Far too often, some employees forget the moral and values of the job they were hired to perform. Many of them become comfortable within their positions and feel their job is secure from termination or co-worker scrutiny. For some positions, ethical issues can cause grief because it is hard to measure or quantify what is or what is not ethical for one person versus another. The legal aspect of most positions is black and white and the grey are becomes more pronounced by the managers’ managerial style that could conflict with the goal and mission of the organization. Ultimately, the manager is responsible for managing the employees and training them to maximize their work potential by working more efficiently and effectively. Overall, most employees look to their superior for guidance and direction, but they are also looking for what their supervisor is not doing too.
Although Ethics and Law in Human Resources Management is a growing topic of discussion, some individuals entrusted in those positions have a tendency to forget how they may have survived under the accountability radar However, many guidelines and protocol have been established to protect the integrity of the person and the position. More times than not, the people in managerial or supervisory positions are responsible for monitoring employees while on the job. Supervisors and monitors have to be educated with regarding the transition from employee to employee supervisor. Many of the relationships between the supervisor and employee can result in conflict because of their connection. In these situations, monitoring the supervisor and employee interaction becomes paramount. Their interaction would suggest where the identified leader possess the skills to supervise objectively or if further training is required. Any supervisory position requires rules and the legal ramifications for inappropriate job behavior. One of the concerns today is confidentiality.
Confidentially is one piece that has the ability to foster a positive working relationship between the supervisor and employee. Conversely, when supervisors cross the lines of confidentiality the organization is affected. Confidentiality infringes on the right to know and the need to know with regards to sharing personal and medical information with others. One example would be an employer would need to know if an employee experiences unexplained fainting that could happen anytime. This example is a health hazard that could become a medical emergency without the proper documentation. At the same time, the supervisor does not have the right to discuss the unexplained fainting to those not in authority. Working relationships with between the employee and supervisor has been questioned because of similar issues of sharing too much information. Inappropriate comments are illegal, degrading, and unprofessional all of which can cause financial liability to the company and punatative damages to the supervisor because they are a vested employee of the company.
When employees embrace the trial of leadership and supervisory roles, their use of technology becomes a greater demand. However, the implementation of technology within the work environment causes the company to utilize staff development because of the various HIPPA Laws and Privacy Notices. Not every employee or supervisor will enter the position proficient in technology and know what is and is not acceptable to share and whom to share it with. One measure to mitigate the training disparity is by increasing the use and accessibility of technology in the workplace. This will be beneficial for both employees and supervisors as it will allow the mission and goals of the company to flourish and become more diverse. Effectively implementing technology in the workplace will enable employees to have more resources and assistance that may transfer from work to home. Communication will be greatly improved between all three parties (employee/supervisor/company) with the use of the company databases and basic computer skills. Supervisor engagement and the ability to maintain a professional rapport will increase using new technology which will lead to greater productivity in work and learning.
The collaborative approach allows the supervisor and employees to work together to develop plans for good proactive ethics to be implemented. The collaborative approach allows the group to work as a team toward achieving the common goal. This allows employees to offer input and ideas as well as the supervisor to find the best methods to implement to meet the needs of each of worker. This approach should work efficiently and effectively assuming the employee and supervisor have a similar level of knowledge and experience. The positive aspects for this particular approach allow the supervisor and employee to work together to come up with the best ideas to meet the individual needs of the workers. The expression “two minds are better than one” is evident in this particular approach where each person may have personal situations or knowledge to offer others to come up with the best, most beneficial practices to implement on the job. The negative aspects would be that the supervisor is on an equal level with the employee and may not receive the respect as an authority figure. The employee must remember that although we are working together to achieve the common goal, the supervisor is accountable for all.
The nondirective approach allows the supervisor to monitor and assist the employees in developing their own plans. In this particular approach, the supervisor maintains more of a “listener” mentality, allowing the employee to provide input and make the decisions. The supervisor must show respect and trust in the educator to make the necessary decisions to implement to achieve the common goal.This approach would be most beneficial if the employee display high levels of motivation, knowledge, and dedication. This approach is similar to the Laissez faire behavior style as the employee is in control of self-assessment and critique and works on an individual level to find better practices to implement on the job. The positive aspects for this particular approach allow the supervisor the flexibility to use various methods to meet the needs of the employees, along with the trust from the supervisor to make the correct decisions to achieve the common goal. The negative aspects for this particular approach are that the supervisor has little input if the implementation fails, yet the supervisor will most likely be the person accountable for the company.