions in order to improve corporate performance, all

the while harming the targeted individuals and even undermining the commitment and energy

of the survivors. Even when managers complete performance appraisals and deliver

performance feedback, they may inspire one employee and devastate another. For each HR

practice, there are winners and there are losers: those who get the job, or receive a portfolio

of benefits, and those who do not. It is therefore a reality of organizational life that managers

engage in acts that harm people. These tasks have important consequences for individuals,

organizations, and society. Although individuals might prefer to avoid per forming them

altogether (Bazerman, Tenbrunsel, and Wade-Benzoni 1999; Folger and Skarlicki 1998;

Tesser and Rosen 1975), failure to accomplish these tasks threatens the greater good for

which they are intended.


One of the main reasons behind successful businesses failing, profitably running businesses

suffering from a downfall and some effective corporations seeing a great fall in their profits

and popularity is due to the lack of business ethics. A true understanding of the right and

wrong and the ability to distinguish between them is ethics. Ethics is an important part of life

and running a successful business is no exception to this.

Business Ethics

What is ethics? Ethics are moral principles that govern a persons or groups behavior.

Business Ethics can be defined as written and unwritten codes of principles and values that

govern decisions and actions within a company. Business Ethics can also be used to

describe the actions of individuals within an organization, as well as the organization as a

whole.

Ethics is one of the most important things that need to be addressed in running a business.

When businesses discuss ethics it usually consists of: avoid breaking any criminal law’s in

one’s work-related activity, avoid actions that may result in civil lawsuits against the

company, and avoid actions that make the company image look bad. The failure to

understand business ethics can lead to a business closing down or getting sued. It can also

lead to a bad reputation, injury, or even death.

For a business to achieve long-term profits, customer relationship is of utmost importance.

A business must be based on ethics in order to gain a long –term relationship with the

customer. When a customer trusts a company they will continue to do business with them,

as well as tell family and friends about the service.



INTRODUCTION

Ethics are the principles or standards that guide day-to-day business activities in accordance

with established corporate values. Ethical business conduct offers a wide range of

organizational integrity, involving strategy, business goals, policies and activities. Among

ethical values are trust, respect, honesty, responsibility and the overall pursuit of perfection.

RECRUITMENT: refers to the processes followed by organisations when they wish to

attract applicants for vacant or new positions.

SELECTION: follows the recruiting process with the appointment of the most suited

applicant to the position.

Ethics in the field of hiring, staffing and recruitment is based on a combination of things

and depends on who is actually involved in the hiring process. Certainly the job searcher,

hiring manager and recruiter are just three possible people involved in a hiring decision.

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION

Recruitment refers to the process of finding possible candidates for a job or function,

undertaken by recruiters. It may be undertaken by an employment agency or a member of

staff at the business or organization looking for recruits. Advertising is commonly part of the

recruiting process, and can occur through several means: through newspapers, using


newspaper dedicated to job advertisement, through professional publication, using

advertisements placed in windows, through a job centre, through campus interviews etc.

Recruitment is understood as the process of searching for and obtaining applicants for jobs

from among whom the right people can be selected. Recruitment is the process of locating &

attracting qualified candidates for Job vacancies within an organization. It is the two way

process; it satisfies the organization strategic requirement It helps candidates to assess the

job, the organization and whether they meet the position requirement.

SELECTION- is the process of carefully screening the candidates to choose the most

suitable persons for the job vacancies to be filled. Under it the qualifications, experience and

background of applicants are evaluated in the light of job requirements. It is the process of

dividing the candidates into two categories, namely (a) those who are to be employed, and (b)

those who are to be rejected. It is called a negative process because unsuitable candidates are

eliminated or rejected in order to identify the suitable candidates. The number of candidates

rejected is much more than those actually selected. Moreover, tests, interviews and other

techniques of selection are more reliable for rejection of unsatisfactory candidates than for

identifying the ideal candidates. Selection is always done after recruitment. The basic purpose

of selection is to choose the right type of candidates to fill various positions in the

organisation.

Selection is a multistep process. It involves a series of steps by which candidates are screened

to identify the most suitable persons for the job. Selection is a difficult process as it involves

discretion and judgement. The selectors have to find out the best possible fit between the job

and the candidate. The candidates who meet the job requirements in the most satisfactory

manner are finally selected.

IMPORTANCE OF SELECTION-

Selection is an important function of personnel management. Errors committed at the time of

selection may prove very costly. If the selection process is faulty, unsuitable candidates are

appointed. As a result, the efficiency of the organisation goes down. Such persons shirk work

and absent themselves from work quite frequently. They may ultimately leave their jobs. This

leads to waste of time and money spent on their selection and training. Proper selection and


placement of personnel are essential for building up a suitable work-force. It helps to improve

the efficiency of operations and the morale of employees. The rates of labour turnover and

absenteeism can be kept low through proper selection of employees. Selection of the right

person for each job helps to improve the quantity and quality of performance. It also assists in

minimising wastage and cost of resources. Proper selection helps in building up a competent

and satisfied work force.

When right type of candidates is selected for all jobs, work efficiency and job satisfaction

will be high. Rates of labour turnover and absenteeism will be low. Once wrong persons are

selected and made permanent in their jobs it is very difficult to terminate them. Such persons

become a great liability to the enterprise. The performance of a manager depends partly on

his subordinates. Employees without necessary skills and attitudes will do a poor job. The

performance of management and the company will suffer. Proper selection is also important

because costs of recruitment and selection are high.

Recruitment and selection process held an important role for building a strong sales force

performance. This process requires the company to invest through human capital as an

important resource. The objective of this process is searching for qualified candidates to fulfil

the right positions and hopes that they can make long-run returns for the company. Even

though there is no right or wrong way how the company chooses the right candidates for

certain positions, every single step in recruiting and selecting candidates should be taken

carefully in order to get the right person in the right position.

There are few problems associated with inadequate implementation of recruitment and

selection process such as :

1. Inadequate sales coverage and lack of customer follow-up

2. Increased training costs to overcome deficiencies

3. More supervisory problems

4. Higher turnover rates

5. Difficulty in establishing enduring relationships with customers

6. Suboptimal total sales force performance


The company that acknowledge these problems, tries to minimise it and set their own

approach, therefore the process of recruiting and selecting people would differ from one to

another company. It depends on type of industry, the size of the company, company’s

activities, and the needs of the company such as the goals of the company which will be

achieved in a certain period of time, short term or long term profits and the sustainable

growth of the company.

In its process, clear defined of job qualifications and job descriptions will help the company

to acquire the right person in the right position. This will make the recruiter’s job easier to

find the most suitable person for the company because it limits and narrow down the number

of applicant based on certain requirement of the company.

Today, in every organisation personnel planning as an activity is necessary. It is an important

part of an organisation. Human Resource Planning is a vital ingredient for the success of the

organisation in the long run. There are certain ways that are to be followed by every

organisation, which ensures that it has right number and kind of people, at the right place and

right time, so that organisation can achieve its planned objective.

The objectives of Human Resource Department are Human Resource Planning,

Recruitment and Selection, Training and Development, Career planning, Transfer and

Promotion, Risk Management, Performance Appraisal and so on. Each objective needs

special attention and proper planning and implementation.

For every organisation it is important to have a right person on a right job. Recruitment

and Selection plays a vital role in this situation. Shortage of skills and the use of new

technology are putting considerable pressure on how employers go about Recruiting and

Selecting staff. It is recommended to carry out a strategic analysis of Recruitment and

Selectionprocedure.

With reference to this context, this paper is been prepared to put a light on Recruitment and

Selection process. This paper includes Meaning and Definition of Recruitment and Selection,

Need and Purpose of Recruitment, Evaluation of Recruitment Process, Recruitment Tips.

Sources of recruitment through which an Organization gets suitable application. Scientific

Recruitment and Selection, which an Organization should follow for,right manpower. Job

Analysis, which gives an idea about the requirement of the job. Next is Selection process,

which includes steps of Selection, Types of Test, Types of Interview, Common Interview


Problems and their Solutions. Approaches to Selection, Scientific Selection Policy, Selection

in India and problems.

Recruitment and Selection are simultaneous process and are incomplete without each other.

ETHICAL ISSUES IN RECRUITING

• Organisations comprise employees who need respect as people.

• Streamlining has lead to downsizing or right-sizing of organisations. Those

employees who are left behind often mistrust management and feel insecure about

their own jobs.

• Job insecurity can result in stress for the employee which increases the likelihood of

mistakes being made or accidents occurring

• As organisations become more complex with fewer employees, legislative

requirements become crucial to maintain the psychological well-being of employees.

• Legislative requirements include: EEO legislation, Affirmative Action legislation,

Worker’s Compensation Acts and Regulations and so on.

• Discriminatory recruitment practices may inhibit the success of women or people

from minority backgrounds, but also older applicants.

CODE OF ETHICS FOR EMPLOYERS-

Treat all jobseekers equally

No discrimination based on race, origin, religious or political views, gender, age or

sexual orientation Do not request Jobseekers to include their photos in the resume

Rely only on relevant and job-related information when making hiring decisions


CODE OF ETHICS FOR JOBSEEKERS-

Ensure Resume accuracy

Accept and expect employment history verification

Assume personal responsibility for publishing resume, pictures and other.

DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYEMENT ON THE BASIS OF

UTILITY, RIGHTS, AND JUSTICE-

The arguments mustered against discrimination generally fall into three groups namely

utilitarian, rights, justice.

UTILITY : The standard utilitarian argument against racial and sexual

discrimination is based on the idea that a society’s productivity will be optimized to

the extent that jobs are awarded on the basis of competency. Different jobs, the

argument goes, require different skills and personality traits if they are to be carried

out in as productive manner as possible. Furthermore, different people have different

skills and personality traits. Consequently, to ensure that jobs are maximally

productive, they must be assigned o those individuals whose skills and personality

traits qualify them as the most competent for the job.

Insofar as jobs are assigned to individuals on basis of other criteria unrelated to

competency, productivity must necessarily decline. Discriminating among job

applicants on the basis of race, sex, religion, or other characteristics unrelated to job

performance is necessarily inefficient and, therefore , contrary to utilitarian principles.

RIGHTS: Non utilitarian arguments against racial and sexual discrimination may

take the approach that discrimination is wrong because it violates a person’s basic

moral rights. Kantian theory for example, holds that human beings should be treated

as ends and never as means. At a minimum, this principle means that each individual

has moral right to be treated as a free person equal to any other person and that all


individuals have a correlative moral duty to treat each individual as a free and equal

person.

Discriminatory practices violate the principle in two ways. First, discrimination is

based on the belief that one group is inferior to the other groups, that blacks, for

example, are less competent or worthy of respect than men. Racial and sexual

discrimination, for instance, may be based on stereotypes that see minorities as “lazy

or “shitless” and see women as “emotional” and “week” such degrading stereotypes

undermine the self esteem of those groups against whom stereotypes are directed and

thereby violate their right to be treated as equals. Second discrimination places the

member of group that are discriminated against in lower social and economic

position: women and minorities have fewer job opportunities and are given lower

salaries. Again, the right to be treated as a free job and equal person is violated.

JUSTICE : A second group of non utilitarian arguments against discrimination

view it is as a violation of the principle of justice. “Social and economic inequalities

are to be arranged so that they are attached to offices and positions open to all under

conditions of fair equality of opportunity.

DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES-

Regardless of the problem inherent in some of the arguments against discrimination, it is

clear that there are strong reasons for holding that discrimination is wrong. It is consequently

understandable that the law has gradually been changed to conform to these moral

requirements and that there has been a growing recognition of the various ways in which

discrimination in employment occurs. Among the practices now widely recognized as

discriminatory are the following.

RECRUITMENT PRACTICES

Firms that rely solely on the word-of-mouth referrals of present employes to recruit new

workers tend to recruit only from those racial and sexual groups that are already represented

in their labour force. When a firm’s labour force is composed of only white males, this


recruitment policy will tend to discriminate against minorities and women. Also, when

desirable job positions are only advertised in media that are not used by minorities or women

or are classified as for men only, recruitment will also tend to be discriminatory.\

SCREENING PRACTICE

Job qualification are discriminatory when they are not relevant to the job to be performed.

Aptitude or intelligence tests used to screen applicants become discriminatory when they

serve to disqualify members from minority culture who are unfamiliar with the language,

concepts, and social situations used in the tests but who are in fact fully qualified for the job.

Job interviews are discriminatory if the interviewer routinely disqualifies women and

minorities by relying on sexual or racial stereotypes. These stereotypes may include

assumptions about the sort of occupations “proper” for women, the sort of work and time

burdens that may fittingly be “imposed’ on women, the ability of women or minority person

to maintain “commitment” to job, the propriety of putting women in “male” environments,

the assumed effects women or minorities would have on employee morale or on customers,

and the extent to which women or minorities are assumed to have personality and aptitude

traits that make them unsuitable for a job. Such generalizations about women or minorities

are not only discriminatory, they are also false.

PROMOTION PRACTICES

Promotion, job progression, and transfer practice are discriminatory when employers place

white males on job tracks separate from those open to women and minorities. Seniority

systems will be discriminatory if past discrimination has eliminated minorities and women

from the higher, more senior positions on the advancement ladder. To rectify the situation,

individuals who have specifically suffered from discrimination in seniority system should be

given their rightful place in the seniority system and provide with whatever training is

necessary for visors, promotion policy will be discriminatory to the extent that supervisory

rely on racial or sexual stereotypes.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT


Wages and salaries are discriminatory to the extent that equal wages and salaries are not

given to people who are doing essentially the same work. If past discrimination or present

cultural traditions result in some job classification being disproportionately filled with

women or minorities steps should be taken to make their compensation and benefits

comparable to those of other classification.

DISCHARGE

Firing an employee on the basis of race or sex is a clear form of discrimination. Less balatant

but still discriminatory are layoff policies that rely on a seniority system, in which women

and minorities have the lowest seniority because of past discriminations.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Women are victims of a particularly troublesome kind of discrimination that is both overt and

coercive: They are subjected to sexual harassment. Although males are also frequent victims.

For all acknowledge frequency, sexual harassment still remains difficult to define and to

police and prevent.in 1978, the Equal Employment opportunity commission published a set

of “guidelines” defining sexual harassment and setting out what, in its view, was prohibited

by the law.in their current form, the guidelines state:

Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours and other verbal or physical

contacts os sexual nature constitute sexual harassment (1) when submission to such

individuals made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual

employment,(submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis

for employment decision affecting such individual, (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect

of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an

intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.

How can we promote ethical practices

How can we promote ethical practices within our field and reduce the negative stigma

attached to the 'headhunter'? As there is no policing agency that oversees recruiting practices,


ethics must be self-enforced. Ethical behavior begins with the definition of roles and

responsibilities when interacting with candidates, clients, and other recruiters. One of the

ways in which recruiters can foster an ethical relationship from the outstart is by creating a

mission statement or ethical code that emphasizes key values and guiding ethical practices.

Ensuring that agreements are in writing can resolve complicated issues more quickly, both

protecting your interests and allowing you to be upfront in relationships.

Additionally, it is important to examine what is occurring around you. Detecting and

effectively handling unethical behavior is central to maintaining upstanding business

practices. Although the bulk of this article places ethical responsibility on the recruiter, it is

important to remember that commitments are made from all sides when entering into the

hiring process.

Candidates must also grapple with ethical issues, being honest throughout the process, from

interviewing, to selection, to accepting an offer. Misinforming a recruiter to obtain an

interview or cinch the job can place recruiters in compromising positions with clients. Both

parties have a responsibility to maintain ethical standards.

The benefits of ethical practices during each step of the hiring process are numerous.

Recruiters often build their client bases through referrals. Both clients and candidates will

refer business to reliable, high-quality recruiters. Upon placement, candidates have no loyalty

to recruiters and poor practices may quickly become public knowledge. As in other

industries, we all have a responsibility to uphold the reputation of our profession. Our daily

business practices reveal a professional standard against which we all are measured. We

should use this daily opportunity to reflect a positive image.

A brief review of why the selection decision is so difficult and hence why so many defensive

mechanisms are used, will both throw light on the subject and raise the ethical dimension

again. Firstly, the inherent difficulties in the selection decision. Given that human beings are

complex entities, and that all the mental activity that sits behind overt behaviour is invisible

to the observer, finding an objective way of define the capability available in the candidate is

a challenge from the start. Given that organisations are just groups of (complex) human

beings transacting together in a common cause – well, at least that’s the theory! – then there

is a large extension to the level of complexity involved, and the job of objectively defining


what is needed for success in a job is possibly even more challenging than defining what is

available in candidates.

Those two difficulties add up to a serious challenge for the knowledge and skills of the

person making the selection decision - this is the third challenge. There is, however, an

assumption in all of this that needs airing. It is about the objectives to be achieved through the

selection decision. If they are about fit with the culture and style of the business, that would

lead in a particular direction. If they are about fit with the rest of the management team, the

Direction would be different. If they are abut the new manager being able to project the right

image of the company, that would lead to yet another different direction.

If the desire is for someone who will be a good team worker, and a safe pair of hands, the

direction would be different again. If the key is experience of the industry, and especially if

‘good contacts’ are the order of the day, then the direction shifts once more.

If thesis for someone who will be a good team worker, and a safe pair of hands, the direction

would be different again. If the key is experience of the industry, and especially if ‘good

contacts’ are the order of the day, then the direction shifts once more.

If these are the objectives, then there are a lot of tools and techniques out there, to assist with

the decision. They range from the standard selection interview, through aptitude tests, critical

reasoning tests, psychometric inventories, emotional intelligence inventories and even

graphology, all the way through to 'motivation in action' profiles.

The problem is that all of these tools and techniques only make sense if the objectives are as

suggested above. If, however, the objectives are rather more prosaic and useful, then the tools

and techniques noted above make no sense whatsoever. If there are selection objectives that

are grounded in reality, they will be all about whether or not the new manager will be able to

perform adequately in the job – the performance objective.

Will this person deliver the business results that are needed? Both in output terms and in

terms of the resources consumed on the way? Implicit in all this is the need to motivate and

carry people through the achievement of the business objectives, coping with complexity and

a rapidly changing environment along the way, as that is what managing is all about.


The ‘performance objective’ reduces the focus of the selection decision down to skills and

only skills. As there is no evidence of a causal relationship between personality, hand writing,

experience, aptitudes or any other characteristic assessed by the various ‘state-of-the-art’

inventories out there, on the one hand, and the performance delivered by the assessed

manager, on the other, there is only one possible justification left for using them. That is the

defence mechanism noted above.

That raises the ethical dimension again. Is it ethical to rely on varieties of the standard

selection interview and defensive assessments, and ignore the skills issue that is central to

achieving required business results? If the skills issue is ignored, then the manager making

the selection decision is playing Russian roulette with the candidate, and leaving that person

to suffer the consequences if the selection decision is wrong. Even worse, is when managers

making poor selection decisions punish the new manager twice.

First, is the transformation from success into failure; second is when the ‘failing manager’ is

fired by the very same manager who created the problem in the first place – by the poor

selection decision.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: DECISION-MAKING AND EMPLOYMENT

Recruitment and selection is an area of decision-making that requires thorough attention,

accompanied by best practice guidelines to ensure that risks of corruption and unfair practices

are minimised. Fortunately, recruitment and selection decision-makers have a wide range of

material to guide their decision-making. Within the South African context we have the

following material available to guide our decision-making in recruitment and selection.

FRAMEWORK OF LEGISLATION AND KEY SET OF VALUES CONCERNED

WITH EMPLOYEMENT

FRAMEWORK OF LEGISLATION-

The following legislation applies to various stages in the recruitment, selection and placement

processes:

Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995


Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 (updated)

Employment Equity Act

Skills Development Act 97 of 1998 (updated) and SAQA

Occupational Health and Safety Act

Unemployment Insurance Fund Act

Pensions Fund Act

Receiver of Revenue

Smoking and Other Workplace Legislation

Medical Schemes Act and Regulations

Codes of Good Practice

Public Holidays Act 35 of 1994,amended by 48 of 1995Promotion of Access to

Information Act

Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act

Protected Disclosures Act Electronic Communications Acts

Insolvency Act

National Credit Act 34 of 2005

South African Constitution and Bill of Rights

COMPANY POLICY-

Company policy refers to guidelines, circulars, memoranda, policies and procedures

published by the relevant organisation and should be freely available on the Intranet of the

organisation.

BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES IN RECRUITMENT AND

SELECTION--

Best practice can be viewed as a well defined procedure, technique, method, process, activity,

incentive or reward that is known to produce near optimum results. It is usually regarded as

more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique, method, process,

etc. When applied to a particular condition or circumstance. It also focuses on delivering the


best results with the least amount of effort, by applying procedures that have proven

themselves over time.

A specific best practice guideline is generally applicable to a specific condition or

circumstance and can be modified for similar circumstances. Best Practice can transform or

mature as the industry discovers new developments.

Human is the most important resource to an organization. Issues associated with

human resources occur as a result of employees working together. These issues are by

far the largest category of ethical dilemmas in business.

Recruitment or hiring process is the first step in selecting human resource into

an organization, and will significantly influence the successful performance of the

organization.

Ethics plays a very important role during the recruitment of new employees. Law

and regulations dictate that we have to be ethical in hiring. However, ethical hiring

practice goes beyond them as well.

It has been widely reported by many researchers that ethical hiring practices actually

result in better employees being recruited.

It is therefore important that sound ethical rules are followed when hiring a new

employee.

ETHICAL RULES TO BE FOLLOWED BY AN ORGANISATION

WHILE RECRUITING –

It is of vital importance that candidates are to be selected based on merits.


Applicants are to be hired based purely on merits such as knowledge, skills, and

ability in accordance to the needs of the organization.

If a company provides any special considerations, for example affirmative

action, where certain groups are given special considerations, these

considerations should be well stated in the company's policy statement.

In any case, any preferential treatment should be one that is legally allowed.

While preferential treatments to certain specific group may be allowed, there

should be no discrimination to people from any other group due to race, religion,

gender, marital or even pregnancy status.

Consistency and objectivity during the recruitment process are very important.

Criteria, including any changes in the criteria, used for evaluating candidates

should be stated and explained to order to avoid unnecessary claim of biasness in

the recruitment process.

Objective evaluation results in the best employees being recruited while

consistency ensures high morale among employees.

When we recruit new employees, we should tell the applicants about the true

state of the organization.

We should not mislead the applicants. In particular, the applicants should

be told all pertinent information, including those information that are not

publicly known but that will materially affect the new employee's future

employment prospect with the organization.

EXAMPLE--We can learn from the case involving Phil McConkey. Phil McConkey was

recruited but he was not aware that the company was in the process of being taken over

by another entity. One year after joining the company he lost his job with he new

company. He sued the company for with-holding important information from me during

the recruitment process. He won the case and was awarded $10 million.

We should never place misleading job advertisement in order to get applications

if we are offering a job contract different from what we advertised for.

For instance, if we want to engage independent contractors instead of normal

salaried employment.


The reason why we choose to engage independent contractors is that we do not

have to be burdened with high salary cost for employees that are not competent,

but we are willing to compensate employees according to performance.

We should always state clearly our terms of employment. In any case, we do not

want to be accused of any job scam.

We have to be extra careful when we are recruiting employees from

organizations that have

material dealing with us include our suppliers, customers and competitors. If we

are not careful ethical issues very damaging to us can arise.

When we employ somebody from our suppliers, the suppliers may feel that we

have unethically poached their good employee. After all, it is through the

working relationship we have with the suppliers that we can to know the quality

of this employee.

When we employ somebody from our customers we can be accused of returning

favor to that person. This rule applies especially when employing a former senior

government employee that has an influence on the awards of contracts to an

organization like yours.

Also, be careful not to employ former government employees for the purpose of

lobbying for contracts from their previous government departments. At least,

do not do so within the first two years of the employee leaving the government

service.

It is also not very wise to employ somebody from our competitors because we can

be accused of stealing trade secrets from our competitors. If that employee can

pass on his previous employer's secrets unethically, what is there to sop him

from passing your trade secrets to others?


KEY SET OF VALUES

According the Independent Commission against Corruption following are viewed as key

values that apply to Recruitment and Selection:

Impartiality: all stages of the recruitment process should be impartial and Objective

in its execution

Accountability: all stakeholders in the recruitment process should be accountable for

all their decisions and ensure proper record keeping to support such decisions

Competition: the pool of potential candidates must be maximised to the extent that it

is practicable and appropriate

Openness: factors impacting on recruitment and selection must be clear to all

stakeholders involved, and the decision-making processes should be transparent,

whil maintaining confidentiality with regards to the candidate

Integrity: recruitment and selection practices must be carried out in accordance with

relevant guidelines, codes or rules.


CASE STUDIES

The following case studies illustrate some of the key values in the context of various common

areas of complaint in recruitment and selection:

CASE STUDY 1: MAXIMISING THE FIELD

Joe has been acting as the IT manager for 18 months when it was decided to advertise the job.

His Director prepared the advertisement without specifying any recruitment for qualifications

or extensive experience in information technology, which had previously been part of the

selection criteria. The Director decided to advertise the job internally. Joe was the sole

applicant and was appointed to the position permanently without an interview.

REMARKS:

Receiving one application does not mean that is necessarily the best person for the job

– but could indicate that the job has not been advertised widely enough to maximise

the potential field of applicants.


Perceptions of favouritism may result if the job that requires technical skill, tertiary

qualifications or industry knowledge is advertised without requiring such

competencies. It may appear that the Director deliberately removed such selection

criteria that appeared previously, but may have precluded Joe from getting the job.

WHAT CAN BE DONE INSTEAD?

Acknowledge the importance of maximising the pool of applicants

Specifying the qualities sought from applicants, in addition to specific knowledge

required,may broaden the field – e.g. instead of having knowledge of a specific act,

the candidate can show he/she has the ability to interpret legislation.

Ensure that potential candidates are not discouraged from applying for a job for

reasons other than the content of the job advertisement; for example: advertisements

placed in journals to which few people have access or managers making statements

regarding the competitiveness or lack of competitiveness of applicants.

CASE STUDY 2: PUTTING IT ALL ON PAPER

( WWW.ICAC.NSW.GOV.AU, 2002 )

A large State Government department (International) advertised to fill the position of

Director,Corporate Services, reclassified in a recent evaluation of its Senior Executive

Service structure.Three short-listed applicants were interviewed and the selection panel

offered John the job.Shortly afterwards, the ICAC received a complaint alleging that John

knew he had been appointed to the position before the interviews were held and got the job

because he had worked for the department before. The ICAC asked the department to report

on the matter.The department wanted to prove the recruitment process was above board so its

Internal Auditor reviewed the files. He was surprised that the cull checklist did not show how

applicants met the selection criteria and that there were no notes from the interviews. He also

found that the selection panel report contained only the recommended applicant’s name and

the convenor’s signature (no date or title of the position, no recommended salary, no reasons

for recommendations and no eligibility list).


The selection panel claimed that John was not appointed to the position before the interview

and was clearly the best person for the job. However, the Auditor found no evidence to

support this claim, making it difficult to assess the matter. Consequently, the department

could not satisfy the ICAC that the recruitment process was fair.

REMARKS:

Better record keeping would have supported the department’s claim that the process

had been all above board.

The way staff is recruited sets the standard for induction and the culture of the

organisation.

WHAT CAN BE DONE INSTEAD?

Sound record keeping includes a selection report that includes the following:

Specific assessment methods utilised

Reasons for the candidates’ unsuitability and reasons for selecting/ de-selecting prior

to the interview.

General notes or comments on each applicant interviewed, with reference to each

selection criterion.

Establish the reasons for the successful applicant being chosen over the rest of the

pool of candidates.

Include names of referees who were contacted and include notes taken from referee

checks

Notes made by each member of the selection panel should be retained on the

recruitment, together with the selection report.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: A MODEL OF ETHICS FOR

THE EMPLOYMENT PROCESS

Ethical Model: Recruitment & Selection

Van der Westhuizen (in Brand, 2008, p.208) states that there is an increase in appreciation for

ethics management and the positive economic impact it has on the performance of

organisations.


PHASE 1:

During phase one, a job analysis is conducted to compile a job description and job

specification. The advertisement is then compiled based on criteria specified in the job

description. It is essential that the method of advertising does not lead to discrimination or

exclusion of applicants. When considering initial applicants, they should be compared to the

minimum criteria in the advertisement. Eliminations are then done according to the

guidelines in the company recruitment and selection policy and procedures.

haseob AnalysisCompile

PHASE 2:

During phase two, applications are acknowledged by sending out a letter to all the

applicants. Applications are screened based on criteria from the advertisement making use

of the same decision criteria for all the applications. Thereafter, a regret letter is sent to

applicants that did not pass the initial screening.

PHASE 3:

Phase three includes conducting interviews of all applicants that meet the criteria. The

interview should be asked the same questions of all applicants and should exclude anything

discriminatory. The assessments are then conducted by using instruments that are valid and

reliable. Final assessment scores and information from the interview are integrated for the

applicants. Next, final interviews are conducted with short-listed applicants and an offer is

made to the successful applicant. It is essential that all documentation relating to the

recruitment and selection process is completed accurately.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: THE USE OF PSYCHOMETRIC ASSESSMENTS

The Health Professions Council of South Africa regulates the health professions in the

Republic of South Africa with regard to registration, education and training, professional

conduct and ethical behaviour. Below are some ethical considerations pertaining to

psychometric assessments from their ethical guidelines document, Form 94.


When making use of psychometric assessments, it is important that they are seen to be

one part of the selection process and are not solely relied on to make decisions

regarding the employment of an individual.

The psychometric assessments should predict success in the work situation as

accurately as possible. Thus it is critical that the professional conducting the

assessments has knowledge and understanding of the psychological instruments with

which they work.

The psychometric assessments should be reliable and valid, and free from bias or

discrimination against any group of people. According to the Employment Equity Act

No. 55 of 1998, psychometric testing and other similar assessments of an employee

are prohibited unless the test or assessment being used: (a) has been scientifically

shown to be valid and reliable; (b) can be applied fairly to employees; and (c) is not

biased against any employee or group.

The assessment process should be standardised and consistent to ensure that each

candidate being assessed go through exactly the same process.

The professional conducting the assessments should do so within the context of a

professional relationship that is transparent.

Informed consent must be obtained from the individual undertaking the assessment,

informing them of the purpose of the assessments and how the results will be used.

The confidentiality in terms of who will see the results should be clearly explained to

the candidate.

It is the responsibility of the professional to take the necessary steps to ensure that the

results of the assessment are not misused by others in any way. This would include

refraining from releasing the raw test results to any persons other than a qualified

professional.

It is essential that the individual or client organisation to whom the results are

released, understands the ethical implications of how they should make use of the

results.

The interpretation of results should include additional information that has any

bearing on the overall results pertaining to selection such as situational factors.

When communicating the results of the assessment to the client, the professional

should ensure that this is done in such a manner that the individual receiving the

results fully understands those results.


Business ethics exist to ensure that professionals will consider the interests of the

company above those of personal gain. In today’s scandalous business climate, there are

many concerns regarding ethical behavior. Business Professor, Linda Trevino, suggests that

strong leadership and management practices influence people much more than formal

training programs. The challenge facing HR departments is to find and develop individuals

who will be ethical leaders and mentors. This case study will examine the roles of senior

managers and the usefulness of mentoring to foster an ethical environment.

Mentors do whatever is necessary to help their protégés careers. They offer education and

counseling, but their biggest and most important job is to be a role model. Management

behavior has the most impact on ethical standards in the workplace. Senior Executive

managers are responsible for creating an environment where people can see others being

treated fairly. These managers must respond positively and in a timely matter to any ethical


concerns brought to them by employees. They should also foster the positive environment

by rewarding people for acting ethically. When workers feel that they are being treated

fairly and that their concerns are being heard, it will reinforce ethical behaviour in

themselves. In summary, senior managers need to be good mentors. They should set a good

example; be open and fair with everyone alike; and reward ethical behaviour. These actions

will have the most success in fostering ethical employees.

Conclusion

Recruitment and selection form a vital function any business organization, since human

resource is treated as an asset of an organization, ethical issues governing recruitment and

selection has to be taken into cognizance while recruiting and selecting an employee for a

proposed job.

Job discrimination is the major problem prevailing in many organization toady. Job

discrimination is the wrongful acts of distinguishing illicitly among people not on the basis of

individual merit, but on the basis of prejudice or morally reprehensible attitude. Job

discrimination generally fall into three groups viz, utility, rights, justice.

Regardless of the problem inherent in some of the arguments against discrimination, it is

clear that there are strong reasons for holding that discrimination is wrong. It is consequently

understandable that the law has gradually been changed to conform to these moral


requirements and that there has been a growing recognition of the various ways in which

discrimination in employment occurs.

Discriminatory practices like sexual harassment is another major problem in many

organization, effective majors have been taken to tackle this issue but still the problem

prevails in many organization, effective measures have to be taken to get rid of these issue.

So ethics in recruitment and selection has to be practicised in order to avoid job

discrimination.

Fostering the perception of fairness in the processes of recruitment and hiring of

people-

• Formal procedures

• Interpersonal treatment

• Providing explanation

Ethics Seminar

Documents

Transcript of Ethics Seminar