7-12

Ethical Behavior

Conforming to
to moral
moral
Conforming
standards or
or
standards
conforming to
to
conforming
standards of
of conduct
conduct of
of
standards
profession or
or group
group
profession

Adapts to
to social
social norms
norms
Adapts
and in
in response
response to
to needs
needs
and
and interests
interests of
of those
those
and
affected
affected

7-12

Areas of Concern for Class

Employee privacy
privacy
Employee

Terms
Privacy the state of being free from
unsanctioned intrusion into ones behavior or
personal information
Confidentiality - discretion in keeping secret
information
Ethical dilemma any situation that has the
potential to result in a breach of acceptable
behavior
Ethical choice considered choice among
alternative courses of action in which the
interests of all parties have been clarified and
the risks and gains have been evaluated openly
and mutually

Does an employer have the right to search an

employees computer files or review the
employees email or voice mail?

Can companies keep information about the

employee in separate files (the employees file
and the supervisors file) and allow the
employee access to only one?

Can employers use private investigation

agencies to collect information about their
employees?

Can an employer give employment information

about an individual to a potential creditor or to
a landlord?

Fair information practices

Employees should:

Know companys written policy

Abstain from personal internet use if in doubt
Use own email account
Limit personal surfing/emailing to times outside office
hours
When composing email or downloading info, ask
yourself if youd post in on your office door
When it comes to privacy in the workplace, assume
you dont have any

 To establish a fair information practice

policy, employers should:
Set up guidelines & policies to protect information in the
organization
Limit information collection
Ensure accuracy, timeliness, completeness of info
Limit external disclosures
Inform employees of info-handling policies
Type and use of information
Become thoroughly familiar with state & federal laws
regarding privacy
Regularly review for compliance
Establish a policy that any manager or non-manager who
violates privacy principles will be subject to discipline or
termination

Employees physical privacy

Can employers physically search
employees in the workplace?

We already heard that employers can

electronically monitor you at work, but can
they hire a private investigator to monitor you
outside of work?

To ensure employees physical

privacy
Base the search/seizure policy on legitimate
employer interests
Include all types of searches
Provide adequate notice to employees before
instituting the program
Instruct those conducting the search not to
touch any employee (or to limit touching)
Conduct search away from other employees
and on company time
Dont observe in areas in which there is a
reasonable expectation of privacy
Ask if employee would like attorney present
during investigative interview

In her last job, a workers job title was HR assistant and her
responsibilities were to help the HR director by taking
employment interviews developed by the HR director and create
documents from them, create the database corresponding to the
compensation plan developed by the HR director, and creating a
system to organize employee files containing performance
evaluations conducted by the HR director.
She learned a great deal from this HR director during her tenure
with the company, but she is currently updating her resume to
look for a new position.
When she lists her experience, can she say that she has
experience creating employment interviews, creating
compensation systems, and creating performance evaluation
systems?

Suppose you work for a large organization and

there is talk that the employees are going to
file suit against the company for improper
hiring and promotion practices. The head of
HR asks you to conduct research into the
companys previous decisions but asks you to
keep your findings secret. You find that the
company has been discriminating against
minorities.
What would you do?

Who do you think will blow the

whistle?
Those working for organizations perceived by others to be
responsible to complaints or not responsible to them?
Those who hold professional or nonprofessional positions?
Those with positive or negative attitudes toward their work?
Those with long or short service with the company?
Those who have recently been recognized for good
performance or those who have recently received poor
evaluations?
Women or men?
Those working in large or small work groups?