Human Resource

Management

Department of
Marketing
University of Dhaka
 Term Paper [ETHICAL AND LEGAL CONTEXT OF HRM]

Term Paper On

ETHICAL AND LEGAL CONTEXT OF

HRM

Course No: 222

Prepared for

Imrana Yasmin
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Marketing
University of Dhaka

Prepared by

BRAINTRUST
Section-B
BBA 15th Batch
Department of Marketing
University of Dhaka

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 Term Paper [ETHICAL AND LEGAL CONTEXT OF HRM]

Submission date: October 30, 2010

GROUP PROFILE

SL No Name Roll

01 Asif Mohammad Shakil 28

02 G. M. Riazuddin 30

03 Zinat Shahana 102

04 Rifat Jahan 136

05 Shayala Yesmin 160

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 Term Paper [ETHICAL AND LEGAL CONTEXT OF HRM]

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

October 30, 2010

IMRANA YASMIN
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Marketing
University of Dhaka
Subject: Letter regarding submission of Term Paper on HRM
Dear Madam,
It’s a great pleasure for us to have the opportunity to submit a report on ‘HUMAN
RESOURE MANAGEMENT’ which had been a great experience for us to work with
such a practical issue & to have the opportunity to know about the link between
national culture, organizational culture, and values that determine behavior and
decisions in organizations. It also helped us to know the different legal and
ethical issues, different aspects of ethical conduct etc. We tried utmost to make &
let it look like a professional one. Any shortcomings are expected to have a kind view for
our encouragement.

Our efforts will be valued, if this report can serve for what it’s been meant for & our
assistance will be there for any queries.

Sincerely yours,

G. M. Riazuddin
On behalf of the Group
BRAINTRUST
Section “B”
BBA 15th Batch
Department of Marketing
University of Dhaka

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 Term Paper [ETHICAL AND LEGAL CONTEXT OF HRM]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, all the praise belongs to Allah, the all knower & the best helpers to make our
report a practical one by providing us the mental & physical toughness in course of
preparation of the term paper.

Our next honest & heartiest gratitude goes to Imrana Yasmin, assistant Professor and
our honourable course teacher for her sincere and utmost guidance to prepare this term
paper & gather huge practical and realistic knowledge, to make us understand the
topics, terms & make us familiar with this course.

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all our friends who helped us by
providing their valuable views & ideas with all types of support that they could provide.

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 Term Paper [ETHICAL AND LEGAL CONTEXT OF HRM]

TABLE OF CONTENT

Subject Page No

Executive Summary 07

Introduction 08

Objectives 09

Ethical Context 10

Ethics, Social Responsibility and Law 11

The Legal Context 12

Equal employment opportunity 13

References 14

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 Term Paper [ETHICAL AND LEGAL CONTEXT OF HRM]

EXECUTIVE SUMMERY

Ethical conduct and social responsibility decisions are determined by the cultural values
of an organization. The values of organizational culture, like national culture, are deeply
embedded, implicit, and not readily changed.
The national culture of a country determines the relationship between values and
legislation. Furthermore, individual organizations differ as to how ethical conduct and
legislation are viewed.
Most countries have legal obligations relevant to the employment relationship. The
topics discussed in this module are equal opportunity, privacy, and occupational health
and safety.
Equal opportunity is about the consideration of only those characteristics that are
relevant to the job when making HRM decisions. Therefore, in principle, EO makes
good business sense. Affirmative action legislation endeavors to address historic and
non-direct discrimination of specific groups in the workforce.
Occupational health and safety legislation in Fiji focuses on three areas - prevention,
compensation, and rehabilitation. However, regardless of the stringency of the legal
system, organizations have a moral obligation to ensure the safety and well-being of its
staff.
Recently introduced laws have brought the issue of privacy to the attention of
organizations. Employees have a moral and legal right to their private and sensitive
information being suitably collected, stored and accessed.

INTRODUCTION
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 Term Paper [ETHICAL AND LEGAL CONTEXT OF HRM]

The behaviors and decisions made by employers in organizations are influenced by a

variety of factors, two of which are discussed in this chapter - values that influence the
standard of ethics of individuals, and the law. This module will examine some of the
determinants of behavior and decisions related to the employment relationship, and
discuss the legal framework of equal employment opportunity, occupational health and
safety, privacy, and the termination of the employment relationship.

OBJECTIVES
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 Term Paper [ETHICAL AND LEGAL CONTEXT OF HRM]

• Explain some aspects of ethical conduct and how it is exhibited

• Discuss the link between ethics, social responsibility and the law
• Describe the legal and ethical obligations of equal employment opportunity,
affirmative action and harassment
• Identify the ethical and legal obligations of employers and employers in the
maintenance of a safe and healthy workplace
• Examine the ethical and legal issues pertaining to the privacy of information on
employees

THE ETHICAL CONTEXT

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 Term Paper [ETHICAL AND LEGAL CONTEXT OF HRM]

How organizations and individual shape the employment relationship is based on their
values, the legal context and restraints upon their actions and the general social and
political mores which guide behavior and decision-making. For this week you will need
to read sections from a number of chapters in the textbook. You will need to compare
and contrast those sections and arrive at reasoned answers to the issues. There may
be competing 'right' answers so do not look for the true and false answers as they may
not be present.

ETHICS, SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND

LAW
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 Term Paper [ETHICAL AND LEGAL CONTEXT OF HRM]

Whilst many countries have legislative frame works pertaining to the employment
relationship, the national culture and the corporate culture of the particular organization
will determine the extent to which the principle, spirit, and letter of the law is obeyed.
Some believe that basic compliance with relevant legislation is adequate. Compliance
means that the organization is operating legally, and thus is not subject to negative
publicity of Court appearance and consequential fines and punishments. The topics of
ethical behavior and social responsibility are not relevant, as the organization is
complying with the law. Thus these organizations believe that the legal system is the
ethics and social responsibility watch-dog. As long as decisions and behaviors are not
illegal, they are acceptable.

Further to this philosophy, some organizations may go so far as to flout the law, either
deliberately or because compliance is taken casually. Deliberate action, or lack of
action, is seen as a calculated risk. The benefits of flouting the law are deemed to be
worthwhile, and being caught is the risk worth taking. Those that comply casually see
compliance as just a nuisance, as the issues to which the legislation pertains are
unimportant.

The alternative thinking is that the legal framework is the outside extreme. There is a
wide gap between what is deemed to be ethical and socially responsible, and compliant
with the law. Thus the attitudes and behaviors described above are viewed as either
immoral or amoral. Unlike those that conform to the above, these organizations are
most unlikely to not comply with relevant legislation. Their value systems, embedded in
their cultures, mean that the motives of their staff drive behaviors and decisions that are
well within the legal requirements. Trust and honesty are likely to be high in such
organisations.

THE LEGAL CONTEXT

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 Term Paper [ETHICAL AND LEGAL CONTEXT OF HRM]

It is imperative that all members of the organisation have knowledge of the laws that
govern the employment relationship. Managers, supervisors, and employees have
obligations to which they must adhere.

In many countries, there are several sources of legal obligation. Employment contracts,
written or unwritten, legislated statutes, industrial awards and agreements and common
law are different legal sources that may influence the rights and obligations of
employees and employers. Legislation is enacted by different levels of government
(federal, state, and local). However, international treaties and agreements can also
have an impact on staff management practices, for example, the various United Nations
and International Labour Organisation (ILO) covenants and agreements adopted by the
Government.

The degree and the level to which an organisation chooses to be social responsibility
and its members ethical influences the extent and rigour to which it meets its legal
obligations, particularly with reference to its use of labour. It can be argued that property
and profit are given greater legal protection and attention than the safety and quality of
the organisation's human life. As discussed earlier, some organisations use the law as
the only standard by which to determine their HRM policy and activities. This reactive
response to the law is usually consistent with a labour cost focussed way of managing
human resources, which is inconsistent with the philosophy of the strategic intent of
HRM. On the other hand, organisations use the law as a guide by which they determine
their minimum employment standards. These organisations tend to manage their
human resources pro actively, as they do with other organisational assets. These
organisations' human assets are treated with respect, like any other organisation
investment.

It can be argued that there is too much government interference in various aspects of
business practice. Managers could run more effective, efficient, and profitable
businesses if only government would let them operate unfettered. However, as history
shows, unfettered by government regulation in the past, businesses have been known
to use child labour, be unconcerned about the health and safety of workers, pay below
subsistence wages, etc. Thus governments, either in response to, or to influence,
community values and attitudes, legislate to protect organisations' stakeholders.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Equal Employment Opportunity and related legislation impacts on all aspects of human
resource management. Whilst some HR practitioners and line managers may regard EEO as a
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 Term Paper [ETHICAL AND LEGAL CONTEXT OF HRM]

needless intrusion into employment relationships, they provide valuable opportunities of

organisations to gain business advantage. They guide good recruitment and selection
procedures, and sound management of staff. Furthermore, they may influence the work
environment and HR practices that enable each employee to maximise his/her contribution to
the achieving of organisational objectives.

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION LEGISLATION

The concept of Affirmative Action (AA) is related to equal employment opportunity, but
is not synonymous. The principle is to undertake strategies that eradicate and redress
the consequences of historic and structural discrimination in the workplace. It is based
on the recognition that certain groups, such as women and the disabled, require
enhanced opportunities if past injustices are to be overcome.

HARASSMENT
Harassment, a particular form of discrimination, is specifically noted and detailed in anti-
discrimination legislation. Legislation specifically prohibits harassment on the grounds of
sex, race, or disability. However, it should be noted that any form of harassment has
severe negative impact on the victim, other staff, and the organisation as a whole. It is a
reflection of a bullying and dysfunctional culture.

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY

OBLIGATIONS
The subject of occupational health and safety (OH&S) is about the health and safety of
personnel in the workplace. It encompasses three main concepts:
1. Prevention
2. Compensation
3. Rehabilitation.

REFERENCES

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Term Paper [ETHICAL AND LEGAL CONTEXT OF HRM]

• Fundamentals of Human resource management- eight edition

(David A. deCenzo, castal Carolina university. Stephen P. Robbins,
san diago state university)
• en.wikipedia.org
• progdata.umflint.edu//
• Application.fnu.ac.fj/classhare/pu..

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