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HR managers as ethical decision‐makers: Mapping the terrain
Author(s) -
Lowry Diannah
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
asia pacific journal of human resources
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.825
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1744-7941
pISSN - 1038-4111
DOI - 10.1177/1038411106066394
Subject(s) - corporate governance , ethical decision , economic justice , argument (complex analysis) , ethical issues , action (physics) , legislature , empirical research , engineering ethics , sociology , political science , business , public relations , management , law , economics , epistemology , engineering , biochemistry , chemistry , physics , philosophy , quantum mechanics
Discourse surrounding the ethical responsibilities of human resource (HR) managers is in its infancy in Australia, despite an increasing concern with broad matters related to corporate governance and the ethical ‘behaviour’ of organisations. Recent industrial relations legislative changes in Australia arguably place greater responsibilities on HR managers, and raise issues related to the role they may take in promoting fairness and justice within the workplace. Based on a review of empirical findings from Australia and the United Kingdom, this paper attempts to map the theoretical terrain of the HR manager in terms of a range of decision‐making options and resultant ethical positionings. From a synthesis of empirical findings and philosophical perspectives, a heuristic is derived which outlines the varieties of ethical or non‐ethical stance an HR manager may make. The argument is made that an understanding of ethical decision‐making in human resource management warrants the exploration of the dynamics involving ethical inaction, not just the dynamics of ethical action.