PSY FPX 6740 Assessment 5 Ethical and Legal Aspects of I-O Psychology

Student Name

Capella University

PSY FPX 6740 Industrial/Organizational Psychology Practices in Personnel and Human Resource Management

Prof. Name:

Date

Introduction

The first step is to identify the issue at hand. I have been brought in by MacDonald Pfiffer to conduct team-building activities at Purple Sky, Inc. After discussions with your colleagues, I discovered communication issues and potentially problematic leadership within the organization. Before addressing these concerns, it is essential to revisit the APA ethics principles:

Principle 1: Beneficence and Nonmaleficence
Principle 2: Fidelity and Responsibility
Principle 3: Integrity
Principle 4: Justice
Principle 5: Respect for People’s Rights and Dignity [CITATION Eth \l 1033]

To support our peers effectively, we must adhere to ethical and moral standards. There are various ways to initiate conversations about how peers perceive their treatment. Resources like dilemma stimulus training cards, CAPE bingo, and other materials available on the SIOP official website can be utilized [CITATION Com \l 1033]. The four main ethical theories are:

Teleology – justifies morality based on the outcome of the consequences
Deontology – emphasizes the consistency of right actions
Relativism – acknowledges humans’ natural inclination towards moral acts
Virtue Theory – suggests that people act rightly based on their character traits

In an organizational context, deontology is the preferred approach, as consistent actions and outcomes prevent perceptions of unfairness among colleagues and peers.

The Issue

Feedback from conversations with an employee, a manager, and a fellow colleague at Purple Sky indicates a miscommunication issue and a poor management style, both of which are rooted in the organizational culture. The first step is to cultivate moral awareness on both individual and organizational levels [CITATION ORe11 \l 1033]. This should be followed by making moral judgments. For example, if a manager consistently disregards data and evidence presented by an employee, it reflects an ethical concern that needs to be addressed. We cannot allow the organization to continue practices that may be ethically wrong; therefore, it is crucial to speak up. Engage in discussions with colleagues, other managers, or senior leadership to address these issues.

Analyzing the Ethical Issue

Given the communication issues and the directive from senior leadership to focus only on employees rather than managers, we are dealing with workplace inequality. Senior leadership’s disregard for management’s wrongdoing is unfair and will likely result in employees feeling unsafe and disrespected, potentially leading to turnover. Additionally, it is important to recognize that a female employee reported feeling unheard by her male manager, who lacked effective communication skills. This raises concerns about gender inequality. Is the manager’s behavior due to an inherent lack of comprehension, or is it indicative of a deeper issue related to gender bias? Gender inequality remains a significant issue in the workplace.

Gender Inequality

Although gender inequality is often addressed in HR policies, unconscious biases may still lead to unfair treatment of women and other minorities. Management may not always recognize when they are treating women unfairly or being culturally insensitive to a Muslim employee, for example. This underscores the importance of implementing workshops where managers can practice handling various scenarios. Common examples of gender inequality include unequal pay, harassment, and limited job mobility. As observed in discussions with an employee at Purple Sky, the lack of respect and attention she received, coupled with senior leadership’s directive to overlook managerial issues, has created a disparity between managers and employees. If unaddressed, this will have long-term negative effects on the company.

Advice

While considering colleagues’ opinions can provide an external perspective, as an I-O practitioner, you should remain objective and not allow these opinions to influence your decision-making or hinder your ability to assist the organization. If leadership is part of the problem, they would benefit from workshops just as much as the employees. It is crucial to uphold the principle of justice; holding employees to different standards than management creates an imbalance and undermines fairness. Morale is a critical component of the work environment, often more important than pay. Failing to maintain justice and fairness will lead to employee turnover. Therefore, what can be done to resolve this?

Ideas for Resolution

To address gender inequality in the workplace, the first step is acknowledgment. Following this, it is important to implement training, reenact scenarios, provide visual aids, and create safe spaces for women to express their concerns [CITATION Das19 \l 1033]. All managers should be required to undergo rigorous training annually. Additionally, performance appraisals from employees should be conducted to assess management effectiveness, with positive consideration given to managers who promote employee growth within the company. Establishing a separate, monthly forum for female employees to share their thoughts and take ownership of their careers will empower them, ultimately enhancing their job performance and satisfaction [CITATION Zhu16 \l 1033].

Confidentiality

I/O psychologists face many of the same ethical issues as practitioners and researchers in other psychology subfields, including confidentiality. The American Psychological Association (APA) emphasizes that psychologists must recognize individuals as “multicultural beings” whose life experiences are shaped by their cultural perspectives. However, there are also ethical, legal, and diversity issues unique to I/O psychology, particularly because I/O research impacts individuals’ employment and livelihood. I/O psychologists adhere to the APA Ethics Code, which outlines ten standards addressing issues such as competence, human relations, public statements, record-keeping, education and training, therapy, ethics, privacy and confidentiality, research and publication, and assessment [CITATION Cas11 \l 1033].

Conclusion

While there are overlaps between Human Resources and I-O practitioners, a third party is often more objective, morally sound, and equipped to prioritize stakeholder interests due to their experience and legal obligations. The way people are managed and leadership is exercised significantly impacts employees’ perceptions of work life. Given the current dissatisfaction and communication issues, we will begin with a workshop focused on improving workplace communication. Additionally, we will hold one-on-one sessions with leadership to discuss the qualities of effective leadership. Some individuals, due to their tenure, may need a reminder. A role-playing workshop, where employees manage the managers, will also be conducted to demonstrate how quickly resolutions can be reached.

References

Blackman, G. (n.d.). Committee for the advancement of professional ethics (CAPE). Retrieved from Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology: https://www.siop.org/Career-Center/Professional-Ethics.

Cascio, W., & Aguinis, H. (2011). Applied psychology in human resource management (7th ed.). Prentice Hall.

Dashper, K. (2019). Challenging the gendered rhetoric of success? The limitations of women-only mentoring for tackling gender inequality in the workplace. Gender, Work, and Organization, 26(4), 541–557. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12262.

Ethical principles of psychologists and Code of Conduct. (n.d.). Retrieved from American Psychological Association: https://www.apa.org/ethics/code.

O’Reilly, J., & Aquino, K. (2011). A Model of Third Parties’ Morally Motivated Responses to Mistreatment in Organizations. Academy of Management Review, 36(3), 526–543. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2009.0311.