Consideration for Ethics and Diversity Proposal

There are some ethical and diversity considerations, which have emerged in the HRM department. These are important for the strategic HRM planning process and this need to be addressed effectively. I have suggested some recommendations for best practices for dealing with these considerations.

The first ethical consideration is the proposal for relocation of Plant C and the second ethical consideration is the HR practice of pre-determining the criteria that will be used for performance evaluation. Both these considerations are important for the HRM planning process because they affect the morale and motivation of employees. Relocation of Plant C will render about 300 persons unemployed in the area leading hardship to many people. I strongly recommend that the relocation should be avoided as the employees and the plant is productive and it supports the current strategic plan. The second ethics issue is that one standard set of criteria places some employees at a disadvantage. This is unethical. I recommend that the supervisors should be given blank evaluation forms and they should be required to sit with the employee to be evaluated before the period and jointly enter the performance criteria. The rationale is that this will bring objectiveness to the performance evaluation system make it ethical and will be a best practice for performance improvement.

The rationale for these actions is that a firm has a responsibility towards all its stakeholders and the relocation of Plant C more than 800 miles away will renders about 300 employees jobless for no fault of theirs. From the deontological ethical perspective, the management of our firm has a duty towards its employees and to ensure that the employees retain their jobs. Similarly, from the deontological ethical perspective it is the duty of our company to administer fair and just performance evaluation system. By making each employee a part of the criteria selection process for her evaluation, the firm better discharges its duty to its employee. Being fair and just also improves the motivation and morale of the employees and so is vital for achieving the strategic objectives of the firm.

For a successful HRM planning process it is necessary to have a diverse workforce. One reason is that diversity contributes richness to the production process and furthers the strategic objectives of the firm; on the other hand, if there is discrimination against certain protected groups the form can be sued against successfully for discrimination. Two considerations are that non-whites and women are under-represented in the workforce. They were important for the strategic HRM planning process so that diversity improves the productivity and avoids discrimination suits. My recommendation for addressing this consideration is that during the recruitment for staff next year, greater consideration should be given to women and non-whites so that their number in our work force increases. We should attempt to recruit women and non-whites at all levels.

The specific recommendations are that for each position a handicap of ten points should be given to women and non-white applicants. This practice is legal and will enable our firm to increase diversity in our company. This is a best practice. The rationale for using this best practice is that there must have been overt or involuntary discrimination in our firm because of which there are hardly any non-white or women employees.

References:

Advantages and Controversy of US “Affirmative Action” Concerning African – Americans
Katharina Fischer
GRIN Verlag, 2010 Normative Ethics: Ethical Egoism, Consequentialism, Deontological Ethics, Virtue Ethics, Contractualism, Doctrine of Mental Reservation
Books, LLC, General Books LLC
General Books LLC, 2010 Affirmative Action in Antidiscrimination Law and
Policy: An Overview and Synthesis
William M. Leiter, Samuel Leiter
E2
SUNY Press,