Introduction

Scenario

You are an HR professional in an organization with 1,200 employeeand seven sites. The company you work for is involved in engineering. Itperforms construction design and also engages in research anddevelopment of engineering and construction materials. As the HRdirector, you report directly to the company’s CEO. The company’sfounder is a scientist and though present at one of the sites, he is nolonger involved in the running of the organization. There is asix-member board of directors.The CEO is very open and outgoing and he is liked and respected byalmost everyone in the company and his community. Recently, a technicalposition came open. The job announcement was only made internally, whichis an option based on the approved and recently revised employee manualyou completed and presented to the CEO and all senior staff. Note: The employee manual does notrequire management to hire the best qualified applicant. Currently, thecompany has an equal number of men and women, so filling this positionwith one gender or the other is not a consideration for maintaining anemployment balance.

• Technical position information: A fullyqualified candidate is considered capable of performing the work withsome period of transition, estimated to be around one year, and a bestqualified candidate is considered someone able to hit the ground runningin the new position.
• Candidate information: Two internal employees have applied but they are not equally qualified.
  • One of the internal employees is a fully qualified young womanwho has the education and two years of professional experience in thefield, but she’s a new employee in the company.
  • The other internal employee is the best qualified young man withover eight years in the company. He holds multiple graduate degrees andhas extensive professional experience.

The announcement of a hiring selection has not been made, butcompany gossip has already started, reflecting upon the likelihood thatthe young woman will be chosen because the CEO has an innocent crush.While no allegations of impropriety of any type have been made, theperception of a form of favoritism is present.

Your Challenge

The SHRM code of ethics advises HR professionals to “advocate forthe appropriate use and appreciation of human beings as employees.”Using this and other ethical guidelines, should you try to influence theCEO’s selection and recommend that the young man be hired over theyoung woman? Or should you remain silent? What, if anything, is the CEOdoing incorrectly or substantively wrong in this hiring scenario if heselects the woman?

Instructions

Prepare a 3–page plan that states your recommended course of action. Along with your recommendation, include the following:

• Analyze ethical challenges presented by an HR management situation.
  • What are the ethical implications for the actions you would takein this scenario? What consequences could occur if you did nothing?
• Describe key ethical factors considered in the formulation of a proposed HR solution.
  • What is your reasoning for making a recommendation or remainingsilent within the context of the SHRM code of ethics? Use references tosupport your perspective and response to the SHRM code of ethics andthis scenario.
• Explain any legal considerations for the selection function presented by an HR situation.
• Explain the role of the HR practitioner in advancing a proposed HR solution.
  • Briefly explain the role you will take to influence the eventualoutcome. Consider aspects of leadership, negotiation, and consultation.
• Discuss the application any SHRM behavioral competencies to the process of solving an HR challenge.
  • Which SHRM behavioral competencies do you think are mostdirectly applicable to a successful resolution of this challenge, andwhy?

Additional Requirements

The deliverable for this assessment applies professional skills inHRM to workplace situations that you will likely encounter in yourday-to-day work in HRM. As part of your learning, we focus on thedevelopment of effective professional communication skills for theworkplace. Your assessment should meet the following additionalrequirements:

• Length: Your plan should be 3–typed, double-spaced pages, plus the cover and resources pages.
  • The first page should be a cover sheet with your name, thecourse number, assessment title, and date. No other information isrequired on this page.
  • The last page should be the reference list.
  • Society for Human Resource Management. (2018). The SHRM Body of Competency and Knowledge [PDF]. Available from https://www.shrm.org

  Workplace Legal Responsibilities and Ethics

• Feffer, M. (2017, March 30). Ethical vs. legal responsibilities for HR professionals: Do your duties as a company representative and a private citizen align? HRNews.
• Fogel, M. (2016, October). Brave HR: HR’s role in fostering ethical workplaces. HR Strategy and Planning Excellence Essentials.
• Valentine, S., & Godkin, L. (2016). Ethics policies, perceived social responsibility, and positive work attitude. Irish Journal of Management, 35(2), 114–128.