Human Resource Management and Conflict Resolution Essay (Article)

Schumann, P. L. (2011). A moral principles framework for human resource management ethics. Human Resource Management Review, 11(1–2), 93–111

Summary

In this article, Schumann (2011) argues that analyzing ethical issues in HRM is a legitimate and important tool for increasing the capacity to understand humans in an organization. It is also important in solving any conflict arising between individuals at the workplace.

According to the author, the theory of ethical relativism should not be used in searching and developing moral principles, especially when managing human-human relationships in an organization. The article presents a comprehensive framework that managers should use to make judgements about HRM ethics, with a clear consideration of human behaviour.

In particular, the article emphasizes on the 20^th century ethical theories such as utilitarian, rights, and care and virtue ethics. Using these theories, the author attempts to describe HRM strategies as some of the most important tools for managing conflicts in an industrial setting, suggesting that this tool provides organization leaders with an effective way of solving organizational conflicts.

Critique

Within the scope of the study, the author has chosen an important and debatable topic because human resource management is one of the most important issues affecting all institutions in the modern world.

In fact, it is worth noting that various theories, models and suggestions have been proposed to determine the most effective way of managing people in organizations. This phenomenon has created an extensive debate within the scope of application of strategic HRM in modern industries.

While these studies and suggestions are numerous, it is worth noting that the author’s argument seems to discuss a topic that is highly debatable yet unsatisfied by the existing knowledge. Thus, the author’s topic is justified and is worth empirical analysis.

Nevertheless, the author fails to introduce a comprehensive study question, despite showing that the main research problem is ‘whether application of moral framework in HRM could be used to understand human behaviour in an organizational environment and how this can be used to resolve conflicts’ (.Schumann, 2011).

Secondly, the author does not make a comprehensive hypothesis, which renders the article less concise with conventional research protocols. Despite this, the author has effectively developed an informative argument that is worth analysing in this paper.

The author’s choice of methodology is also worth analysing. First, it is clear that the author does not specify the type of research method used. Nevertheless, it is clear that the study is an empirical review of existing literature in a descriptive, rather than quantitative manner.

As such, it is clear that the author majorly relies on the information obtained from previous studies. Specifically, it is based on a wide area of management such as HRM, conflict management and organizational leadership.

Within the context of the argument, it is clear that author wanted to dispute the theory of ethical relativism in HRM. Instead, the author upraises the application of moral principles when managing people in organizations.

The author also argues that the application of a moral framework through analysis of “ethics of deception” to the employees about the nature of the workplace is an effective tool of understanding and managing human behaviour.

However, the author has failed to consider that his argument is only applicable in some industries or organizations, such as those operating in hazardous environments, like chemical manufacturing. In essence, this argument cannot hold true in other industries or organizations with lower levels of hazards.

Reference

Schumann, P. L. (2011). A moral principles framework for human resource management ethics. Human Resource Management Review, 11(1–2), 93–111