PROFESSIONAL ETHICS & SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
(PFE301)
ETHICAL ISSUES AND PRACTICES AT WORKPLACE
MODULE 2
GROUP 4
Chakshu (A1506919279)
Vaishnavi Jauhri (A1506919324)
Muskaan Narula (A1506919334)
Ishaan Taneja (A1506919343)
Neel Patel (A1506919344)
Shreya Sharma (A1506919347)
Geetika Mathur (A1506919511)
INTRODUCTION
Ethical issues, particularly those tied to
discrimination and sexual harassment, have shed
light on unethical conduct in the workplace and
how these ethical lapses can permeate employee
relations, business practices, and operations.
According to the Ethics & Compliance Initiative’s
2018 Global Benchmark on Workplace Ethics,
30% of employees in the U.S. personally observed
misconduct in the past 12 months, a number close
to the global median for misconduct observation.
ese ethical breaches often occur unreported or
unaddressed, and when totaled, can command a
hefty cost. WORKPLACE
ETHICAL ISSUES
Unethical Leadership
IN WORKPLACE
Having a personal issue with your boss is one thing, but reporting to a person who is
behaving unethically is another. is may come in an obvious form, like manipulating
numbers in a report or spending company money on inappropriate activities;
Toxic Workplace Culture
Organizations helmed by unethical leadership are more often than not plagued by a
toxic workplace culture. Leaders who think nothing of taking bribes, manipulating sales
gures and data or pressuring employees or business associates for “favors”
(whether they be personal or nancial), wil think nothing of disrespecting and bullying
their employees.
Discrimination and Harassment
● Laws require organizations to be equal employment opportunity employers.
Organizations must recruit a diverse workforce, enforce policies and training that
support an equal opportunity program, and foster an environment that is respectful of
all types of people. Unfortunately, there are stil many whose practices break with
EEOC guidelines. When discrimination and harassment of employees based on race,
ethnicity, gender, disability or age occurs, not only has an ethical line been crossed but
a legal one as well.
Unrealistic and Con icting Goals
● Your organization sets a goal—it could be a monthly sales gure or product production
number—that seems unrealistic, even unattainable. While not unethical in and of itself
(after all, having driven leadership with aggressive company goals is crucial to
innovation and growth), it’s how employees, and even some leaders, go about
reaching the goal that could raise an ethical red ag.
ETHICAL DILEMMA’S
Ethics are the moral standards andprinciples bywhich entities (individuals
andorganizations) govern their behaviors anddecision-making. When
these standards andprinciples con ict with each other in a decision-
makingsituation, an ethical dilemma mayoccur. An ethical dilemma
(ethical paradox or moral dilemma) is a problem in the decision-making
process between two possible options, neither of which is absolutely
acceptable from an ethical perspective.
TYPES OF ETHICAL DILEMMA’S
1. Epistemic vs ontological- In epistemic ethical dilemmas, it is not clear to the agent what
should be done because the agent is unable to discern which moral requirement takes
precedence. e main interest in ethical dilemmas is concerned with the ontological level:
whether there actually are unresolvable con icts between moral requirements, not just
whether the agent believes so.
2. Self-imposed vs world imposed -In the self-imposed case, the agent is herself
responsible for the con ict. In the world-imposed case, on the other hand, the agent is
thrown into the dilemma without being responsible for it occurring.
3. Obligation vs prohibition -Most discussions of ethical dilemmas focus
on obligation dilemmas: they involve two con icting actions that the
agent is ethically required to perform. Prohibition dilemmas, on the other
hand, are situations in which no course of action is allowed.
4. Single-agent vs multi-agent - Ethical dilemmas involve two courses of
action that are both obligatory but stand in con ict with each other: it is
not possible to perform both actions. In regular single-agent cases, a
single agent has both con icting obligations. In multi-agent cases, the
actions are still incompatible but the obligations concern di erent people.
RESPOND TO AN ETHICAL DILEMMA
••Repeat back and clarify
••Ask questions
••Focus on your manager’s best interests
••Suggest an alternative
••Blow the whistle
CHALLENGES IN ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
Decision makinginvolves a great degree of value clarity, ethical decision making
involves more! Unlike certain nancial, inventoryandproduction decisions,
ethical decisions cannot be codedinto digital machines. eyrequire critical
thinkingandevaluation.
BARRIERS TO ETHICALDECISION MAKING
Necessity obstacles
No consequence
obstacles
Permissibility Obstacle
Entitlementobstacle
NECESSITY OBSTACLE
● A decision-maker creates necessity obstacles by insisting that one course
of action is the only way something can be done. e person may claim,
“ ere’s no other choice
NO CONSEQUENCE OBSTACLE
No consequence obstacles rationalize the violation of ethical principles based on the fact that
there’s no clear and immediate harm to others, or the cost is just a one-time event. People often
say, “It won’t matter just once,” “Nobody wil know the di erence,” or “It doesn’t hurt anyone.”
PERMISSIBILITY OBSTACLE
Decision makers encounter permissibility
obstacles when there are no rules or laws to deter
a questionable ethical choice. ey confuse what’s
right with what’s possible or legal. Decision makers
often say, “ ere’s no law against it,” or “ ere’s
nothing stopping us.”
ENTITLEMENT OBSTACLE
● Entitlement obstacles occur when a decision-maker wants to justifytaking
somethingawayfrom someone else. e decision-maker often feels abused,
disadvantaged, or unfairlytreated. e person often says, “I deserve this more than
he does,” perhaps feelingthat they’re rightinga wrong.
● Such justi cations helppeople feel at ease with their decisions. However, it’s
always prudent to explore more ethical solutions. Removingthe obstacles ensures
the best possible outcome. But how? ankfully, for each type of ethical obstacle,
there are techniques to remove it.
● e best technique for removingeach obstacle depends on the justi cation
argument at the root of the obstacle.
REDRESSALOF GRIEVANCES
According to Michel J. the term grievance means any discontent or dissatisfaction either
expressed or not & whether valid or not, arising out of anything connected with the
company that an employee thinks, believes of even feels is unfair, unjust, or inequitable.
It is a speci c, formal notice of dissatisfaction expressed through an identi ed process.
AREAS OF GRIEVANCE
o Promotion
o Amenities
o Increments
o Salaryetc.
TYPES OF GRIEVANCES
FACTUAL
IMAGINARY
DISGUISED
MODEL OF GRIEVANCES PROCEDURE
I. Reporting II. Department III. Grievance
O cer/Immedia Head Committee
teSupervisor
V. Arbitration IV. Top
Management
CAUSES FOR EMPLOYEE GRIEVANCES
MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
UNION PRACTICES
PERSONALITY TRAITS
ESSENTIAL OF GOOD GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL SYSTEM
• Timely Action
• Acknowledgement of Grievance
• Identifying the problem
• Collecting facts
• Analyzing the cause
• Taking decisions
• Implementing the decision
EMPLOYEE RIGHTS
● Labor rights or workers'rights are both legal rights andhuman rights relatingto
labor relations between workers andemployers.
● An employee has the right to paidpublic holidays andleaves such as casual leave,
sick leave, privilege leave andother leaves. For every240 days of work, an
employee is entitledto 12 days of annual leave.
● Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and
Redressal) Act, 2013 protects women at the workplace from sexual harassment.
● Employee Provident FundOrganisation (EPFO) is the national organisation
which manages this retirement bene ts scheme for all salariedemployees.
● e MaternityBene t Act, 1961, provides for prenatal andpostnatal bene ts for
a female employee in an establishment. Post-2017 amendments, the duration of
paidleave for a pregnant female employee has been increasedto 26 weeks,
includingeight weeks of postnatal paidleaves.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
● Con ict of interest as an opposition between the private interests and the o cial or professional
responsibilities of a person in a position of trust, power, and/or authority. Such con icts mayresult in a
situation in which personal, nancial, and/or non nancial considerations have the potential to in uence or
compromise professional judgment in clinical service, research, consultation, instruction, administration, or
anyother professional activity.
● It is important to note that it is not necessaryfor such in uence or compromise to have occurred before a
situation can be identi ed as a con ict of interest.
● It is su cient for the situation to appear to provide the potential for professional judgment to be
compromised.
● A con ict of interest at work arises when a situation that bene ts an employee also a ects your company.
And employees are bound through your company’s code of conduct to act in the interests of their employer
and not for their own personal gain.
WHAT TO DO ABOUT CONFLICT ABOUT INTEREST?
When faced with a potential con ict of interest, there are three appropriate responses:
A. Avoid- It is best to avoid situations that could result in con icts of interest whenever possible.
In commercial and nancial matters, avoidance does not mean that absolutely no nonwage
bene ts may be accepted. It does mean that some are prohibited and that all should be
carefully scrutinized.
B. Disclosure :- Its essential y a self-initiated action, with the intent to be honest and complete,
to provide personal and professional information in order to remain ethically compliant with the
Code. e act of disclosure is a process of transparency.
C. Recusal:- It is the action of withdrawing from situations when one's participation creates
bias that could adversely in uence the decision. As an example, when one sits on a committee
or board that makes decisions about the advancement of others or about the distribution of
resources and bene ts to others, a con ict of interest may require that the professional recuse
themselves.
EXAMPLES OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST AT
WORK
● Hiringan unquali edrelative to provide services your companyneeds
● Startinga companythat provides services similar to your full-time employer
● Failingto disclose that you’re relatedto a jobcandidate the companyis
consideringhiring
● Postingto social media about your company’s weaknesses
● Failingto investigate a subordinate or coworker’s wrongdoingbecause theyare a
friend
● Sharingcon dential information about your employer with a competitor
● Datingor havinga romantic relationshipwith a supervisor or subordinate
● Acceptinga favor or a gift from a client above the amount speci edas
acceptable bythe company
● Reportingto a supervisor who is also a close friendor familymember
● Doingbusiness or work for a competitor.
EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP AT WORKPLACE
DEFINITION
Employeerelationsisthemanagementof relationshipsand
communicationsto potential, currentand former employees.
isplaysaroleintheproductivity, creativity, reputationand
cultureof anorganization.
EmployeeRelationship refersto anorganization's e ortsto
createand maintainapositiverelationship withitsemployees.
Employeerelationsserveasanimportantpartof your
interactionwithyour employees.
EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
Employee relations managers are responsible for
facilitating employee relations and resolving human
resource issues on behalf of a company. An HR
department is one that looks after these con icts
and provide suitable solutions.
An HR department has two primary functions.
a) HR helps prevent and resolve problems or
disputes between employees and
management.
b) ey assist in creating and enforcing policies
that are fair and consistent for everyone in the
workplace
ROLE OF EMPLOYEE RELATION
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
Manage employee les
Share companynews
Share policies and procedures updates
Monitor compliance with policies and procedures
Recruit employees
Assist in the hiring processes
Encourage employees for advocacy
Manage relationships between employer and employees
Collaborate in employee exit processes
Assist in writing employee handbook
TYPES OF WORK
Strictly professionals
RELATION
1. CO-WORKERS Personal Relationship
2. WORK FRIENDS 1. SPOUSES OR
3. EMPLOYER- CLOSE
EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIPS
RELATIONSHIPS 2. LIFE FRIENDS
4. TEAM MEMBERS
5. MENTOR-MENTEE
RELATIONSHIPS.
IMPORTANCE
• Positive employee relationships allowa rm to attract and retain
talent.
• Employees are the real assets in everybusiness. Good employee
relations ensure perfect syncbetween employer and employees.
And adds to the stabilityin business.
• Healthyworkplace relations motivate employees to give their
best and work harder and employees with a higher level of
motivation are less likelyto experience burnout.
• It ensures a better workplace culture. It enhances work-life
balances. As it is important for better employee engagement.
• It helps in improvement of employee satisfaction, employee
engagement, employee productivity, employee retention,
employee advocacy, employee experience and employee
empowerment.
• ere can be positive and negative outcomes based on
employee relationships and management.
• Positive outcome like more engagement, creativity, increase
morale, high productivity, no absenteeism, etc.
• Negative outcomes like stress, fatigue, lowengagement, low
productivity, more absenteeism, wife-balance su ers, etc.
HOWONE CANHAVE A GOOD
AND HEALTHY RELATIONSAT
WORKPLACE ?
• Showing Respect
• Opencommunication
• Honestfeedback
• Showing Gratitude
• Managementwork-lifebalance
• Empathy
• Gettheteam behind thevision.
• Trust
• Recognitionand Appreciation
• Investmentsand giving appropriate
chances
• No favorites.
• Providing suitableEmployeeBene ts
THANK YOU