Code of Ethical and Professional Standards in HRM

 

Review the SHRM Code of Ethical and Professional Standards in Human Resource Management found on pages 30-31. Select three (3) code provisions and discuss how your organization adheres to the codes or provide recommendations on how your organization could implement and adhere to them

The first code provision I would like to choose is the professional responsibility. According to Snell and Bohlander (2013), one of the most important roles of Human Resources manager is to listen to employees’ needs and relate their desire to other managers. (Snell & Bohlander, 2013, p.31). When I decided to quit my job at JCCU – one of the leading retailers in Japan – to go to the U.S in order to further my study, I talked with the HR department. The HR manager listened to my concerns and talked with my manager. The three of us had a long conversation and they reached a decision that the company will still welcome me with open arms if I wish to return after finishing my study. They promised me career advancement with higher salary, they also said that my experience and the training I received are valuable asset to the company and they don’t want to lose it. They also appointed me to help the HR department with finding a new candidate for my position. I was teamed with a HR staff to find a qualified new employee for the company, and I was also responsible for the training and handling of work responsibility. I think my company adhered the human resource code of ethical thoroughly. I felt relieved knowing that the company valued their employees and they found the way to make sure my interests and the company’s interests are aligned with each other.

The second code provision which I think my company adhered really well is the fairness and justice. According to the SHRM Code of Ethics, “As human resource professionals, we are ethically responsible for promoting and fostering fairness and justice for all employees and their organizations.” (SHRM, 2011). At JCCU, every employee is treated as unique individual, and received fair benefits based on our contribution. Every year, the staff from HR department in Japan will travel to other branch offices in Asia to interview all employees. In the interview the HR staff will review the employee’s performance, result of the whole year and how much did he or she achieve the designed goal. After the evaluation the HR staff and the direct manager will decide how much pay raise the employee will get. There is no discrimination based on the ages, religious, education backgrounds…

The third code of ethic which I think my organization implemented really well is the use of information. Because we are a Japanese company so they treat employees’ personal information with discretion. We were given cellphones with new numbers, laptops to ensure that nobody knows another employee’s personal information, such as phone numbers, address, birthday… On the other hand, our jobs required us to travel extensively to foreign countries, and some of them are really safe such as: Indian, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar… The company needs employees’ personal information to contact employees’ family members when accidents happen. The HR department is in charge of keeping employees’ personal information in encrypted files; the files will later be sent to respective direct mangers. When there is an accident happens to an employee the HR department will send the password for the encrypted file containing the employee’s personal information to his or her manager. The manager will use the information to contact the employee’s family member.  It may seem like a system, but since we are an international organization this method ensues only appropriate information is used. We felt much safer knowing our personal information would not be disclosed, and at the same time we knew the HR department also would take appropriate steps when accidents happen.

References

Snell, S., & Bohlander, G. W. (2013). Managing human resources. Mason, OH: South-Western.

SHRM. (2007, November 16). SHRM Code of Ethics. Retrieved from