Assessing ethical competence: the case of human resource management in South Africa
Date
2018
Authors
Felgate, Yendor Reginald
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Abstract
The role of Human Resources Management (HRM) can be characterised as “provid[ing] direction as to
how an organisation should handle people so that organisation[al] effectiveness and individual
satisfaction are maximised” (Trezise, 1996:87). Such a role inevitably creates a number of ethical
tensions. If HRM practitioners face difficult ethical challenges in organisations, then it follows that it
is important to understand what type of ethical expertise they require to address these challenges.
My first aim will be to assess whether prevailing models of ethical expertise are able to conceptualise
moral agency and the capacity that is needed to develop such agency in HRM. In this regard, I shall
argue that the prevailing models are insufficient for their purposes. My second aim will be to develop
a more satisfactory account. I will argue that a broader notion of ethical expertise is required: one,
which includes not only virtue but also the process of deliberation and the application of moral agency;
which is effectively able to deal with a multitude of situations; and which has a chance of identifying
the best alternatives in complex HRM ethical situations. Such an expanded notion of ethical expertise
potentially strengthens the ability of HRM practitioners to be more effective as ethical stewards.
Description
An Applied Ethics for Professionals Research Report Submitted to the University of the Witwatersrand
in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Art, 2018
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Citation
Felgate, Yendor Reginald (2018) Assessing ethical competence: the case of human resource management in South Africa, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, <http://hdl.handle.net/10539/26498>