Ethical Issues and Management

Ethical Issues and Management

XMGT/216 Organizational Ethics and Social Responsibility

A Manager faces a lot of ethical and moral issues when dealing with employees. One issue they face is the termination of an employee. There are many justifiable ways that an employee can be terminated; downsizing, poor performance, and attendance are a few of many (Trevino & Nelson, 2007). Termination usually involves fairness and honesty. Many managers have to deal with conflicting morals and values. The employer needs to remember that the employee that is being terminated is not the only person affected. It can help the manager to practice responsible management. There are a few things that a manager can do to make the termination easier on the employee and on themselves. The first is to be brief, do the termination in person and on neutral ground, keep the information private and have a human resources representative available for the employee to talk to afterward (Trevino & Nelson, 2007). Following these steps can make the process easier, but firing an employee is never easy.

There is something called "termination for cause" which can mean many different things. Different companies view "cause" in different ways. "Cause" is an umbrella term for stealing, fraud, forgery, and violence; to name a few (Trevino & Nelson, 2007). An employee that steals from a cash drawer could be fired for just cause. The manager has an obligation to terminate the employee regardless of how they feel about the employee. The manager cannot let emotion stand in the way of what has to be done. This has to be the action needed even if the manager knows that the employee is having financial difficulties and has made a promise to pay back the money. As the manager, they have to think about how the action of the employee has affected others. The money is property that has been stolen from the business. The money may have been needed for office supplies or other items. If there was not enough money to purchase the supplies, the employees might not be able to do their jobs properly. If the employee was not fired, other employees may think that they can steal and get away with it too. The manager or company may lose respect from their staff. If word got out the company might lose customers because they may seem untrustworthy. A manager must consider all of these issues and use it to make responsible decisions.

Another reason for employee termination is poor work performance. Employees who show poor performance or have attendance issues usually have documentation of their work performance and disciplinary actions before termination in their file. Termination for poor performance is generally justified with previously documented warnings (Trevino & Nelson, 2007). A manager has to monitor their employees work performance and usually knows the reasons that might be causing the employee to perform poorly. The manager cannot let emotion or the ways that they feel about the employee get in the way of making a decision to terminate the employee. Sometimes an employee is not able to meet their quota. This has an affects the other workers. When one person is slacking in their duties the