HR's view of ethics in the work place: Are the barbarians at the gate?

Based on responses from 1078 human resource (HR) professionals, this study concludes that there is not an ethical crisis in the work place. Seven of 37 situations were rated as serious problems by more than 25% of the respondents. HR reported that their organizations are serious about uncovering and disciplining ethical misconduct, top management has a commitment to ethical business conduct, personal principles are not compromised to conform to company expectations, and performance pressures do not lead to unethical conduct. John Danley is Professor of Philosophy at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. His area of research is political philosophy and applied ethics. His publications include journals such as Philosophy and Public Affairs, Philosophical Studies, Mind, Southwestern Journal of Philosophy, and the Journal of Business Ethics. He has authored a book entitled The Role of the Modern Corporation in a Free Society (Notre Dame Press, 1994). Edward J. Harrick is Professor of Management and Director of Labor and Management Programs at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. His research interests concern organizational effectiveness, employee satisfaction, and human resource issues. His work has appeared in journals such as Personnel Administrator, Personnel, Training and Development Journal, Public Personnel Management, National Productivity Review and Consulting Psychology Journal. Diane Schaefer is Assistant Director of Labor and Management Programs at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. She has been involved in several large-scale survey research projects and employment selection validation studies. She was recently published in Consulting Psychology Journal. Donald Strickland is Professor of Management and Chair of the Department of Management at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. He recently published a work on the responses of accounting administrators to situations related to fund raising in higher education. His research has appeared in journals such as Issues in Accounting Education, Journal of Drug Issues, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, and American Sociological Review. George Sullivan is Associate Professor of Management at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. He teaches business law and business and society. His research has focused on such topics as employment discrimination, drugs in the workplace, race harassment, sex harassment, and pregnancy discrimination. His work has appeared in Labor Law Journal, Business and Society, Business Insights, Industrial Management, and the Journal of the College and University Personnel Association.