Ethical dilemmas in human resource management: an application of a multidimensional framework, a unifying taxonomy, and applicable codes

Human Resource Management Review 11 (2001) 159 ± 175

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Ethical dilemmas in human resource management An application of a multidimensional framework, a unifying taxonomy, and applicable codes Kevin C. Wooten* Department of Management, University of Houston-Clear Lake, 2700 Bay Area Boulevard, Houston, TX 77058, USA

Abstract Human resource management (HRM) is currently undergoing rapid professionalization. One area, which has not been fully examined from a scholarly nor practitioner perspective, is that of ethical dilemmas. Ethical dilemmas in HRM can be seen as multifaceted, involving personal, professional, and organizational considerations. A general model of five ethical dilemmas [Acad. Manage. Rev. 8 (1983) 690.] is applied to HRM in general and to eight HRM functions, illustrating 40 specific examples of potentially unethical behavior. Ethical codes of five professional associations are reviewed in relation to general categories of ethical dilemmas, and their coverage is discussed. D 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Ethics; Dilemmas; HRM

1. Introduction The last several decades have witnessed a remarkable growth in the human resource (HR) profession. As industrial and societal transformations have occurred, so too has the increased importance of HR management (HRM; Cascio, 1998; DeCenzo, 1995; Sherman, Bolander, & Snell, 1996). New employee expectations, increased economic turbulence, changing values, global competition, and constant revisions in employment law have propelled HRM as one of the pivotal areas for organizational success. Along with HRM's new strategic role (Butler, * Tel.: +1-281-283-3237; fax: +1-281-283-3951. E-mail address: [email protected] (K.C. Wooten). 1053-4822/01/$ ± see front matter D 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. PII: S 1 0 5 3 - 4 8 2 2 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 4 5 - 0

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Ferris, & Napier, 1991; Huselid, 1995; Martell & Carroll, 1995; Wright & McMahan, 1992) come new role demands and requests upon HR practitioners and consultants from their many constituents. One such request is the ability to react to new and evolving ethical dilemmas that occur in HRM. As the field of HRM has generally evolved, so have the concerns of professionalism (Wiley, 1995). As noted by Wilhelm (1990), this increased focus on professionalism is well represented by the HRM professional degrees offered by many leading colleges and universities, as well as training and certification by professional associations such as the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), Human Resource Planning Society (HRPS), and the American Compensation Association (ACA), to name a few. While there is certainly by no means uniformity in formal degree programs, there is increased clarity as to certification standards for professionals. While certification clearly enhances the professionalism of HRM practice, little educational attention has been given to ethical considerations. One reason for the enhancement of professional education and certification has been the codification of key competencies, experience, and levels of knowledge required by today's HRM practitioners (Ulrick, Brockbank, & Yeung, 1989). While the practice areas (e.g., staffing, planning, training, compensation, etc.) of HRM have become increasingly clear, one area that has not been adequately addressed is that of professional ethics. While there is much literature (Wiley, 1995) now available about the rising professionalism of HRM, the field does not fare well along contemporary criteria (Barker, 1992) of professionalism compared to other areas (e.g., accounting, engineering, and law). It is interesting to note that long-held notions by organizational sociologists (Bennion, 1969; Caplow, 1964; Greenwood, 1972; Wilensky, 1964) and by scholars in professional ethics (Bayles, 1989; Koehn, 1994; Kultgen, 1988) suggest that full professionalism occurs only when the policies and professional standards for addressing ethical dilemmas for a given body of professionals can be adequately addressed. To this extent, HRM can not be considered fully professional nor should it be until such time that the ethical dilemmas that occur in practice can be identified and practitioners educated as to how to resolve them. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the types of dilemmas that occur in HRM so that sufficient attention can be generated both educationally and professionally. First, the general rise in concern around ethics in HRM will be addressed, and a multidimensional framework of HRM ethics will be presented. Second, an attempt will be made to examine common dilemma categories in the practice of HRM using an existing taxonomy. Third, this taxonomy will be applied to traditional HRM functions and specific examples provided of potential unethical behavior on the part of HRM professionals. Last, the common dilemma taxonomy will be applied to the codes of ethics of five professional HRM associations illustrating their coverage. It is hoped that through application of investigative models and through specification of likely dilemmas resulting in unethical behavior, an increased focus can be generated upon professional ethics in HRM. A desired outcome of such increased focus therefore is an increased effort to develop and communicate professional codes of conduct and eventually standards of practice that will allow the HRM discipline to achieve greater occupational status and organizational viability. Thus, the scope of this paper is not to specify the role-specific

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behavior of practitioners or to articulate how policies should be created. Rather, the paper outlines the current status of the profession with respect to ethical dilemmas and codes, and illustrates how various frameworks and models may be used to further study the issues and work towards resolution. 2. Ethics and HRM 2.1. Increased focus of ethics in HRM In general, there is an increased focus on ethics in management. The growth in the number and quality of recent texts (Behrman, 1988; DeGeorge, 1995; Ferrell & Fraedrich, 1994; French & Granrose, 1995; Hartley, 1993; Shaw, 1991; Weiss, 1994) suggests that considerable effort is now being devoted to ethical inquiry of applied administration. Many of these efforts do touch on ethical issues specifically related to the practice of HRM, namely economic justice, employee honesty, discrimination, as well as worker rights and safety. However, HR scholars and practitioners alike have not devoted sufficient effort to identifying specific dilemmas, much less addressing resolution strategies. Recent research concerning business ethics well illustrates that HR-related issues are increasingly prominent in the day-to-day practice of contemporary managers. Robertson and Schlegelmilch (1993) surveyed over 700 companies relative to their experience involving 26 ethical issues. They reported that the most problematic issues found were drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and employee theft. Thus, the most problematic issues involved issues frequently addressed by HRM practitioners. Fusilier, Aby, Worley, and Elliot (1996) surveyed over 900 businesses to determine the seriousness of over 20 ethical issues. They found that of the 10 most serious issues, 6 were related to HRM. These included workplace safety, employee theft, security of employee records, affirmative action, comparable work, and employee privacy rights. While some might argue that general organizational ethics and the ethics of HRM professionals are indistinguishable (Welch, 1993), an alternative argument can be made relative to needs of HRM professionals who develop and maintain distinctive competencies and engage in highly specialized functions and duties. Unquestionably, many organizational members engage in HRM activities (e.g., training, selection, etc.) as a function of their job, yet they are not expected nor required to have the same level of competence as an HRM professional nor are they held to the same standards of practice. Similarly, many organizational members engage in accounting-related activities (e.g., budgeting) yet are not expected to perform at the same level as a CPA. While the evolution of general managerial roles and HRM functions is beyond the scope of this paper, a long-term issue will involve how individuals who are not HRM professionals can or should address complex HRM ethical dilemmas. Other professional groups such as accountants, engineers, and information systems professionals have professionalized and evolved to the point of requiring specific educational standards, basic competencies, and agreement on standards of practice and ethical conduct. It is now time for HRM to do the same. Given that the field of HRM will evolve rapidly over the next several decades, it is important to create a viable code of conduct that provides for greater accountability on the part of practitioners and providers of HRM services. Such a code

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of conduct needs to provide a high degree of role specificity yet also provide the flexibility required of highly dynamic situations. Within the last several years, increased mention of ethical issues has been seen in frequently used HRM textbooks. These efforts typically illustrate the code of ethics adopted by the SHRM and depict highly specific types of dilemmas to be encountered by HRM practitioners. To a large extent, these efforts are tied to issues of employee rights. Schuler and Huber (1993), for example, closely examine HR information systems and privacy. Dressler (1994) has illustrated the potential ethical problems in the use of tests in employee selection. Sherman et al. (1996) touch upon ethical considerations as a part of emerging professional concerns, as do a variety of others (Fisher, Schoenfeldt, & Shaw, 1999; Ivancevich, 1998; Milkovich & Boudreau, 1998; Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhardt, & Wright, 1997; Schuler, 1995). One textbook, that of French (1998), illustrates one ethical dilemma at the end of each a chapter. Cascio (1998) has devoted one entire chapter to justice and ethics in employee relations. Anthony, Perrewe, and Kacmar (1993) have positioned ethics as a major decisional category when making strategic decisions in HRM. The HRM practitioner literature is unfortunately limited with respect to identifying and categorizing specific ethical dilemmas. One recent survey conducted by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Commerce Case Clearinghouse (CCH) (1991) of HRM professionals identified more than 40 ethical events and situations relevant to HRM practice. The 10 most serious situations reported by HR managers were hiring/training/ promotion based on favoritism, allowing differences in pay, promotion, etc., to be based on friendship with top management, sexual harassment, sex discrimination in promotion, using discipline inconsistently, nonperformance factors used in appraisal, arrangements with vendors leading to personal gains, and sex discrimination in recruitment/hiring. Mathis and Jackson (1997) note that ethical issues in HRM pose fundamental questions about fairness, justice, truthfulness, and social responsibility. They have identified seven specific ethical issues in HRM that create particular difficulty. Among them are withholding information on a problem employee with another potential employer, investigating credit and criminal records of potential employees, obligations to long-term employees who become ineffective due to job changes, considerations involving lifestyle upon professional opportunities, enforceability of smoking cessation, employment considerations for applicants with dependents with costly health concerns, and privacy issues involving AIDS. Several authors have articulated the broad-range ethical challenges in contemporary HRM. Gandz and Hayes (1988) noted that issues such as discrimination, psychological testing, antiunion activity, work design, employment security, privacy, negotiation tactics, disciplinary practices, worker displacement, and confidentiality to be among the most difficult of ethical problems in HRM practice. McLagan (1989) has noted many of these same issues in the HRM subfield of HR development, inclusive of management of diversity differences, balancing of organizational and individual needs, respect for copyrights/intellectual property issues, and ensuring truth in data and recommendations, to name a few. Recent thinking involving ethical dilemmas in HRM reflects the programmatic issues of HRM practice. For example, several authors have raised the issue of ethics in both drug testing (Birsch, 1995; Carson, 1995) and genetic screening (Kupfer, 1993). Other authors have directed attention to the ethical issues and dilemmas involved in the practice of total

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quality management (Fort, 1995; Raiborn & Payne, 1996). As well, the ethics involving the practice of outsourcing have recently received attention (Henderson, 1997). Articles by Archer (1986), Edwards and Bennett (1987), and Wallace (1985) all illustrate a core theme. The core theme is that HRM practitioners engage in a high degree of role multiplicity, which influences the opportunity for ethical dilemmas to occur. Role multiplicity here refers to the enactment of many different functions, duties, and responsibilities on the part of HRM professionals. For example, HRM professionals set up and monitor policies, make decisions impinging upon employee rights, enforce employment law, educate organizational participants, and contract with external agencies for services, etc. Thus, the role of the HRM professional and their subsequent boundary spanning functions provide a rich context in which ethical dilemmas reside. Additionally, they are frequently seen by others as an organizational watchdog for all other organizational participants (Edwards & Bennett, 1987). Several attempts have explored the epistemological considerations of HRM professionals. Dachler and Enderle (1989) have examined a variety of the epistemological assumptions of those in the HRM field. They argue that the behavior of HRM professionals and their decisions reflect their implicit assumptions and values. Dachler and Enderle also argue that many ethical issues are ignored by HRM professionals as a result of these assumptions and values. Payne (1994) has examined alternative social paradigms explaining HRM professional behavior, ranging from constructivist to postmodern approaches. Payne suggests that use of multidimensional paradigms is greatly needed to influence HRM ethical awareness and judgment. 2.2. A multidimensional framework for the study of HRM ethics It is proposed that one clear reason for the lack of analysis and specificity in HRM ethics is the role multiplicity and ambiguity inherent in the HRM profession. Thus, in order to begin to conceptualize the types of ethical dilemmas that occur in HRM, a framework, which examines this role multiplicity and contextual factors, is much needed. Such a framework needs to be sensitive not only to the many functional areas that HRM professionals engage in but also to the often difficult decisional context in which they operate. Fig. 1 is an attempt to illustrate the ethical environment of the HRM professional. As shown, the HRM environment is greatly influenced by demographic trends, legislative/ regulatory climate, economic climate, and social trends. Each of these environmental factors greatly influences the nature and process of ethical dilemmas. For example, increased economic pressure forces organizations to engage in practices (e.g., downsizing), which may abridge personal or professional values. New laws (e.g., Americans With Disabilities Act), which dictate the parameters of decision making involving fulfillment of employee rights, are frequently passed. Clearly, demographic trends have dramatically changed the nature of the workplace in terms of the recipients and users of HRM services and functions. While many HRM professionals are highly specialized into one or more areas (e.g., training), many other professionals actively engage in generalist activities, which bridge many HRM functional areas depicted in Fig. 1. Review of several contemporary HRM text (Byars & Rue, 1997; Cascio, 1998; DeCenzo, 1995; Dressler, 1994; Fisher et al., 1999; French, 1998; Schuler, 1995; Schuler & Huber, 1993; Sherman et al., 1996) indicates these eight functional areas as the most salient. In addition to these eight, HRM professionals are

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Fig. 1. Multidimensional framework for the study of HRM ethics.

frequently called upon for many specialty services such as outplacement and employee assistance programs, etc. These eight functions and all specialty functions and services are influenced by the environmental factors and in turn influence ethical decision making and behavior of HRM professionals. Fig. 1 illustrates that HRM professionals, like many other contemporary professionals, must simultaneously balance organizational ethics, professional ethics, and personal ethical considerations. Frequently, an HRM manager is employed by an organization expecting one form of ethical behavior, his/her professional training and association suggest another, both of which are conflicting with what they personally believe to be ethically appropriate. For example, consider a situation where a HR manager is expected by his/her organization, which is planning to downsize, to informally encourage individuals over 50 to take early retirement. The organization has secretly planned to offer a large severance package to those who will be terminated, and in general, the severance package will be quite superior to the retirement options. The training and professional experience that the HR manager possesses suggests that attempts to influence early retirement will likely meet with mixed results, with individual employees making decisions that are truly not in their best interest. From a personal perspective, the HR manager believes that losing a large number of long-term employees

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will jeopardize the capabilities of the organization to remain competitive. The HR manager also knows that due to profitability and market dominance, a reduction of force is not necessitated. Thus, as shown in Fig. 1, the intersection of organizational, professional, and personal ethics can lead to complex ethical dilemmas. The overlap or intersection of organizational, professional, and personal ethics may provide guidance for the HRM professional or create considerable stress, depending upon the congruence of values and expectations. It is therefore the confluence of personal, professional, and organizational components that make HRM ethics dynamic, complex, and difficult to conceptualize. It could be argued that situations could arise where personal, professional, and organizational values, standards, and expectations are congruent, yet the behavior of an HRM professional could still be considered unethical. This, therefore, gives rise to the distinction between an ethical dilemma and unethical behavior. Here, ethical dilemmas in HRM can be formally defined as the multifaceted demands placed on HRM professionals in which personal, professional, and organizational beliefs, expectations, values, and needs conflict as a result of environmental influences upon HRM functions, duties, roles, services, and activities. Unethical behavior then is a decision or a behavioral result from a decision on the part of an HRM professional that results in personal, professional, or organizational harm doing. More often than not, unethical behavior can be seen to arise from ethical dilemmas where there is a lack of congruence between personal, professional, and organizational role demands. From a philosophical perspective, the proposed framework illustrated in Fig. 1 is most closely aligned with the British scholar Ross (1930). Ross criticized normative ethics, utilitarianism, and Kantian ethics in particular as being too simple. Ross has argued that individuals are constantly faced by a multitude of demands (e.g., personal, professional, and organizational) and that we cannot reduce our moral objections into a single overriding consideration. Ross contends that obligations in modern life often grow out of special relationships engendered from roles we undertake. To this extent, ethical dilemmas in HRM can be well illustrated by Fig. 1. While the resolution of ethical dilemmas experienced in HRM is beyond the scope of this paper, Fig. 1 does suggest potential for development. First, if dilemmas can be acknowledged when conflict between personal, professional, and organizational demands arise, then there is a lower probability that unethical decision will be made and unethical behavior exhibited. Second, if HRM professionals can be taught to clarify and understand their own values, expectations, etc., as well as those espoused by their professional organization or client, then there is a greater probability that dilemmas, and the dynamics surrounding the etiology of those dilemmas, can be properly diagnosed. 3. Ethical dilemmas in HRM 3.1. Application of an existing taxonomy Given the lack of inquiry concerning HRM ethics and associated ethical dilemmas, it is proposed that an existing general taxonomy of ethical dilemmas be applied to the broad HRM

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functions. The taxonomy suggested to be applied is that proposed by White and Wooten (1983, 1986) and Wooten and White (1983). This approach to ethical dilemmas was initially developed for application in organization development and was utilized as a dominant framework by organizational development (OD) text books (French & Bell, 1995). Wooten and White (1983) see their taxonomy of ethical dilemmas in OD as a manifestation of role sending and role receiving on the part of change agents and client systems. This taxonomy seems to have general applicability to the many functions, roles, duties, and tasks of HRM in that it considers transactions (i.e., role behavior) involving information, technology, values, and politics. Given that the emerging model of HRM competencies indicates heavy reliance upon change agent skills as much as typical functions (Kesler, 1995), this taxonomy appears to have high applicability for contemporary HRM. The five ethical dilemma categories considered to be applicable include misrepresentation and collusion, misuse of data, manipulation and coercion, value and goal conflict, and technical ineptness. Misrepresentation and collusion can occur when the HRM professional misrepresents his/her skill base, education, expertise, certification, or specialized training. This form of dilemma may also be seen as occurring when the HRM practitioner attempts to exclude other parties for personal gain or self-protection or when professional objectivity is lost by inappropriate structuring of the relationship. Here, misrepresentation and collusion occurs when personal values or needs is optimized, to the exclusion of professional standards or organizational expectations. Thus, utilizing Fig. 1, there is little convergence between personal, professional, and organizational interest, resulting in the potential for unethical behavior. Collusion may also occur through loss of objectivity by means of assimilation into the organization's culture. An example of this type of dilemma in HRM practice involves a practitioner who portrays himself as knowledgeable about employment law yet does not have a sufficient background to protect the best interest of the organization. The second type of general dilemma that could potentially produce unethical behavior is that of misuse of data. This occurs when the voluntary consent or confidentiality of organization members is violated or abridged, or when data are distorted, deleted, or not reported. Further, this can result in using data to punitively assess persons or groups resulting in harm doing. This type of dilemma can be produced, for example, when organizational interest and politics are not congruent with personal values or professional practices. If this conflict or lack of congruence is not resolved, harm doing may likely result. This type of ethical dilemma is particularly relevant in contemporary HRM practice through employee records and HR information systems. For example, HRM professionals frequently know information about personality traits or career interests of employees. Should this information not be handled confidentially, great harm can occur. Manipulation and coercion constitutes the third category of general ethical dilemma. This dilemma type can occur when the implementation of HR roles, practices, or programs requires organizational members to abridge their personal values or needs against their will. For example, forcing an employee to submit to a random drug test without prior notification or previous agreement is illustrative. Many HRM programs, policies, and activities involve issues of voluntary participation or issues of consent by organizational members. For example, forcing an employee to divulge personal information in a training program is another example of this type of dilemma. Thus, if the expectation on the part of the

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organization involving training practices and expectations is not congruent with personal values of the trainer, unethical behavior could result in the form of harm doing. The fourth dilemma category, value and goal conflict, occurs when there is conflict or ambiguity concerning whose needs will be fulfilled by meeting specific goals. Value and goal conflict can also be seen when there is ambiguity in defining HRM goals or targets of HRM programs and policies. Further, this type of dilemma can be seen when HRM professionals engage in resistance to altering HRM strategies or when the professional withholds services or needed resources. For example, withholding a benefit (e.g., Employee Assistance Program) from a union employee during negotiations so as to maximize leverage in settling a favorable contract well depicts this type of dilemma. Here, the lack of congruence between organizational concerns and the needs and expectation of professional practice can produce the opportunity for unethical behavior to arise from such a dilemma. The fifth dilemma category is that of technical ineptness. This dilemma occurs when there is a lack of knowledge or skill in the use of techniques or procedures to effectively diagnose HRM issues, formulate HRM targets, choose and implement programs, HR strategies, and technologies, or to apply HRM programs at the appropriate depth and scope. This dilemma may also occur when there is an inability to effectively evaluate or terminate a program or policy. Technical ineptness may also occur when there is resistance to transfer the knowledge and responsibilities for HRM to internal parties (e.g., line managers). An example of this type of dilemma can be illustrated when internal HRM practitioners attempt to work with survivors of downsizing and layoffs, even though they do not have the specialized training needed to address complex psychological issues nor the objectivity to assess counseling needs. Here, the lack of overlap between the organization's needs and the standards for professionalism emanating from the HRM field may create a dilemma, which if not properly handled can again result in harm. Critical to the examination of ethical dilemmas in HRM is the issue of causality. As shown in Fig. 2, the five general ethical dilemma categories are proposed to be a consequence of role episodes (Katz & Kahn, 1966) involving HRM practitioners and their constituents, however defined. To this extent, HRM professionals and their customers are both role senders and role receivers, engaging in sequences of role episodes. In this role episodic model, antecedents of these dilemmas are conceptualized to be comprised of personal, professional, and organizational factors. Building upon the three ethical components illustrated in Fig. 1 (i.e., organizational, professional, and personal ethics), a variety of factors will potentially influence a given role episode. Shaping a HR manager's personal ethics involves their personal values, beliefs, and abilities. The organization's ethics will undoubtedly be largely shaped, along with other factors, by its resources, culture, and norms, as well as its typical management practices. Professionally, the HR practitioner's professional ethics will be largely influenced by their relevant education and certification, professional affiliations, and codes of conduct adhered to. Fig. 2 illustrates that the personal, professional, and organizational antecedents of role senders and role receivers can create variations in the role episode. Thus, role episodes may involve role conflict, role ambiguity, and role multiplicity. For example, when one's values (personal) conflict with a given professional code (professional) and with the cultural norms (organizational) of his/her employer, the result can be shown as resulting in role conflict and

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Fig. 2. Role episodic model of ethical dilemmas in HRM.

subsequently an ethical dilemma such as value and goal conflict. Alternatively, one can see how ethical dilemmas such as technical ineptness could occur as a result of unrefined abilities, lack of education, or lack of resources, producing role ambiguity and role multiplicity. Operationally, numerous permutations of antecedents can lead to numerous varieties of role episodes, ultimately resulting in various forms of ethical dilemmas, and unethical behavior. An illustration of this model then could be depicted by a situation where the ethical dilemma of misuse of data occurs. Consider a situation involving an HRM manager who informs upper management that a candidate for a bank teller position had been arrested as a teenager for theft. This information was not provided by the applicant, and the HRM manager learned of this through a mutual contact. The HRM manager personally believes that due to the applicant's good work record, and since their criminal record prior to age 16 is kept confidential by the court system, it should not influence the employment decision. However, the organization's culture is quite conservative, as is their customer base, and the management has long held that only community members with the highest degree of integrity could be employed. As well, through the HR manager's educational background, they are aware that certain felony convictions can be legally considered for certain jobs (e.g., bank tellers) that involve monetary exchange. Thus, this role episode is fraught with conflict, ambiguity, and multiplicity. An important consideration in the application of the role episodic model involves the potential influence of the consequences (i.e., ethical dilemmas) upon the personal, professional, and organizational antecedents, as well as subsequent role episodes. As shown in Fig. 2, the occurrence of any one of the five ethical dilemma categories potentially can influence

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any one or all of the antecedents or role episode components. Thus, role sending and role receiving is a highly dynamic process. Consider for example a situation where value and goal conflict occurs. Such an occurrence could conceivably increase the existing role conflict or induce a reduction in role ambiguity. For example, the occurrence of technical ineptness could, in a dynamic process, influence the development of a practitioner's ability, adherence to specific management practices, and lead to enhanced education and certification. Thus, the change in these antecedents will unquestionably influence the nature of future role episodes and subsequently the occurrence of future dilemmas. 3.2. Unethical behavior in various HRM functions As illustrated in Table 1, a large number of potential unethical behaviors or practices can be illustrated across the eight HRM functions. These discrete unethical behaviors or practices can be seen as subsets of the general dilemma categories. This select listing is by no means considered to be exhaustive. Contents of Table 1 do however indicate the applicability of the five categories of dilemma that can produce unethical behavior in HRM. As shown, the specific behaviors are distinct yet can be grouped by use of the taxonomy applied. An example of the misrepresentation and collusion dilemma type can be shown when HRM practitioners misrepresent the organization's interest with a job candidate. Such a selection/staffing activity not only harms the candidate but also the future recruiting potential on the part of the organization. The misuse of data dilemma in career/employee development can be illustrated through purposeful or inadvertent divulging of career interests to powerful organizational decision makers without obtaining employee consent. The manipulation and coercion dilemma can be shown when HRM practitioners engage in negotiation tactics to force the other party to compromise for the sake of winning the argument. Such coercion and manipulation frequently evolves into further mistrust and more complex unethical behavior. An example of value and goal conflict dilemma is frequently evidenced in the form of decisions surrounding employee safety/health. Here, employee health concerns are frequently overlooked or compromised in favor of profitability concerns. The technical ineptness dilemma in OD frequently manifests itself when the HRM practitioner does not have the ability to diagnose organizational problems nor to intervene at the appropriate depth or scope. While 40 potential unethical behaviors in HRM are depicted in Table 1, clearly, many more need to be identified and categorized systematically. It is important to note that the examples listed in Table 1, or those that could be listed in Table 1, are unethical to the extent that they violate ethical codes or guidelines. Thus, to the extent that these illustrations are addressed by existing professional codes is of considerable importance to the HRM field. 4. Ethical codes in HRM Numerous HRM professional associations have ethical codes or policies on ethics. Each reflects the unique nature of their constituency in the conduct of their general or specific roles, functions, and duties. For example, the SHRM has a code of ethics (Society for

Compensation and benefits

Colluding with internal parties so that favored groups receive differential pay/benefits

Using negotiation tactics Distorting facts of that force other party to grievance case in order to gain bargaining power compromise expressed and known needs Communicating to Altering data such that employees that their pay raises, etc. are not salary/benefits were based based on legitimate on fair evaluation when criteria it was not

Creating ambiguous demands in order to polarize other parties' position Withholding pay raises when such is justified

Resistance to settle demands on the basis of lack of understanding or inability to solve problem Lack of knowledge concerning benefits and compensation, law and practices (e.g., job evaluation)

Divulging career interest of organizational members without their consent

Providing career/training opportunities only to a select few of organizational participants Misrepresenting the organization's posture in order to win agreement

Employee and career development

Labor relations

Checking on an aspect of Creating selection criteria/ Lack of knowledge an applicant's background making decision not in best of EEO (Equal Employment interest of organization without prior consent Opportunity), ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) laws/ legislation Compromising career needs Inability to diagnose Forcing organizational training needs and of employees in favor of participants to engage in evaluate training efforts training activities without organizational policies, philosophies their consent

Distortion of selection criterion and application information

Technical ineptness

Manipulation and coercion Value and goal conflict

Misuse of data

Misrepresenting the organization's interest in hiring a candidate

Staffing and selection

Misrepresentation HRM functions and collusion

Table 1 Potential unethical behaviors in various HRM functions

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Performance management

HR planning

Organization development

Safety and health

Not reporting potentially hazardous conditions, issues, etc.

Communicating to employees that work site is generally safe when it is not Implementing programs Violating confidentiality Forcing organizational on OD/culture survey members to participate in for political reasons feedback an OD effort that may as opposed to change personal attributes organizational health (e.g., T-Group) Convincing organizational Distortion of projected Exclusion of needs so as to advantage/ members to assume new particular groups developmental position, disadvantage certain from consideration which is not in their parties of high potential long-term interest evaluation To document performance Altering/diverting Loosing objectivity in ratings, which are not examining performance performance ratings representative of actual in order to meet review data as a result performance of personal experiences, financial/administrative objectives organizational ties

Inability to confront health hazards due to political considerations

Inability to understand/ apply safety/health laws to operations Inability to diagnose organizational problems, select change targets Lack of understanding of HRM strategy, planning, and forecasting models Resistance to transfer responsibility for performance management to internal parties/line management

Compromising employee health issues for productivity needs Providing change efforts that appease individuals rather than address change targets Creating HR plans, which address specific personal or group needs rather than organizational needs Purposively keeping performance factors and expectations ambiguous

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Human Resource Management, 1998) that is quite broad, reflecting a very diverse population of professionals, which spans many functional areas of HRM. Such generality is quite understandable given HRM's stage of evolution as a profession (Wiley, 1995). Jamal and Bowie (1995) recently examined the codes of conduct for accounting, law, and engineering. Given the comprehensiveness of the codes for these three groups involving areas such as public interest, moral hazard, and objectivity, the SHRM code is comparatively underdeveloped. Of particular interest is the extent to which the various ethical codes of several HRM professional associations deal with the general types of ethical dilemmas that are likely to occur. It is unlikely, given the large number of possible permutations, that any professional association could develop an ethical code to cover the multitude of dilemmas that can occur in HRM. Loevinger (1996, p. 165) notes however that ``the areas of professional competence, honesty, candor, diligence, and public service are those in which professional societies could and should be defining and refining standards of conduct and codes of ethics.'' Using the five general dilemmas depicted earlier, Table 2 illustrates the extent to which the codes of ethics of five prominent HRM professional associations cover the five major dilemma categories. As shown in Table 2, codes from the Society for Human Resource Management (1998), the American Society for Training and Development (1998), the International Association of Human Resource Information Management (1998), the American Society of Safety Engineers (1998), and the Academy of Management (1995) illustrate differential coverage. Currently, the American Compensation Association and the Human Resource Planning Society do not have published codes of ethics for their membership. Overall, it appears that only the issue involving misuse of data seems to have adequate coverage. Here, the codes of conduct reflect truthfulness in public statements, maintain confidentiality of records and privileged information, and safeguard the well being of participants in data collection efforts. Misrepresentation and collusion and manipulation and coercion are both poorly represented, with each of the five professional associations either partially covering such dilemmas or not covering them at all. Only the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and the Academy of Management (AOM) have clearly articulated their position with respect to value and goal conflict and technical ineptness. Perhaps it is the severe consequences on human health and the environment that have provided the ASSE the impetus to address these issues. Likewise, perhaps the heavy membership of AOM involved with higher education and university representation has created heightened awareness of qualifications and skill requirements. Table 2 Codes of ethics and ethical dilemmas in HR development Codes of ethics

Misrepresentation and collusion

Misuse of data

Manipulation and coercion

Value and goal conflict

Technical ineptness

SHRM ASTD IHRIM ASSE ADM

No Partial Partial No Partial

Yes Partial Yes Partial Yes

Partial No No No No

Partial No No Yes Partial

No Yes No Yes Yes

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5. Conclusion While the examination of whether or not HRM can be legitimately considered a profession is beyond the scope of this paper, it is clear that HRM clearly needs to address issues involving professional ethics. While the field has grown in shear numbers, as well as strategic importance to organizational functioning, it has lagged behind other professions such as accounting or law to the extent that there is specificity concerning core values of the profession, clear expectations concerning expected roles, standards of practice, and processes to safeguard the public from inappropriate professional behavior. Although the body of content comprising the study of HRM is increasingly clear, the professional conduct to deliver and apply such knowledge is not. The practice of HRM is changing and will perhaps change more in the coming decade. With increased reliance upon information systems, increased internationalization, increased workforce diversity, and new and more organic forms of organization, the practice of HRM will likely evolve to an increased status. As argued herein, the dynamic individual, organizational, and personal factors influencing the ethical decision making and behavior of HRM professionals are immense. However, these same sets of forces are no less real for corporate attorneys and internal audit staff. In order for HRM scholars and practitioners alike to begin to address the ethical difficulties associated with HRM practice, painstaking analysis and categorization similar to that in Table 1 must occur. To ensure the increased effectiveness and strategic partnership of HRM, the field must be seen as ethical and must act ethically. To do so, understanding how dilemmas occur and what form they may take is of paramount importance. The taxonomy proposed appears to provide categories helpful to begin a rigorous investigation of the types of dilemmas encountered in HRM. However, this needs to be addressed empirically. Only through a rigorous approach to the investigation of HRM dilemmas can specific guidelines be established. Perhaps the field of HRM needs to increase its professionalization through a systematic approach to establishing its core values and constructing a viable code of ethics that is applicable to the many different areas that comprise it. Gellerman, Frankel, and Landenson (1990), for example, describe the process of constructing a comprehensive prototype code for individuals involved in organization and human systems development. Their effort engaged the efforts of more than 500 people in more than 20 countries. The result was a well-grounded statement of purpose for the OD field, as well as beliefs, values, and comprehensive ethical principals. It is now time for the HRM field to do the same.

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