Human Resources: Are the Policies Ethically Designed for Governing the Organization? 1
Research Proposal Assignment
Brittany L. Thompson
CLED 815 – Character & Ethics in Leadership and Education
Author Note
Brittany L. Thompson
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Brittany L. Thompson
Email: blthompson11@liberty.edu
Human Resources: Are the Policies Ethically Designed for Governing the Organization? 2
Research Proposal Assignment
Human resources in conjunction with executive leadership is the driving force behind a
company’s culture. The department provides a source of structure to the company and assist in
building the reputation of the organization; the human resources department plays a major role in
the culture cultivation. “Organizational culture is conceptualized as shared beliefs and values
within the organization that helps to shape the behavior patterns of employees” (Osibanjo &
Adeniji, 2013). One must understand the definition of ethics as it relates to company order and
structure. “Ethics is a traditional area of philosophical inquiry that delves into normative rules of
behavior. That is, ethics is about how people ought to behave and so it focuses on duty and the
boundaries of right and wrong” (Buckley et al., 2001). With that being stated, some employees
fear the Human Resources department simply because of the unethical practices that have
occurred in the workplace. A common complaint is favoritism from leadership and HR backing
the corruptness of the individual in leadership. This paper will seek to address: the importance of
ethics in an organization, how leaders in an organization can assist in cultivating an ethical
culture, primarily HR, and a biblical approach and examination of ethics.
Human Resources: Are the Policies Ethically Designed for Governing the Organization? 3
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