The Role of HR: Building an Ethical Organization

The authors’ thesis is that HR is in a position to play a major role in developing and supporting a culture that not only strives to rise above compliance with the law or engage in socially acceptable practices, but that will integrate ethical practices into the fabric of an organization. It is critical, however, that all of the leadership team embraces the creation of an ethical organization. HR challenges then fall into three key areas: (1) developing and implementing HR practices that serve as an example: (2) operating as a change-process expert; and (3) creating a supporting and enabling culture.
Ken Sloan and Joanne H. Gavin, “Human Resource Management: Meeting the Ethical Obligations of the Function,” Business and Society Review, 115(1)