Sample Question - Body Odor

Should community image be a driving factor in a company's decision to terminate a large group of employees?

Certainly the visibility of Human Resources in large part depends on the size of the organization. In a large organization, individuals within Corporate HR may be virtually invisible to the rank and file and maybe even line managers across the company. HR professionals still should take their responsibility regarding the law and ethics (not always the same

thing) very seriously. Please see SHRM's white paper, titled "Personal Liability of Human Resource Professionals in Employment Litigation", April 17, 2001 (www.shrm.org/whitepapers) and "The New Role of the Human Resource Professional", May 14, 2000

(www.humanresources.about.com/careers/humanresources/library/weekly/aa051400a.htm)

In chapter 6, one of the discussion questions I asked at the end of the chapter is "Should community image be a driving factor in a company's decision to terminate a large group of employees? If not, what should be the driving factor? A factor to consider in any employment decision should be image within the community, driven by a desire to be (and be perceived as) a good corporate citizen. When Robin Throckmorton and I did our research for our upcoming book on generational differences, we found that people in their early 20's are particularly desirous of working for companies that have a fine public image, because that reflects on them personally. However, having said that, I believe the important driving factor should be whether other jobs within the company can legitimately be found. If not,the company can assure good will by giving employees as much notice as possible and providing outplacement assistance that is financially feasible.

If you'd like to read more about the different generations and what they want in the workplace, please visit my web site at www.gravett.com and click on articles. I have a series from two summers ago on Motivating Different Generations in the Workplace.

The cultural aspect of ethics is indeed a complicated, in-depth issue and is definitely not addressed widely thus far in U.S. journals. If you'd like to read more about culture in the workplace regarding the Asian culture, please visit www.asiasource.org. Other web sites that may prove helpful are:

www.black-collegian.com

www.hispandata.com

www.iminorities.com

www.hispanstar.com

There's an excellent article from Sharon Leonard at SHRM on technology and privacy that you might want to access. Go to www.shrm.org/trends to access Workplace Visions, No. 3, 2000 for her article, titled Technology and Privacy.

Disclaimer: The recommendations and opinions provided by e-HResources.com, LLC are based on general human resource management fundamentals, practices and principles, and are not legal opinions or guaranteed outcomes. We strongly recommend, as part of a team approach to management, that clients consult with legal counsel of their choice to address legal concerns related to human resource issues