Analysis paper

Theoretical Bases for Analyzing the Ethics of a Decision

Adapted from a chapter by John R. Deckop, in Vida Scarpello (ed). The Handbook of Human Resource Management Education: Promoting and Effective and Efficient Curriculum, Los Angeles: Sage Publications, 2008.

Philosophers have pondered ethical questions for millennia, and have developed numerous theoretical perspectives to aid in ethical decision-making. The range and depth of philosophical theories on ethical decision-making can be daunting. So much so that arguably, presenting all the major philosophical perspectives, and their nuances, is likely to fail from a pragmatic standpoint because there is no way most students can absorb, much less apply on a day-to-day level, so much material.

So this analysis will be restricted to the two “dominant” (Beauchamp & Bowie, 1997) philosophical perspectives on ethics: utilitarianism and universalism, and will deal with only the most general features of these theories. Things will be complicated a little, in that a third theoretical perspective that is a subset of utilitarianism will also be discussed: profit maximization.

The goal is to provide three perspectives (utilitarianism, profit maximization, and universalism) on ethical decision-making that can actually be easily remembered, taught, and used in daily decision-making. Later other perspectives will be overviewed, including theory that challenges the two dominant perspectives.

Utilitarianism

The theory. Utilitarianism, developed primarily in the 19th century, can be understood by the common phrases “The greatest good for the greatest number” and “The ends justify the means.” The utilitarian believes that the potential outcomes of a decision should be analyzed to see who benefits and who is harmed. The decision that results in the most total benefit compared to harm is the best decision. The utilitarian is often portrayed figuratively as holding a scale, with the benefits on one side being weighed against the harm on the other.

A critical aspect of this theory is that a decision can result in harm to some individuals and still be the most ethical course of action. As long as benefit versus harm is maximized, the “ends justify the means.” From a utilitarian perspective, an organizational downsizing for example would be ethical as long as the good that comes from it, perhaps in the form of long-term company health and shareholder value, outweighs the harm to dismissed and current employees, and other stakeholders.

Some criticisms of the theory. One criticism of utilitarianism is that the ends may not always justify the means. Universalism, the other dominant ethical theory to be discussed below, argues that humans have inherent worth and thus fundamental rights that should not be violated under any circumstances. Thus, for example, while a utilitarian may defend drug testing, a universalist might argue that drug testing fundamentally violates an employees right to privacy. Another example relates to sweatshops – a utilitarian would argue that exceedingly poor treatment of employees can be justified if the benefits to the firm and the community it resides in are large enough. A universalist might disagree, arguing the exposing employees to extremely dangerous conditions is not justified under any circumstances.

Another criticism of utilitarianism relates to potential self-serving biases of the person making the decision. The utilitarian decision-maker in theory should weigh the benefits and harm too all affected parties without bias. That may be difficult to do if the decision-maker has a significant stake in the decision. Owners of sweatshops often reply that poor working conditions are necessary to stay competitive and provide jobs for the community. Is this true, or just what the owner tells himself as self-justification for getting rich? Similarly, a supervisor may fire a subordinate with whom she has a conflict, telling herself that this termination is good for the company, when in reality the decision may be self-serving. And even when the decision-maker attempts to be unbiased with respect to self-interest, a variety of decision-making biases can nevertheless result in unethical decisions when attempting a utilitarian solution (e.g., Messick & Bazerman, 1996).

Profit Maximization

The theory. Profit maximization is not the name of a theory, but rather the ethical prescription of what has been termed “neoclassical economics” (Hosmer, 2008). The clearest explanation of profit maximization as an ethical imperative is probably the article by Milton Friedman (1970), titled “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Its Profits.” Profit maximization is actually a subset of utilitarianism, because Friedman and other neoclassical economists argue that if all firms strive to maximize profits (subject to certain conditions, as discussed below) then the overall societal welfare, in terms of benefit versus harm, will be maximized (Evan & Freeman, 1988). Why is this so? The explanation of this requires a detailed economic analysis, which is usually covered in basic economics courses. As Hosmer (2008) suggests, it may make sense to simply accept these economic arguments, as they are rigorously derived given the assumptions that underly the model.

Profit maximization is a powerful basis for ethical decision-making because it is so simple to apply. Choose the course of action that maximizes firm profit. It is most often cited as a basis for decision-making in the context of the role of business in society. Friedman argued that firms are unethical if they, for example, engage in pollution control beyond the requirements of the law, if it hurts profits. Of if they hire the hard core unemployed in order to contribute to the social objective of reducing poverty. In both cases, Friedman argues, the decision-maker is spending someone else’s money (e.g., shareholders, customers) without their consent. Profit maximization can also be applied to more mundane, every day decisions. Should a certain employee be terminated? The answer would be yes if, in the decision-maker’s judgment, the action is in the best interests of the firm. It would not matter if the employee was only marginally a subpar performer, or if the termination would result in severe problems for the employee and his family.

The part about the theory that has not been discussed thus far is the assumptions. They are critical, because the degree to which the assumptions are met has direct implication as to whether profit maximization can be considered an ethical decision basis. What are these assumptions? Again, these are covered in a basic economic course. For example, there must be perfect competition, all information needed for a decision must be known, all individuals act rationally, all workers are homogeneous in terms of their labor input, etc. The way Friedman framed the issue may be more straightforward. A business should maximize profits, “so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.” (Friedman, 1970). Actually, this sounds straightforward, though the most common criticism of this profit maximization as an ethical decision basis relates to the interpretation of these assumptions. This and other criticisms will be discussed next.

Criticisms of profit maximization. Profit maximization is considered a subset of utilitarianism because, as mentioned, the theory states that if all firms seek to maximize profit, the overall welfare of society will be maximized. But the assumptions that must be met for the theory to apply have undertones of other ethical perspectives. When Friedman says “without deception or fraud,” he is sounding like a universalist, who would claim that some actions (e.g., deception) are inherently wrong. He also states in his article that profit maximization should be subject to “the basic rules of society, both those embodied in law, and those embodied in ethical custom.” How does one define or identify ethical custom? Using a common philosophical metaphor, this puts the theory on a “slippery slope,” because without a clear standard of “ethical” (which from a tautological perspective puts us back at the beginning of all this discussion) almost any decision could be supported or criticized using this theory. Those decision-making biases discussed above with respect to utilitarianism in general also apply here. Self-serving and other biases may well affect whether a decision-maker in a given instance determines that there is free competition, or no fraud. Another main criticism of profit maximization is that as a utilitarian theory, it could support doing significant harm to individuals in the name of profit (i.e., the ends justify the means).

Universalism

The theory. Universalism is probably most associated historically with Immanuel Kant, who wrote (primarily) in the 18th century. Two key statements are commonly associated with it: “Never treat another inappropriately as a means to an ends,” and “Would you get what you want if everyone did it, under similar circumstances?” This second statement, which Kant labeled the “categorical imperative” bears resemblance to what in Christianity is called the golden rule, or “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Kant was trying, among other things, to put “philosophical muscle” on the golden rule. Interestingly, the golden rule is not a principle limited to Christianity; it is a fundamental tenet in every major religion in the world (Parliament of the World's Religions, 1993).

Universalism is more than the golden rule, however, and is arguably more useful for determining ethical decision in a business context. This is because the golden rule supposes the decision maker is ethical to begin with (e.g., Trevino & Nelson, 2007). If not, the application of the golden rule may not make much sense. For example, imagine that you are sitting in a café looking out the window as you sip your drink. Across the street you witness a bank robbery, and the man who just robbed the bank then walks into the café and sits next to you. He asks you to tell the police when they arrive that he’s been sitting there for the past hour, thereby providing him an alibi. Now, if you’re an ethical person (and don’t fear for your life!) you probably won’t agree to lie. However, what if you’re a bank robber yourself, and think, “do unto others as you would have them done unto you.” Well, following the golden rule, you’d want him to lie for you, so that means that you’d lie for him. And that’s not ethical!

Universalism directly challenges utilitarianism, in that the first statement above contradicts the principle that the ends do not justify the means. It implies that employees have inherent worth, and that a firm or manager that violates the employee’s inherent dignity and worth by using them as a means to an end is acting unethically. For example, most would agree that sexual harassment violates the victim’s fundamental rights as an employee, and is universally wrong, no matter what.

When applying this perspective, you should ask yourself if no amount of good could make up for the harm that you’re causing the individual. In the sexual harassment example above, that would be true. And if so, that means that the harm is fundamentally wrong, and unethical according to universalism. If not, however, then the action may well be ethical by universalist thinking. For example, let’s say an employer decides to downsize its workforce by 20% in order to avoid bankruptcy. Terminating those employees certainly causes them harm. However, many do not believe that an individual has a universal right to work for a particular organization and never lose his/her job, under any circumstances. So a universalist may consider this downsizing ethical.

The categorical imperative (second statement above) gets at notions of reversibility and hypocrisy (Schumann, 2001). Consider an action by a manager – lying to an employee about her chances of promotion in order to avoid her quitting the firm. The universalist would oppose this because a world where all firms lied about such things would mean that employees, including this one, would not believe anything about promotions in the first place, and as such, the intent of the action (to retain the employee) would not be realized. In other words, if everyone did what this manager did, he would not benefit from his action.

The categorical imperative can be considered a way to test whether you are correctly applying the “don’t treat employees as a means” principle (Hosmer, 2008). The categorical imperative implies that unless an action is morally right for others to do, then it is not morally right for you to do. As such, all humans are of equal value. Treating people exclusively as a means to an ends denies the inherent worth of the individual, and denies them fundamental rights.

Criticisms of Universalism. A strict application of the categorical imperative is considered by many to be difficult to apply in practice (Hosmer, 2008). For example, lying is prohibited. But probably everyone lies at least occasionally, and few of us would consider all lies to be unethical. Supervisors are often trained to provide supportive feedback to their subordinates, and it may be effective in some circumstances to restrain brutal honesty when discussing performance with an employee who has difficulty grasping something. Most of us would think that the dishonesty is justified by the outcome – protecting the employee’s feelings of self-worth. This would be a utilitarian way to look at the issue. Another criticism relates to the first formulation of universalism. It’s hard to avoid treating others as a means to an end. We do it all the time – arguably, professor and student treat the other as a means to an end. The key in applying the perspective are the terms “exclusively” and “inappropriately.” A good guide would be to ask if the treatment violates fundamental human rights of respect and dignity, such that no amount of good can make up for it. But drawing this line can be difficult and introspection and consistency are necessary.

Universalism also suffers from the same potential of self-serving biases that the other ethical theories face. The categorical imperative asks the decision-maker to situationalize the problem. That is, under similar circumstances, would I be willing to make it a “universal law” for others to do the same? A universalist decision-maker can be tempted to justify almost any action by situationalizing the action in restrictive fashion. For example, a manager might be tempted to skew a performance evaluation to give an employee a very good raise, which, let us say, would benefit the manager politically in the organization. Without situationalizing the problem, the action would not be justifiable because if all managers biased their performance evaluation results when it was convenient to them, performance evaluation would not represent a rational pay policy for the firm, which is one of its key objectives. So it would not be used, and this manager could not benefit from her action. However, she could tell herself that she will do it only this one time. Thus, she could rationalize that if there were a world where all managers biased their performance evaluation results only once in their careers, then the intent of her action would still be realized. The limited occurrence of the practice would still mean that employees and firms would trust the validity of performance evaluation. This may be so, but most of us would consider her action unethical.

Applying the Theories in Everyday Decision-making

The purpose of ethical training is not to learn the concepts in order to get questions right on an exam, or to impress others by dropping the names of impressive sounding theories. It is to affect everyday decision-making. The three theories presented above – utilitarianism, profit maximization, and universalism, are simple enough in their basic principles that they can be easily remembered after you finish reading this.

Perhaps the next step after reading the theories is to think about which fits best with one’s moral/religious upbringing and education. Which of these theories makes the most sense as a basic rule of organizational life? If one had to pick one to characterize your concept of what is right, which would it be? This theory can be the individual’s “home base” theory. It is the first one to turn to when assessing the ethicality of a decision. It is applied to the situation, and if what it says to do makes sense, the decision-maker acts accordingly.

However, its application may not make sense for a variety of reasons. Many people, in understanding the criticisms of the various theories, are reluctant to commit to using one theory in all circumstances. The theory may not provide a clear guide to action in a given case. Or there might be a competing ethical principle that makes more sense in a given circumstance.

So it is also fine to be willing to apply other theories in situations where the home base theory does not make sense. Philosophers, as proponents of one or another of these theories might object, but until the philosophers or management theorists can identify one set of ethical principles we can all agree upon, each of us has the responsibility to develop an ethical framework for ourselves, one that we can live with and use.

Next, each theory will be discussed in terms of how it might be used as a home base theory, and how it might be modified in given circumstances.

Let’s use utilitarianism is the home base theory. The decision-maker believes in weighing the consequences of a decision against all affected stakeholders to the decision. It is acceptable if decisions cause harm to some, as long as the benefit that others receives outweighs the harm.

However, in thinking through a particular decision, a question may be asked along the lines of universalism: “Does my decision violate an employee’s fundamental rights as a human?” The answer may be no to this. A termination or downsizing may be justified, assuming that employees do not have a fundamental right to continued employment in a firm.

Alternatively, the may answer yes to this question. Perhaps a firm has decided to downsize a group of employees. This may be an ethical decision on a utilitarian basis. However, let us say top management proposes to not notify affected employees about the downsizing until the day of termination. This action may also be acceptable from a utilitarian standpoint, if one believes that the benefit to the firm from this practice will outweigh the harm to employees. However, one may decide that this action, given the situation, is inherently wrong, because it violates fundamental rights of affected employees. In this instance, it could be recommended that ample notice be provided to employees of the downsizing, even while the decision-maker otherwise makes decisions on a utilitarian basis.

Let us say profit maximization is the home base theory. One believes that the objective of business decision-making should be to maximize the long-term profitability of the organization. It can be an easy guide to apply, and it can be argued that it is an employee’s duty to make decisions that benefit the firm, subject of course to the assumptions of the theory. But as with utilitarianism, the question may arise: “Are there instances where the best interests of the firm should take second place in my decision-making?” “Are their instances where the harm caused to employees cannot be outweighed by any amount of profit?” This issue comes up, for example, when the ethicality of sweatshops is considered. More and more, production has shifted to countries in which labor standards afford workers and their communities little protection from harmful practices, such as dangerous working conditions and environmental pollution (e.g., Varley, 1998). Should a U.S. firm operate in another country using what would clearly be considered inhumane treatment of workers by U.S. standards? Even if so, should a firm provide only the absolute minimum in protection to workers and their communities dictated by the law in that country (often almost none), in order to maximize profit? Many who believe in profit maximization as a general principle would answer no to one or both of these questions. One might instead argue that the firm should provide treat workers as humanely as possible, while still allowing for a reasonable profit. This would be a utilitarian solution, one that does not conform to strict profit maximization.

At a more mundane level, managers are faced everyday with issues of employee treatment. Though the best interests of the firm may be one’s basic orientation, there may be situations where a more utilitarian solution is appealing, such that the shareholders of the firm (the ultimate beneficiaries of profit maximization) are considered but one stakeholder to the decision. And, from a universalist perspective, there may be certain actions to employees that one would not be willing to do under any circumstances, simply because the action is inherently wrong.

Let us say universalism is the home base theory. One may have been brought up that certain things are fundamentally wrong, and certain actions never justifiable. Do not lie. Do not break promises. Do not steal company property. Good treatment of employees is not necessarily a means to benefit the company or other stakeholders in this view, but fundamentally the right thing to do. Universalism is the home base theory, but as with the others, it may not be possible or practical to apply it in all circumstances.

To exercise universalist principles, one must either the choose to work in a firm that has similar values, or one must be willing to constantly challenge HRM policies or actions that are considered wrong. It may be difficult to consistently practice universalistic principles in the workplace. We all have different value systems, and honest assessments of a business policy even by two universalists might contradict. For example, Grossman (2001), in applying universalistic principles, suggests that incentive pay is a basic individual right. Conversely, Heery (1999) argues that incentive pay, and the risk it imparts to employees, can represent a fundamental injustice.

It may be difficult for an employee to find a firm to work for that has exactly the same universal values. One cannot quit every time the firm does something, or asks one to do something, that is inconsistent with one’s principles. Though one’s home base theory is universalism, it may be necessary to search for a utilitarianism or profit maximization solution in some circumstances.

Drawing Lines

As mentioned above, universalists cannot fight every fight, every time they see something in their firm that they consider unethical. This same argument applies to other ethical theories. We cannot try to change things, or quit, every time our ethical principles are violated. Thus, living up to one’s ethical principles at work is also about learning where to draw the line – how bad things must get to speak out, or quit.

And, most importantly, it is important to think about where these lines should be drawn ahead of time - as in an educational environment versus the real world. Otherwise, the pressure of the situation may result in drawing a line in a place looks reasonable at the time, but later is perceived as unethical (e.g., McCoy, 1997). The single-minded pursuit of a goal, say getting a project accomplished, can blind individuals to the ethical consequences of some of the decisions made along the way. Sometimes decisions must be made within a very short time frame, maybe even a split second. Maybe financial or family pressures make it extremely difficult to do what ethical principles dictate. In all these situations, it is helpful to have thought through ethical principles ahead of time. Each of the three ethical theories discussed above share one common criticism: all can easily be misapplied if the decision-maker engages in self-deception. The pressures of a situation may cause one to apply self-serving biases that while in the short-run appear acceptable, in the long-run result in damage to one’s firm, career, or self in terms staying true to ethical principles.

Other Ethical Perspectives

There are numerous other ethical perspectives that can be used as conceptual tools for ethical decision-making. Some challenge the dominant perspectives discussed above, and other complement these perspectives. Two categories will be discussed below: justice theories and the theories related to the duty to care.

Justice

The goal of justice theories is to analyze whether a procedure, outcome, or both, is inherently fair (Thorne, Ferrell, & Ferrell, 2003). Note that theories of procedural and distributive justice are frequently discussed in textbooks, and are often based on philosophical concepts of justice. However, the use of these theories in textbooks, as well as in academic research, is mainly as a means to the ends of employee productivity (Greenwood, 2002). Justice, as a principle worthy of realization in its own right in decision-making, has not received significant attention in texts.

Many justice theories relate to the distribution of wealth in society. For example, John Rawls’ theory of distributive justice asks the decision-maker, when thinking about what is right, to wear a “veil of ignorance” with respect to personal characteristics, such as race, family background, special talents, etc. Then, one should make a decision that reflects this impartiality to personal circumstances. Rawls argues that if we do this, our decisions would be to distribute economic goods and services equally, unless an unequal distribution would work to everyone’s advantage (Beauchamp & Bowie, 1997). The focus of this perspective is often on the disadvantaged in society, and many of its implications imply the need for a more egalitarian distribution of wealth both in society and within firms. However, Rawls does not argue for complete equality. For example, differential compensation practices, such as incentive systems for entrepreneurs, would be acceptable as long as the result was improved job opportunities for the least advantaged members of society (Beauchamp & Bowie, 1997).

Another justice theory can be termed “contributive liberty” (Hosmer, 2008). In contrast to theories of distributive justice, such as Rawls’ theory, this theory, developed by Robert Nozick, focuses on an individual’s right to liberty in the process of decision-making. As such, it relates to procedural, not distributive justice. From a resource allocation perspective, this theory emphasizes the role of free markets, which, it argues, result in the fairest allocation of resources. This theory represents a companion of sorts to profit maximization. While profit maximization argues that market mechanisms produce the most societal welfare, contributive liberty argues for the inherent justice of free markets.

All the theories up till this point focus on the individual – her rights, and the duties of the decision-maker with respect to these rights. Another justice-based theory, communitarian theory, focuses instead on the community. Rather than discuss the rights of the individual versus the government or the firm, communitarian theory stresses the development of communal values, and how those communal values should affect the individual (Beauchamp & Bowie, 1997). One aspect of this theory is that too much focus on individual rights obscures the responsibility the individual has to the collective. As a member of a community (the firm), an employee thus has the responsibility to be, among other things, part of establishing a workplace that is fair and just (Barrett, 1999).

The Duty to Care

Most well-known and established ethical theories, including all the theories discussed thus far, focus on the development of an abstract set of ethical principles upon based on rights and justice. There is no role for sensitivity to others, emotion, and relationships for their own sake in these theories. Even universalism, with its focus on “doing unto others” emphasizes the development of abstract principles not specifically related to particular individuals.

The duty to care is a label for several theories developed from a feminist tradition that emphasize character traits that are valued in close personal relationships, such as sympathy and compassion (Beauchamp & Bowie, 1997). One aspect of this work is to address societal inequality of women, and how laws, and even ethical theories developed by men, have contributed to this (Grimshaw, 1986).

Another focus is to advocate a basis for ethical decision-making based on care. One prominent example is the work of Carol Gilligan (e.g., Gilligan, 1982). She asserts a framework of care and compassion, traits often associated with women, as underlying moral reasoning and ethical duty. Gilligan argues that a decision based on caring and concern for others can be as ethical, or more ethical, than a decision based on adherence to a set of abstract principles.

This relates to duties in a variety of areas in the workplace (Beauchamp & Bowie, 1997). Managers should exhibit sensitivity to employees’ personal problems not because it may result in a more productive employee or protect against a lawsuit, but because it is the right thing to do. We have the duty be sensitive to the points of view of others. When there are conflicting rights, this sensitivity can help in finding solutions where all party’s voices and perspectives are heard. Feminist thinking and the duty to care also involve metaphors in the workplace. Metaphors more commonly associated with men, such as sports and war, often reflect competition and conflict. Metaphors more commonly associated with women, such as relationships and family, are often seen as “soft” and not as important, despite the fact that these orientations may be correct (Beauchamp & Bowie, 1997).

References

Aspen Institute (2002). Where will they lead? Aspen, CO: Institute for Social Innovation Through Business.

Barrett, E. (1999). Justice in the workplace? Normative ethics and the critique of human resource management. Personnel Review, 28 (4), 307-318.

Beauchamp, T. L. & Bowie, N. E. (1997). Ethical Theory and Business. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. 5th Edition.

Cassidy, J. (2002). The greed cycle. New Yorker, 78, September 23, 64-77.

Deckop, J.R. (2006). Human Resource Management Ethics. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.

Eichenwald, K. (2002). Even if heads roll, mistrust will live on. The New York Times, Oct. 6.

Evan, W. M., & Freeman, R. E. (1988). A Stakeholder Theory of the Modern Corporation: Kantian Capitalism. In T. L. Beauchamp and N. Bowie (eds.), Ethical Theory and Business. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Friedman, M. (1970). The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. New York Times Magazine, September 13.

Gilligan, C. (1982). In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women’s Development. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

Gladwell, M. (2002). The talent myth: Are smart people overrated? New Yorker, 78, July 22, 28-33.

Gomez-Mejia, L. R., Balkin, D. B., & Cardy, R. L. (2007). Managing Human Resources. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. 5th edition.

Gravett, L. (2003). HRM Ethics: Perspectives for a New Millennium. Cincinnati: Atomic Dog Publishing.

Greenwood, M. R. (2002). Ethics and HRM: A review and conceptual analysis. Journal of Business Ethics, 36 (3), 261-278.

Grimshaw, J. (1986). Philosophy and Feminist Thinking. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Grossman, W. (2001). Resolving human resource dilemmas through international human resource management: A transaction cost economics perspective. Human Resource Management Review, 11, 55-72.

Heery, E. (1999). Risk, representation, and the new pay. Personnel Review, 25, (6), 54-65.

Hosmer, L. T. (2008). The Ethics of Management. Boston: McGraw-Hill. 6th Edition.

McCoy, B. H. (1997). The parable of the sadhu. Harvard Business Review, 75 (3), 54-61,

McShulskis, E. (1997). Job stress can prompt unethical behavior. HR Magazine, 42 (7), 22-23.

Messick, D. M. & Bazerman, M. H. (1996). Ethical leadership and the psychology of decision making. Sloan Management Review, 37 (2) 9-22.

O'Leary-Kelly, A. M. (2001). Sexual harassment as unethical behavior: The role of moral intensity. Human Resource Management Review , 11, 73-92.

Payne, S. L. & Wayland, R. F. (1999). Ethical obligation and diverse values assumptions in HRM. International Journal of Manpower, 20, 5/6, 297-308.

Parliament of the World's Religions. (1993). Towards A global ethic. Chicago, IL: Council for a

Parliament of the World's Religions.

Schumann, P. L. (2001). A moral principles framework for human resource management ethical analysis. Human Resource Management Review, 11, 93-111.

Thorne McAlister, D. T., Ferrell, O. C., & Ferrell, L. (2005). Business and Society. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 2nd Edition.

Townley, B. (1994). Reframing Human Resource Management: Power, Ethics, and the Subject at Work. London: Sage Publications.

Varley, P. (1998). The Sweatshop Quandary: Corporate Responsibility on the Global Frontier. New York: Investor Responsibility Research Center.

Winstanley, D. & Woodall, J. (2000). Ethical Issues in Contemporary Human Resource Management. New York: St. Martin’s Press.