Abstract
Focusing on professional codes of ethics in HR, this article establishes a foundation for understanding the contents of thesecodes and for future research in this area. Five key professionalethics codes in HRM are analyzed according to six obligations.The resulting characterizations revealed that these codes advocatefive principles related to integrity, legality, proficiency, loyalty, and confidentiality. Particular flaws in code content and implementationare identified with recommendations for addressing them. Also,suggestions for standardizing professional HR codes and forfuture research are discussed.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
ACA Standards of Professional Conduct: 1997 Membership Directory (The American Compensation Association, Phoenix, AZ).
ASTD Code of Ethics: 1996, ASTD Who's Who in Training and Development Membership Directory(American Society for Training and Development, ASTD Information Center, Alexandria Virginia), p. 10.
Anchor, Kenneth N. and Kathryn A. Weiner: 1992, ‘A History and Critical Analysis of Board Certification in the U.S.’, Medical Psychotherapy 5, 1–13.
Archer, Earnest R.: 1986, ‘Human Resource Professionalism: An Unexpected Source of Conflict’, Personnel Administrator 31(7) ( July), 97–104.
Arlow, Peter and Thomas A. Ulrich: 1988, ‘Longitudinal Aurvey of Business School Graduates' Assessments of Business Ethics’, Journal of Business Ethics 7, 295–302.
Axline, Larry L.: 1996, ‘Viewpoints: The Ethics of Performance Appraisal’, SAM Advanced Management Journal 61(1) (Winter), 44–45.
Bayles, Michael D.: 1993, ‘Professional Power and Self-Regulation’, Business and Professional Ethics Journal 5(2), 26–46.
Beets, S. D.: 1992, ‘The Revised AICPA Code of Professional Conduct: Current Considerations’, The CPA Journal 62(4), 26–32. In Irene N. McCarthy: 1997, ‘Professional Ethics Code Conflict Situations: Ethical and Value Orientation of Collegiate Accounting Students’, Journal of Business Ethics 16, 1467–1473.
Berenbeim, Ronald E.: 1991, ‘HR Taking Policy Role in Corporate Ethics Programs’, Employment Relations Today 18(3) (Autumn), 279–284.
Bommer, Michael, Clarence Gratto and Jerry Gravander: 1987, ‘A Behavioral Model of Ethical and Unethical Decision Making’, Journal of Business Ethics 6, 265–280.
Brenner, Steven N. and Earl A. Molander: 1977, ‘Is the Ethics of Business Changing?’, Harvard Business Review 55(1) ( January/February), 55–71.
Brien, Andrew: 1998, ‘Professional Ethics and the Culture of Trust’, Journal of Business Ethics 17(4) (March), 391–409.
Brown, William D.: 1996, ‘In Search of a Successful Ethics Seminar’, HRMagazine 41(12) (December), 115–119.
Brumback, Gary B.: 1991, ‘Institutionalizing Ethics in Government’, Public Personnel Management 20(3) (Fall), 353–363.
Buchholz, William J.: 1989, ‘Deciphering Professional Codes of Ethics’, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication 32(2) ( June), 62–68.
Caccese, Michael S.: 1997, ‘Ethics and the Financial Analyst’, Financial Analysts Journal 53(1) (January/February), 9–14.
Cava, Anita, Jonathan West and Evan Berman: 1995, ‘Ethical Decision-Making in Business and Government: An Analysis of Formal and Informal Strategies’, Spectrum(Spring), 28–36.
Christensen, Burke A. (J.D., CLU): 1992, ‘Professional Ethics and Corporate Business Practices’, Journal of The American Society of CLU and ChFC(September), 26.
Commerce Clearing House, Inc.: 1991, Human Resource Management: 1991 SHRM/CCH Survey( June 26), Commerce Clearing House, Inc./ Society for Human Resource Management.
Cook, Frederic W.: 1997, ‘Compensation Ethics: Guidelines for Developing a Code’, Compensation and Benefits Review 29(2), 24, 26+.
Cooper, Robert W. and Garry L. Frank: 1991, ‘Ethics in the Life Insurance Industry: The Issues, Helps and Hindrances’, Journal of the American Society of CLU and ChFC 45, 54–66.
Cooper, Robert W., Garry L. Frank and Patrick H. Heaston: 1994, ‘Helps for CPAs in Dealing with Ethical Issues: An Analysis and Comparison with Internal Auditors’, Business and Professional Ethics Journal 13(1–2) (Spring/Summer), 165–183.
Davis, Michael: 1990). ‘The Special Role of Professionals in Business Ethics’, Business and Professional Ethics Journal 7(2), 51–61.
Davis, Michael: 1996, ‘Professional Autonomy: A Framework for Empirical Research’, Business Ethics Quarterly 6(4) (October), 441–460.
Davis, R. R.: 1984, ‘Ethical Behavior Reexamined’, The CPA Journal 54(12), 32–36. In Irene N. McCarthy: 1997, ‘Professional Ethics Code Conflict Situations: Ethical and Value Orientation of Collegiate Accounting Students’, Journal of Business Ethics 16, 1467–1473.
Dobson, John: 1997, ‘Ethics in Finance II’, Financial Analyst Journal 53(1) ( January/February), 15–25.
Driscoll, Dawn-Marie and W. Michael Hoffman: 1998, ‘HR Plays a Central Role in Ethics Programs’, Workforce 77(4) (April), 121–123.
Edwards, Gary and Kirk Bennett: 1987, ‘Ethics and HR: Standards in Practice’, Personnel Administrator 32(12) (December), 62–66.
Emanuel, Linda L.: 1997, ‘Professional Standards in Health Care: Calling All Parties to Account’, Health Affairs 16(1) ( January/February), 52–54.
Encyclopedia of Associations: 1997, Deborah M. Burek, Karin E. Koek and Annette Novallo (eds.) (Gale Research, Inc., Detroit, MI)
Ethics in American Business: Policies, Programs and Perceptions: 1994, Michael S. Caccese: 1997, ‘Ethics and the Financial Analyst’, Financial Analysts Journal 53(1), (January/February), 9–14 (Ethics Resource Center, Washington, DC).
Ferrell, O. C., Michael D. Hartline and Stephen W. McDaniel: 1998, ‘Codes of Ethics Among Corporate Research Departments, Marketing Research Firms, and Data Subcontractors: An Examination of Three-Communities Metaphor’, Journal of Business Ethics 17(5), (April I), 503–516.
Ford, Robert C. and Woodrow D. Richardson: 1994, ‘Ethical Decision Making: A Review of the Empirical:iterature’, Journal of Business Ethics 13, 205–221.
Fox, Siegrun F.: 1993, ‘Professional Norms and Actual Practices in Local Personnel Administration: A Status Report’, Review of Public Personnel Administration 13(2) (Spring), 5–28.
Frankel, Mark S.: 1989, ‘Professional Codes: Why, How, and With What Impact?’, Journal of Business Ethics 8, 109–115.
Fritzsche, David J.: 1987, ‘Marketing/Business Ethics: A Review of Empirical Research’, Business and Professional Ethics Journal 6, 65–79.
Glasner, Daniel M.: 1998, ‘Past Mistakes Present Future Challenges’, Workforce 77(5) (May), 117.
Greengard, Samuel: 1997, ‘Cheating and Stealing’, Workforce 76(10) (October), 45–53.
Heaston, Patrick H., Robert W. Cooper and Garry L. Frank: 1993, ‘The Ethical Environment of the Internal Auditor’, Internal Auditor 50(3) ( June), 18–23.
Hosmer, LaRue Tone: 1987, ‘Ethical Analysis and Human Resource Management’, Human Resource Management 26(3) (Fall), 313–330.
IHRIM Code of Conduct Policy: Revised 1996, Membership Directory(International Association for Human Resource Information Management, Dallas, TX).
IPMA Statement of Principles and Values: Revised October 5, 1991 (International Personnel Management Association, Alexandria, VA).
Jamal, Karim and Norman E. Bowie: 1995, Theoretical Considerations for a Meaningful Code of Professional Ethics’, Journal of Business Ethics 14(9) (September), 703–714.
Johnson, Deborah G.: 1985, Computer Ethics( Prentice Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ).
Kirrane, Diane E.: 1990, ‘Managing Values: A Systematic Approach to Business Ethics’, Training and Development Journal 44(11) (November), 52–60.
Kochunny, C. M.; Hudson P. Rogers and Alphonso O. Ogbuehi: 1996/1997, ‘Head and Heart Orientation: A Measure of Marketers' Predisposition for Ethical Conduct’, Journal of Applied Business Research 13(1), (Winter), 105–113.
Kultgen, J.: 1982, ‘The Ideological Use of Professional Codes’, Business and Professional Ethics Journal 1, 53–69.
McCabe, Daniel L., Linda K. Trevino and Kenneth D. Butterfield: 1996, ‘The Influence of Collegiate and Corporate Codes of Conduct on Ethics-Related Behavior in the Workplace’, Business Ethics Quarterly 6(4) (October), 461–476.
McCarthy, Irene N.: 1997, Professional Ethics Code Conflict Situations: Ethical and Value Orientation of Collegiate Accounting Students’, Journal of Business Ethics 16, 1467–1473.
Maes, Jeanne D., Arthur Jeffery and Tommy V. Smith: 1998, ‘The American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As) Standards of Practice: How Far Does this Professional Association's Code of Ethics' Influence Reach?’, Journal of Business Ethics 17(11), 1155–1161.
Morgan, Ronald B.: 1993, Self-and Co-Worker Perceptions of Ethics and Their Relationships to Leadership and Salary’, Academy of Management Journal 36(1) (February), 200–214.
Morgan, Thomas D.: 1977, ‘The Evolving Concept of Professional Responsibility’, Harvard Law Review 90, 706.
Murphy, Patrick E.: 1988, ‘Implementing Business Ethics’, Journal of Business Ethics 7, 907–915.
Oz, Effy: 1993, ‘Ethical Standard for Computer Professionals: A Comparative Analysis of Four Major Codes’, Journal of Business Ethics 12, 709–726.
Oz, Effy: 1992, ‘Ethical Standards for Information Systems Professionals: A Case for a Unified Code’, MIS Quarterly 16(4), 423–433.
Pastin, M.: 1986, The Hard Problems of Management: Gaining the Ethics Edge( Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA).
Perry, D., Kirk Bennett and Gary Edwards: 1990, Ethics Policies and Programs in American Business(Ethics Resource Center, Washington, DC).
Petrick, Joseph A.: 1992, ‘Organizational Ethics Development and the Human Resource Professional’, Journal(Summer), 71–76.
Posner, B. Z. and W. H. Schmidt: 1987, ‘Ethics in American Companies: A Managerial Perspective’, Journal of Business Ethics 6, 383–391.
Raelin, Joseph A.: 1987, The Professional as the Executive's Ethical Aide-de-camp’, The Academy of Management Executive 1(3) (August), 171–182.
Robison, Wade L.: 1994, ‘Introduction’, Business and Professional Ethics Journal 13(1–2), (Spring/ Summer), 165–183.
Rosen, Sherman D. and Hervey A. Juris: 1996, ‘Chapter 11: Ethical Issues in Human Resource Management’, in Gerald R. Ferris, Sherman D. Rosen and Darold T. Barnum (eds.), Handbook of Human Resource Management(Blackwell Publishers Inc., Cambridge, MA), 1996 reprinted, pp. 197–216, 666 pp.
Rusaw, A. Carol: 1995, ‘Learning by Association: Professional Associations as Learning Agents’, Human Resource Development Quarterly 6(2), (Summer), 215–226.
Schweikart, James A.: 1992, Cognitive-Contingency Theory and the Study of Ethics in Accounting’, Journal of Business Ethics 11, 471–478.
Sims, Ronald R.: 1992, ‘The Challenge of Ethical Behavior in Organizations’, Journal of Business Ethics 11, 505–513.
SHRM Code of Ethics: 1996, Who's Who in HR, Membership Directory (Society for Human Resource Management, Alexandria, VA).
Trevino, Linda Klebe: 1986, ‘Ethical Decision Making in Organizations: A Person-Situation Interactionist Model’, Academy of Management Review 11, 601–618.
Viet, Theodore, Michael Murphy and H. Kent Baker: 1996, ‘Ethics and the Investment Profession: An International Survey. Research Foundation of the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts’, in Michael S. Caccese Esq. (1997), ‘Ethics and the Financial Analyst’, Financial Analysts Journal 53(1), ( January/February), 9–14.
Wallace, Fran A.: 1985, ‘Walking a Tightrope: Ethical Issues Facing HR Professionals’, Personnel 62(6) (June), 32–36.
Waters, James A. and Frederick Bird: 1987. ‘The Moral Dimension of Organizational Culture’, Journal of Business Ethics 6, 15–22.
Weaver, Gary R.: 1993, ‘Corporate Codes of Ethics: Purpose, Process and Content Issues’, Business and Society 32(1) (Spring), 44–58.
Wiley, Carolyn: 1993, ‘Employment Managers' Views on Workplace Ethics’, The EMA Journal(Spring), 14–24.
Wiley, Carolyn: 1998, ‘Reexamining Perceived Ethics Issues and Ethics Roles among Employment Managers’, Journal of Business Ethics 17, 147–161.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wiley, C. Ethical Standards for Human Resource Management Professionals: A Comparative Analysis of Five Major Codes. Journal of Business Ethics 25, 93–114 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006230214847
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006230214847