Introduction
In the past few years, Google has been involved in serious allegations of internal discrimination and sexism, which are serious internal issues. Although the organization has a policy that allows its staff to debate with the management on sensitive topics, the company is accused of failing to address the issue. According to the reports made about the incidences of workplace discrimination, it is stated that the HR department always responds with a baffling response to the victims, telling them that they should get therapy. In addition, the individuals involved in criticizing the company about sexual harassment were fired for criticizing the company’s diversity procedures. Issues of sexism and institutional discrimination are serious human resource aspects as they are against human rights and employment laws.
Central Facts and Assumptions
The central fact of the issue is that sexism and racial discrimination are against labor laws in the United States and need to be effectively addressed. In addition, the victims of discrimination and sexual harassment are people of color, as they are the most vulnerable and affected employees (Stanley, 2021). Most cases of internalized discrimination and sexual harassment are women.
The main assumption is that the organization has an effective HR policy where all the issues affecting the employees are publicly debated among the employees and the management, making it easy to address all the issues they experience (Ghaffary, 2020). In addition, it is assumed that the organization is highly sensitive to such issues making it hard for them to happen.
Missing Facts and Ethical Issues
Actions taken toward the individuals involved in the cases are missing in the public domain. On the contrary, action is only taken to those who report the cases as they are given leave and threatened with pay cuts and performance issues (Stanley, 2021). Racism and discrimination are critical ethical issues in any organization with a culturally diverse workforce. In addition, lack of protection against the same is an ethical issue in the case. HR is accused of failing to act upon the cases despite being reported on several occasions by different individuals.
Analysis and Evaluation
The main stakeholders in the case are the management and the organization’s employees. The employees’ stake is that their rights towards equal treatment and discrimination are not protected and threaten other employees. The management’s stake is reputation as they risk getting a bad reputation if the issues get to the public (Vanka et al., 2020). The main challenge in the case is the lack of an effective procedure for addressing the issues since senior officials are involved. It is the ethical responsibility of HR to address the issues involving their staff irrespective of who is involved. The organization risks losing talented employees who might get fired or resign, leading to significant financial or economic impacts on the organization (Vanka et al., 2020). The tension involved in the case is how the public would perceive the condition considering Google is an international organization with a reputation to protect (Ghaffary, 2020). The main ethical principles, concepts, and ideas involved in the case entail equality, professionalism, ethical leadership, fairness, justice, and conflicts of interests (Vanka et al., 2020). The stated principles are violated since victims lose their jobs and are harassed and discriminated against based on gender and ethnicity.
Recommendations
The recommendation in the case is that the organization should provide justice to all the employees who are victims of discrimination and sexual harassment, irrespective of the perpetrator. Additional procedures must be included for reporting such cases to higher authorities if HR does not provide effective solutions to the problem. Cases of racism and harassment should be highly prioritized since they are serious allegations involving the violation of human rights. The alternatives to the recommendations include the involvement of External investigators in such cases to ensure that legal actions are taken against the involved individuals since the victims do not get the justice they deserve. The HR should be fired and charged for favoritism since they favor their fellow managers over the junior staff, continuously being victimized due to their sex or race. The main advantage of such alternatives is that external investigators are likely to provide justice for the victims since they do not have any direct interest in the organization. The main disadvantage is that the organization will do anything to protect its reputation, making it challenging for external bodies to be involved in its internal operations.
Learning Outcomes and Conclusion
According to the case, one can understand the role of the human resource in handling issues that affect the interests of the employees. HR must protect the employee’s rights and ensure a conducive working environment where their rights are protected. The case also shows how employees are susceptible to victimization in organizations, and the organizations do not take action to protect their reputations. Based on the case, it is evident that discrimination and racial discrimination are still practiced in organizations despite laws making the practices illegal. I have learned that professionalism is a key issue in HR management since it addresses critical challenges involving the staff. Also, equality and justice should be emphasized when dealing with employee issues. When confronted with such cases, this information can be used in my current organization.
References
Ghaffary, S. (2020).Google’s head of HR is stepping down, but that won’t fix the company’s internal problems. Vox.
Stanley, A. (2021). Google HR: Think There’s Discrimination in Our Workplace? Get Therapy. Gizmodo.
Vanka, S., Rao, M., Singh, S., & Pulaparthi, M. (2020). Sustainable Human Resource Management. Springer Singapore.