Normative Ethical Theories In Hrm

However, in the West, there is more of a likelihood that normative ethical theories such as consequentialist theories like Utilitarianism which can be compared to HRM being accepted. This theory was adopted in the Western world during the enlightenment period thus, resonates to its past. It makes an assumption about humans and the world and tends to ‘promote happiness, condemning the wrong actions’ (Airan, 2013). It crosses paths with HRM as they both make decisions through what can be seen as a cost-benefit analysis (Crane and Matten, 2007). Whilst utility of any action must be judged to benefit everyone, this faculty of thinking is also similar to Egoism but differs as it stresses the importance of individual utility. Utilitarianism is an

By doing so, it sets a standard of ethical behaviour and has the potential to have a positive consequence for the reason behind employees motivation which can be defined as ‘The degree to which an individual wants and chooses to engage in certain specific behaviours’ (Mitchell, 1982). The social learning theory (Bandura, 1977) argues 'behaviour is learned from the environment through the process of observational learning '. Codes which are seen as being harnessed by those at the top of the hierarchy in an organisation can champion ethical behaviour as these senior figures are role models and set a standard as to how one should conduct his or herself ethically in an organisation. An ethics firm called LRN conducted a study which unravelled that 73 percent of employees who were part of an organization that had a written code of conduct believe ‘that it improves the organization as a workplace’ (LRN, 2006). Ultimately, employees will look to the code of conduct to form their motivation, values and beliefs in regard to

HR, as suggested by Mark Scheartz (2004) can determine the effectiveness of codes through how it is enforced through ‘follow-through’ which involves regular scans of departments to ensure the code of conduct and ethics is being withheld (Trevino et al, 1990). For more senior managers, codes of conduct and ethics can be measured through performance evaluations. The success of this policy can be seen through Boeing in 2005 who forced a senior manager to resign because he did not follow the code of conduct and ethics, sending a message to other individuals in the organisation that the codes are relevant within the organisation (Sethi