3CO03 Assignment Example

Core Behaviors for People Professionals

TASK ONE: ETHICAL PRACTICE BRIEFING PAPER

Ethical principles and Professional Values

Ethical principles are applied in human resource management to ensure that managers maintain truth and confidentiality on information acquired from members. The main HR applicable ethical principles include: justice, autonomy, non-maleficence and beneficence. All organizations are called to respect and withhold ethical values at their human resource departments to increase peaceful and correct considerations on weighing how decisions should be made at the workplace. Professional values on the other hand are essential in HR because they determine the core principles that professionals (workers) should maintain at their workplace. Some of the positive common applicable professional values at HR are integrity, human dignity, justice and fair evaluation of employees (Humphrey et al., 2004). Human resource managers are advised to have good professional values and ethical principles, which are key necessities for evaluations, professional exercises and key standards.

Ethical principles operate hand with hand with professional values to ensure that individuals operate properly and appropriately at their workplace. Good human resource managers are believed to exercise strong ethical principles such as appropriate developmental goals, responsibility, equality, conflict of interests and good ethics of leadership, which will enable them develop new approaches that are required to perform duties at the workplace. Ethical principles help workers to practice respect, strategical planning and improve on their credibility. The importance of ethical principles for HR professionals is to transform them to achieve the goals and objectives of their workplace (organizations). Professional values help workers to get equipped and organized with the best appropriate practices to help their organizations grow and expand. Good professional values in HR assists in influencing hiring and operational practices at the workplace (Humphrey et al., 2004). Ethical principles are also applied to inform new professional responsibilities and appropriate decision making that is suitable and professional. Workers are also encouraged to transform to maintain positive aspects of social responsibility with the maintenance of appropriate positive professional values at their working environments.

Professional values also inform the way HR managers and employees approach their work and duties especially in decision making. These values help employees and HR professionals to portray ethical skills and abilities in leadership and performance of duties at their workplace. Ethical values ensure that professionals are able to exhibit good character traits and morals at their workplace to model good standards and ethics. Ethical values play a crucial role shaping HR managers to exhibit good leadership standards and examples for other workers to follow. Ethical managers and leaders inhibit ethical values that are appropriate and increased in terms of credibility (Humphrey et al., 2004). Through ethical principles, employees are advised to exhibit distributive justice character traits that maintain that every person deserves to be treated fairly and appropriately with high moral worthiness by respecting the act of distributive justice. Non-maleficence is another ethical principle that is exercised at the workplace to ensure that employees do not harm each another. Autonomy and beneficence are ethical principles applied to increase confidentiality and privacy of data and information obtained from workers.

Legislation and Code of Practice

Code of practice and legislative measures can be implemented to support ethical and professional practices in HR and other departments at the workplace. The code of practice are guidelines that are implemented to guide all professionals and workers to deliver services under professional honesty and exercise of integrity and confidentiality on information. Code of practice delivers the mechanism and code of ethics that should be maintained and developed in every organization or workplace. One example of code of practice is compliance-based code of practice, which outlines the laws and regulations surrounding areas of recruitment and other safety regulations that should be maintained at the workplace.

Compliance-based code of practice should be strictly followed and any violations should be highly punished at any organization. The code of practice is set with guideline governing its applicability and any violations should be penalized to ensure that employees operate under the provided compliance code of ethics and practice (Jones, C. and Saundry, 2012). There are certain compliance laws that are imposed to determine which conducts and practices are allowed at any business environment. Many compliance-based code of practice are expressed in terms of formulated laws and regulations that should be maintained by employees and other workplace professionals. Any violations are penalized and individuals face legal authorities as a result of the violations and failing to abide to the rules and regulations set aside at any workplace. Compliance-based code of practice aims at developing achievable principles and ethics that should be followed strictly by all workers. The code of practice sets and monitors if all workers are conducting themselves in accordance to the set and required ethics to strengthen employee conformity.

Code of compliance practice are established to set guidelines and consequences that every individual or employee risks as a result of violation. Strict adherence to the legislations and compliance-based code of practice ensures that every environment and workplace enjoys good sense of moral responsibility and code of compliance. Integrity and honesty are piece of legislations that govern the hallmark of HR professionals when dealing with employees, customers, clients, and other parties. Integrity and honesty play a vital role in strengthening the issues of trust and confidentiality of information and data throughout moral standings and acts of professionalism (Jones, C. and Saundry, 2012). HR professionals should conform the code of practice and legislation by ensuring that they adhere to the penalties and strict guidelines governing the code of practice at their environment. All information and data should be treated with a lot of confidentiality and privacy to ensure that all interactions are strictly guided by the developed and appropriate code of practice.

As a Junior Associate in People Practice I will ensure that the applicable policies and legislation in place for the workforce are non-discriminative, fair and equitable to all.  I shall also undertake the following to comply with the Code of Professional Conduct;

• Making sure that the staffs at the organization are cognizant of the repercussions of not adhering to the Code of Practice.
• Taking transparent action for breaches or infraction irrespective of whether the affected employee performs highly and/or a leader or senior manager.
• Sanctioning proportionately in my practice and recognizing that most ethical breaches are not deliberate.
• Using personnel management interventions in handling incidences of unethical conducts and understanding their causes.
• Identification of a board member/leadership team who is code-responsible to monitor how the code is being implemented and its effectiveness and also supporting solutions’ creation in the implementation of the code into working practices.
• Setting up of a stakeholders’ panel from the customers and the labor force to periodically review the code and make reflection of the risks that the firm faces, inclusive of any ethical blind spots.  Cross referencing of complaints from clients and feedback from the employees, shareholders and suppliers and occasional consent to sectors to target 

Ethical behaviours for HR professionals

Good ethical behaviors are essential for HR professionals because they indicate that an individual is able to abide with the set context of behaviors that are allowed in an organization. Ethical behaviors indicate that a HR professional is able to follow the designed path of set standards and ethics at the workplace. The set of activities and standards to be conducted in an organization are contained in the ethical behavior at a given workplace. The importance of ethical behavior for HR professionals is to ensure high profitability, constructive customer support, increased opportunities, increased awareness, improved motivation of employees and appropriate hiring techniques (Lee et al., 2018). Ethical behaviors are also essential for HR professionals because they ensure that all expectations of an organization are met or exceeded. Ethical behavior also ensures sustainable and increased ethical integrity and confidentiality of information at any organization. Ethical behavior also ensures that all HR professionals are responsible and well-prepared to strengthen ethical integrity at the workplace and establish an act of honesty when assisting business and organizational leaders in decision making.

Unethical behaviors by HR professionals are punishable and have damaging consequences on other individuals. The unethical behaviors normally minimize workers’ productivity because their abilities and capacities are reduced. Unethical behavior also forces most of the workers to lack motivation at work, increases absenteeism cases and can lead workers to committing inappropriate actions and behaviors at their working environments. Productivity and morale of workers is also reduced.

HR professional demonstrating positive ethical approaches

HR professionals can essentially clarify problems and issues to illustrate ethical approaches by strengthening employee satisfaction, participation, and increasing turnover rates to engage and seek solutions from employees. Contributing views and opinions in HR are obtained through interviews and suggestions from employees without favor or discrimination. Ethical approaches are also imposed on employees to ensure that they operate in teams to deliver one collective goal of an organization. Teamwork eradicates errors and over-repetitive results that increasing quality of data and information acquired. Sensitivity to other individuals is an essential ethical approach that helps HR professionals to maintain privacy and confidentiality of sensitive and personal information (Pinnington et al., 2007). Maintaining integrity is also an essential ethical approach that is used to realize sensitivity on other employees in an organization. Sensitivity is also introduced by training employees to work in a peaceful environment that eradicates racism, discrimination or harassment. For example, sensitivity training on why sexual harassment or discrimination of the black people should be eradicated. Showing respect to other colleagues is realized by giving all employees equal opportunities to join teams and committees of their choice. Example: including colleagues in breakfast, lunch meetings or workers’ conferences.

Ways in which I can acknowledge sensitivity and respect to others within a working context.

I would treat colleagues just like I would also like to be treated; with kind-heartedness, courteousness and civility. I will inspire other employees to openly share their cherished ideologies. Active listening is another practice I will carry out to others and never interrupting or putting in my comments before they are done.

Other ways are:

1. Being cognizant of insentient bias.
2. Communicating the significance of handling bias.
3. Promoting remuneration equity.
4. Developing a strategic training program.
5. Acknowledging holidays of all cultures.
6. Making it easy for the workforce people to engage in worker resource teams.
7. Mixing up groups to promote diversity.

Part Two: Self-Reflective Journal

I believe practice professional can implement new knowledge, skills and advancements to upgrade the way they exercise professionalism especially in human resource management. The upgrades will ensure that all professionals are up-to-date with the recent developments in people’s profession and career advancements across the world. Some of the ways to upgrade the skills and knowledge is by ensuring that informal methods are applied. Informal methods include reading and discussions on existing developments and even detailed research work. The research and developmental methods will guide the practice professional to copy the examples and build an advanced set of skills to function similar to or exceed the formal researches reviewed (Huda and Teh, 2018). Conducting research reading and exploring different development methods are essential techniques that practice professionals can apply to develop a sense of knowledge and skillset upgrade to fit in the current and future’s competitive world. Without formal research and development criteria methods, it will be difficult to progress and advance to get attached with the developments in different careers and professions to stand out among competitors in the job place. Upgrading skills and knowledge is an essential method of ensuring that practice professionals land appropriate clients, customers and positioning that eliminates their struggle to prove value and essentiality at the job markets.

Professional upgrading through utilization of informal methods such as research reading and discussions are essential ways to ensure that practice professionals are able to expand their skills and career by enabling them to learn new developments. The new upgrade assists them to become more convenient and flexible in operations. The practice professionals are able to stay updated with the recent developments in their careers for future advancements and proper positioning in the job markets. The informal methods outline resourceful assistance to the practice professionals to develop skills and mechanisms to handle any issues or problems that may erupt in a given profession.

There are various issues or challenges I have encountered in performance of duties and professional development with time. Some of these challenges are: fitting in into the new culture and working environment, inappropriate management of time, office harassment and bullies, gossips, poor integrity issues and ethical values at the workplace. These issues have had systematic and continuous negative impacts on my working capacity to a point of not being able to deliver good results and outcomes (Patrick and Kumar, 2012). Bullying and harassment is an inappropriate culture that comes out to dis-motivate workers and has consistently frustrated me in operations at the workplace. The issues have destroyed my trust and interests to deliver good results in the working environment. The issues have helped me to develop a sense of capacity to become more friendly, respectful, obedient and thus more professional in my work. Bad office gossiping and office bullies are harmful to workers and kept on disorienting the team because some workers were forced to quarrel one another. The bad habits are also harmful to customers and clients because they lack trust on a company or organization with bad working environments.

Office bullies and disagreements in the workspace are known to generate a system of unpleasant and unconducive environment, which makes it hard for workers to interact and relate well in their environments. Conflicts are bad behaviors experienced at the workplace and have a negative impact on customers, productivity and output. The conflicts are very demotivating to workers and can even cause some to resign under unnecessary circumstances.

Ways in which you I recognize and accept your own mistakes, and those of others, whilst also showing empathy.

• Owning to my mistakes and reframing them as opportunity to learn from and develop.
• Reviewing whatever went amiss, to comprehend and learn from the mistake(s).
• Identifying the expertise, know-how, resources or tools that will help me from repeating the same blunder.
• Reviewing my progress over time.
• Being respectful upon realizing my mistakes.
• Understanding the priorities of my colleagues at the workplace.
• Acknowledging the harm I might have caused others and recognize their feelings.
• Sharing how I feel towards them.

In some occasions, I have been forced to accept my little mistakes and others’ mistakes in the process professional development and I have been forced to show a lot of empathy other people with mistakes (Ellis and Abbott, 2019). Some of the mistakes are arguing a lot, and quarrelling with my boss, which made it hard to get along soon enough, altering the relationship and productivity in general. I have recognized other peoples’ mistakes such as workplace bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment. The issue of disagreeable employees has been sorted through maintaining a system of understanding and sharing feelings with one another in case of discrimination or sexual bullying.

Based on the above reflections, I feel that I am well-established and equipped with skills, knowledge and experience about workplace issues (challenges) and I can comfortably help any organization I am working with to address and eliminate the issues. I have comfortably covered the procedures and processes of eradicating most workplace issues politely to make the working environment conducive for workers. There are immediate actions that should be addressed to ensure that development and advancement of career is accompanied with good mechanisms of dealing with career change. I don’t require further training on how to deal with most common examples of workplace issues and challenges.

I found this reflective journal very appropriate in gauging my capacity and ability to pinpoint and analyze issues that face every workplace in professional growth (development). Professional development requires appropriate techniques to eliminate challenges of development at the workplace (Huda and Teh, 2018). This short review of the reflective journal approach is very effective in professional development because it has opened a new phase of career development and advancement to enable me handle most common challenges in the workplace. The approach has also enabled me to understand other people’s feelings.

References/Bibliography

CIPD Code of Professional Conduct: www.cipd.co.uk/about/what-we-do/professional-     standards/code

CIPD Code of Professional Conduct breaches: www.cipd.co.uk/about/what-we-   do/professional-standards/code/conduct-cases

Ellis, P. and Abbott, J., 2019. Learning from mistakes I: why it is important. Journal of Kidney Care, 4(4), pp.225-227.

Francis, R. and Murfey, G. (2016) Global business ethics. London: Kogan Page.

Huda, M. and Teh, K.S.M., 2018. Empowering professional and ethical competence on reflective teaching practice in digital era. In Mentorship Strategies in Teacher Education (pp. 136-152). IGI Global.

Humphrey, E., Janosik, S.M. and Creamer, D.G., 2004. The role of principles, character, and professional values in ethical decision-making. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 41(4), pp.1243-1260.

Jones, C. and Saundry, R., 2012. The practice of discipline: evaluating the roles and relationship between managers and HR professionals. Human Resource Management Journal, 22(3), pp.252-266.

Lee, I.H., Lin, S.P., Wu, C.M., Lin, Y.C. and Huang, C., 2018. The study of the influencing factors for ethical behavior intention of HR professionals: The evidence for the theory of reasoned action. International Journal of Organizational Innovation (Online), 10(3), pp.285-299.

Patrick, H.A. and Kumar, V.R., 2012. Managing workplace diversity: Issues and challenges. Sage Open, 2(2), p.2158244012444615.

Pinnington, A., Macklin, R. and Campbell, T., 2007. Introduction: ethical human resource management. Human resource management: Ethics and employment, p.1.