Editing Business ethics (section)

===Human resource management===
[[Human resource management]] occupies the sphere of activity of [[recruitment]] selection, orientation, [[performance appraisal]], [[training and development]], [[industrial relations]] and [[Occupational safety and health|health and safety]] issues.<ref name="a102">Walsh, A. J. HRM and the ethics of commodified work in a market economy. {{harvnb|Pinnington|Macklin|Campbell|2007|pp=102–118}}</ref> Business Ethicists differ in their orientation towards labor ethics. Some assess human resource policies according to whether they support an egalitarian workplace and the [[dignity of labor]].<ref>Kuchinke, K. P. (2005). [https://books.google.com/books?id=pA0PKmbhKaUC&pg=PA141 The self at work: theories of persons, meaning of work and their implications for HRD] {{harvnb|Elliott|Turnbull|2005|pp=141–154}}</ref><ref>Dirkx, J. M. (2005). [https://books.google.com/books?id=pA0PKmbhKaUC&pg=PA155 To develop a firm persuasion: Workplace learning and the problem of meaning].{{harvnb|Elliott|Turnbull|2005|pp=155–174}}</ref>

Issues including [[At-will employment|employment itself]], [[workplace surveillance|privacy]], compensation in accord with [[comparable worth]], [[collective bargaining]] (and/or its opposite) can be seen either as inalienable rights<ref name=pin>Introduction: ethical human resource management {{harvnb|Pinnington|Macklin|Campbell|2007|pp=1–22}}</ref><ref>Duska, R. [https://books.google.com/books?id=PDXVnfyKHBIC&pg=PA257 Employee Rights].{{harvnb|Frederic|2002|pp=257–268}}</ref> or as negotiable.<ref>Koehn, D. (2002). [https://books.google.com/books?id=CHtbwX11oUIC&pg=PA225 Ethical Issues in Human Resources]. In N. E. Bowie (Ed.), The Blackwell guide to business ethics (pp. 225–243). Oxford: Blackwell {{ISBN|0-631-22123-9}}.</ref><ref>Watson, I., Buchanan, J., Campbell, I., and Briggs, C. (2003). Fragmented Futures: New Challenges in Working Life. ACIRRT, University of Sydney, NSW: The Federation Press.</ref><ref>Smith, N. H. (1997). Strong Hermeneutics: Contingency and Moral Identity. London: Routledge.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Machan|2007|p=67}}</ref>
[[Discrimination]] by age (preferring the [[ageism|young]] or the [[seniority|old]]), [[sex discrimination|gender]]/[[sexual harassment]], [[racial discrimination|race]], [[religious discrimination|religion]], [[disability]], weight and attractiveness. A common approach to remedying discrimination is [[affirmative action]].

Once hired, employees have the right to the occasional cost of living increases, as well as raises based on merit. Promotions, however, are not a right, and there are often fewer openings than qualified applicants. It may seem unfair if an employee who has been with a company longer is passed over for a promotion, but it is not unethical. It is only unethical if the employer did not give the employee proper consideration or used improper criteria for the promotion.<ref>DeGeorge, Richard. "Business Ethics, Seventh Edition". Prentice Hall, 2010, p. 351-352.</ref> Each employer should know the distinction between what is unethical and what is illegal. If an action is illegal it is breaking the law but if an action seems morally incorrect that is unethical. In the workplace what is unethical does not mean illegal and should follow the guidelines put in place by OSHA ([[Occupational Safety and Health Administration]]), EEOC ([[Equal Employment Opportunity Commission]]), and other law-binding entities.

Potential employees have ethical [[obligation]]s to employers, involving intellectual property protection and [[whistle-blowing]].

Employers must consider [[Occupational safety and health|workplace safety]], which may involve modifying the workplace, or providing appropriate training or hazard disclosure. This differentiates on the location and type of work that is taking place and can need to comply with the standards to protect employees and non-employees under workplace safety.

Larger economic issues such as [[immigration]], [[trade policy]], [[globalization]] and [[trade union]]ism affect workplaces and have an ethical dimension, but are often beyond the purview of individual companies.<ref name=pin/><ref>Legge, K. The ethics of HRM in dealing with individual employees without collective representation. {{harvnb|Pinnington|Macklin|Campbell|2007|pp=35 ff}}</ref><ref>Morehead, A., Steele, M., Stephen, K., and Duffin, L. (1997). Changes at Work: The 1995 Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey. Melbourne: Longman.</ref>

====Trade unions====
[[Trade union]]s, for example, may push employers to establish [[due process]] for workers, but may also cause job loss by demanding unsustainable compensation and work rules.<ref>Reinhold, R. (2000). 'Union Membership in 2000: Numbers Decline During Record Economic Expansion', Illinois Labor Market Review, 6.</ref><ref>Akyeampong, E. (1997). 'A Statistical Portrait of the Trade Union Movement', Perspectives on Labour and Income, 9: 45–54.</ref><ref>Kuruvilla, S., Das, S., Kwon, H., and Kwon, S. (2002). 'Trade Union Growth and Decline in Asia', British Journal of Industrial Relations, 40(3): 431–61.</ref><ref>Watson T.J (2003). 'Ethical Choice in Managerial Work: The Scope for Managerial Choices in an Ethically Irrational World', Human Relations, 56(2): 167–85.</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Woodd|first=Maureen|title=Human resource specialists—guardians of ethical conduct?|journal=Journal of European Industrial Training|volume=21|page=110|year=1997|doi=10.1108/03090599710161810|issue=3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Guest|first1=David E|title=Human resource management—the workers' verdict|journal=Human Resource Management Journal|volume=9|page=5|year=1999|doi=10.1111/j.1748-8583.1999.tb00200.x|issue=3}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Machan|2007|p=29}}</ref><ref>Desai, M. (1991). Issues concerning setting up of social work specializations in India. International Social Work, 34, 83–95</ref><ref>Guest, D. E. HRM and performance: can partnership address the ethical dilemmas? {{harvnb|Pinnington|Macklin|Campbell|2007|pp=52–65}}</ref>

Unionized workplaces may confront [[union busting]] and [[strike breaking]] and face the ethical implications of work rules that advantage some workers over others.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}

====Management strategy====
Among the many people management strategies that companies employ are a "soft" approach that regards employees as a source of creative energy and participants in workplace decision-making, a "hard" version explicitly focused on control<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Storey|first1=D.J.|title=The Problems Facing New Firms &#91;1&#93;|journal=Journal of Management Studies|volume=22|page=327|year=1985|doi=10.1111/j.1467-6486.1985.tb00079.x|issue=3}}</ref> and [[Theory Z]] that emphasizes philosophy, culture and consensus.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ouchi|first=William G.|year=1981|title=Theory Z|url=https://archive.org/details/theoryzhowameric1982ouch|url-access=registration|location=New York|publisher=Avon Books|isbn=978-0-380-59451-1}}</ref> None ensure ethical behavior.<ref>{{harvnb|Pinnington|Macklin|Campbell|2007|p=3}} Introduction: ethical human resource management</ref> Some studies claim that sustainable success requires a humanely treated and satisfied workforce.<ref>Schneider, B., Hanges, P., Smith, D., and Salvaggio, A. (2003). 'Which Comes First: Employee Attitudes or Organizational Financial and Market Performance?', Journal of Applied Psychology, 88: 836–51.</ref><ref>Guest, D. E., Michie, J., Conway, N., and Sheehan, M. (2003). 'Human Resource Management and Corporate Performance in the UK', British Journal of Industrial Relations, 41(2): 291–314.</ref><ref>Boxall, P., & Purcell, J. Strategic management and human resources: the pursuit of productivity, flexibility, and legitimacy {{harvnb|Pinnington|Macklin|Campbell|2007|pp=66–80}}</ref>