Business Ethic Chapter Summary|Essay pro

Topic Three

Hiring Ethical People

⚫ Describe the process for screening candidates for ethics

⚫ Outline which job candidate factors are illegal to consider when hiring

⚫ Explain how to obtain accurate behavior information from resumes, reference checks, background checks, and integrity tests

⚫ Identify personality test scales that measure ethics

⚫ Develop interview questions that address ethical issues

Learning Objectives

Importance of an Ethics Screen

• Typical hiring process: reviewing resumes and job application forms for knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to perform the job task

• Ethics often assumed or overlooked

Maximizing ethical work behaviors begins with the hiring

process

One bad hire can make the daily life of many employees miserable

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

• Inform potential applicants about organization’s ethics job screen

Step 1: ethics screen notice

This step acts as a signal to potential job applicants.

People who behave unethically are not likely to apply for jobs with organizations that advertise the strength of their ethics job-screening process

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

• Gather and use information in way that does not violate law

Step 2: legal ground rules

Federal and state laws govern the types of information an employer can gather on job candidates and the reasons an employer can invoke for selecting one candidate over another

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Civil rights law that governs hiring – most state civil rights laws are based

on it

It is unlawful for any employer to “discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of

employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex,

or national origin.”

This is a lot of text. But it’s simpler if you take it clause by clause.

It is unlawful for any employer to “discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of

employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex,

or national origin.”

This is the action that is unlawful.

It is unlawful for any employer to “discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of

employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex,

or national origin.” This makes it clear that the law covers the entire

employment relationship.

It is unlawful for any employer to “discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of

employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex,

or national origin.” These categories are called protected classes. Any discrimination lawsuit first

requires that the plaintiff is part of a protected class.

One exception to the law is if the discrimination is a Bona Fide

Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)

Another example: Can men be Hooters Girls?

Discrimination can be justified (in limited situations) if the characteristic used to discriminate is necessary to be able to

perform the job functions.

A sushi restaurant only hires Japanese chefs and cooks. This is discrimination based on national

origin. Can they argue BFOQ because it is a business necessity to

hire people who can prepare truly authentic Japanese fare?

So what is Hooters’ primary function?

Plaintiffs characterized Hooters’ primary function as providing food.

Hooters characterized its primary function as providing ‘vicarious sexual entertainment.’

What happened?

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Step 3: behavioral information Four recruiting tools provide

useful information about candidate’s ethics:

• Resumes • Reference checks • Background checks • Integrity tests

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Behavioral Information (cont.)

• Resumes – Best predictor of future performance is past

performance – Previous accomplishments encapsulated in

document

Pro tip: Resumes should only be used as an initial screening tool.

Information should be taken with a grain of salt. More than one in five

resumes contains lies.

Exhibit 3.3 College Students Job Application Lies

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Behavioral Information (cont.)

• Reference

SOLUTION

checks – Contacting previous supervisors and colleagues

Pro tip: Ask specific, behavior-based questions about candidate’s ethics.

For example:

Can you tell me about a time when the candidate faced an ethical dilemma at work? How did they handle it?

Did the candidate demonstrate honesty and integrity in their interactions with colleagues and clients?

Did the candidate ever violate company policies or engage in unethical behavior? How was the situation resolved?

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Behavioral Information (cont.)

• Background checks – Verify information provided by candidate

Pro tip: Be aware of laws governing background checks, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Obtain candidate’s written consent before conducting a background check and provide them with a copy of the report if adverse action is taken based on the results.

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Behavioral Information (cont.)

• Integrity tests – Psychological assessments designed to measure

honesty, integrity, and ethics

Pro tip: Choose tests that have been validated for use in employment settings and administered by a qualified professional. Use results in conjunction with other screening tools, such as reference checks and interviews.

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Step 4: personality scales that measure ethics

• Conscientiousness – Measure of how dependable and responsible

a person is

• Agreea