Ethics and HRM: Theoretical and Conceptual Analysis

Abstract

Despite the ongoing consideration of the ethical nature of human resource management (HRM), little research has been conducted on how morality and ethics are represented in the discourse, activities and lived experiences of human resource (HR) professionals. In this paper, we connect the thinking and lived experiences of HR professionals to an alternative ethics, rooted in the work of Bauman (Modernity and the Holocaust, Polity Press, Cambridge, 1989; Theory, Culture and Society 7:5–38, 1990; Postmodern Ethics, Blackwell, Oxford, 1991; Approaches to Social Enquiry, Polity Press, Cambridge, 1993; Life in Fragments, Blackwell, Oxford, 1995) and Levinas (Otherwise than Being, or, Beyond Essence, Duquesne University Press, Pittsburgh, PA, 1998). We argue that the study of HRM and ethics should be contextualized within the discourses used, the practices and activities of HR professionals. Through the analysis of interview data from 40 predominantly Canadian HR practitioners and managers we experiment with Bauman’s notion of ‘moral impulse’ to help us understand how HRM is both a product and perpetuator of moral neutralization in organizations. We suggest that HRM as it is practiced is concerned with distancing, depersonalizing, and dissembling, and acts in support of the ‘moral’ requirements of business, not of people. However, we also recognize that HR practitioners and managers are often confronted with and conflicted by actions and decisions that they are required to take, therefore opening possibilities and hope for an alternative ethical HRM.

Appendix

List of participants

Name	Age	Gender	Industry	Current title	Yrs in HR
Janice	26–30	Female	Entertainment	HR Advisor	0–5
Maria	26–30	Female	Government	HR Generalist	0–5
Angela	26–30	Female	Recruiting	Executive Recruitment Specialist	0–5
Jillian	26–30	Female	Retail	HR Manager	0–5
Laura	26–30	Female	Manufacturing	HR Manager	0–5
Tania	26–30	Female	Consulting	Employee Relations Representative	0–5
Nicola	26–30	Female	Consulting	Manager, Operations	0–5
Cindy	26–30	Female	Financial Services	Manager, HR	6–10
Maya	26–30	Female	Advertising	Director, Human Resources	6–10
Claire	26–30	Female	Sales	Human Resource Business Partner	6–10
Tina	31–35	Female	IT Consulting	Senior Associate, People Success	0–5
Ben	31–35	Male	Energy	Director, Human Resources	0–5
Lydia	31–35	Female	Retail	Regional HR Advisor	0–5
Alexis	31–35	Female	Manufacturing	Manager, Labor Relations	0–5
Erica	31–35	Female	Telecommunications	Manager, Human Resources	6–10
Susan	31–35	Female	Telecommunications	Manager, Human Resources	6–10
Aaron	31–35	Male	Education	Manager of Administration	6–10
Emma	31–35	Female	Education	Administrative Officer	6–10
Lauren	31–35	Female	Energy	Internal HR Consultant	6–10
Audrey	31–35	Female	Mining	Recruiter	6–10
Natalia	31–35	Female	Retail	HR Manager	6–10
Sabrina	31–35	Female	Education	HR Consultant	11–15
Victoria	31–35	Female	Financial Services	Senior Manager, People Strategy	11–15
John	31–35	Male	IT Consulting	Senior Manager, People Success	11–15
Shane	31–35	Male	Retail	Consultant	11–15
Faith	36–40	Female	Government	HR Manager	0–5
Stephanie	36–40	Female	Financial Services	Manager, Employee Relations	6–10
Rhona	36–40	Female	Not for Profit	HR Specialist	11−15
Charlotte	36–40	Female	Telecommunications	Senior HR Manager	11–15
Gail	40–45	Female	Manufacturing	VP Administration	6–10
Lisa	41–45	Female	Consulting	Consultant	11–15
Maureen	41–45	Female	N/A	N/A	16–20
Martin	41–45	Male	Mining	VP Organizational Development and Talent Management	16–20
Ruth	46–50	Female	Manufacturing	Employment Equity Administrator	11–15
Chris	46–50	Male	Government	Senior Manager	16–20
Emily	46–50	Female	Retail	VP HR	21–26
Jacob	51–55	Male	Retail	HR Manager	21–25
Fraser	51–55	Male	N/A	N/A	21–25
Simon	56–60	Male	Mining	Director, Human Resources	26–30
Nathan	56–60	Male	Healthcare	Senior Director of Human Resources and Labor Relations	31–35

1. Names are pseudonyms