Posted: February 28th, 2023

Business Ethic Chapter Summary

a one-page double-pace summary of the chapter 3 PowerPoint. you can use the writing on the slide(no need for citation) but not too much. thanks 

Topic Three

Hiring Ethical People

⚫ Describe the process for
screening candidates for ethics

⚫ Outline which job candidate
factors are illegal to consider
when hiring

⚫ Explain how to obtain accurate
behavior information from
resumes, reference checks,
background checks, and integrity
tests

⚫ Identify personality test scales
that measure ethics

⚫ Develop interview questions that
address ethical issues

Learning Objectives

Importance of an Ethics Screen

• Typical hiring process: reviewing resumes and
job application forms for knowledge, skills and
abilities necessary to perform the job task

• Ethics often assumed or overlooked

Maximizing ethical work
behaviors begins with the hiring

process

One bad hire can make the
daily life of many employees
miserable

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

• Inform potential applicants about
organization’s ethics job screen

Step 1: ethics screen
notice

This step acts as a signal to
potential job applicants.

People who behave unethically are not
likely to apply for jobs with organizations
that advertise the strength of their ethics
job-screening process

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

• Gather and use information in way that
does not violate law

Step 2: legal ground
rules

Federal and state laws govern the types of
information an employer can gather on job
candidates and the reasons an employer can
invoke for selecting one candidate over another

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964

Civil rights law that governs hiring –
most state civil rights laws are based

on it

It is unlawful for any employer to
“discriminate against any individual
with respect to his compensation,
terms, conditions, or privileges of

employment, because of such
individual’s race, color, religion, sex,

or national origin.”

This is a lot of text. But it’s simpler if you take it clause by clause.

It is unlawful for any employer to
“discriminate against any individual
with respect to his compensation,
terms, conditions, or privileges of

employment, because of such
individual’s race, color, religion, sex,

or national origin.”

This is the action that is
unlawful.

It is unlawful for any employer to
“discriminate against any individual
with respect to his compensation,
terms, conditions, or privileges of

employment, because of such
individual’s race, color, religion, sex,

or national origin.” This makes it clear that the
law covers the entire

employment relationship.

It is unlawful for any employer to
“discriminate against any individual
with respect to his compensation,
terms, conditions, or privileges of

employment, because of such
individual’s race, color, religion, sex,

or national origin.”
These categories are called protected
classes. Any discrimination lawsuit first

requires that the plaintiff is part of a
protected class.

One exception to the law is if the
discrimination is a Bona Fide

Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)

Another example: Can men be
Hooters Girls?

Discrimination can be justified (in limited
situations) if the characteristic used to
discriminate is necessary to be able to

perform the job functions.

A sushi restaurant only hires
Japanese chefs and cooks. This is
discrimination based on national

origin. Can they argue BFOQ
because it is a business necessity to

hire people who can prepare truly
authentic Japanese fare?

So what is Hooters’ primary function?

Plaintiffs characterized Hooters’ primary
function as providing food.

Hooters characterized its primary function as
providing ‘vicarious sexual entertainment.’

What happened?

http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/01/us/hooters-settles-suit-by-men-denied-jobs.html

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Step 3: behavioral information
Four recruiting tools provide

useful information about
candidate’s ethics:

• Resumes
• Reference checks
• Background checks
• Integrity tests

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Behavioral Information (cont.)

• Resumes
– Best predictor of future performance is past

performance
– Previous accomplishments encapsulated in

document

Pro tip: Resumes should only be
used as an initial screening tool.

Information should be taken with a
grain of salt. More than one in five

resumes contains lies.

Exhibit 3.3 College Students Job Application Lies

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Behavioral Information (cont.)

• Reference Checks
– Candidates usually list references predisposed to

sharing favorable information

– But, previous supervisor’s perspective of
candidate’s strengths/weaknesses probably most
relevant information source

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

• Background Checks
– To verify academic accomplishments, prior work

responsibilities, other work-related issues

– Other checks could include criminal records, credit
checks, Facebook

Behavioral Information (cont.)

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

• Integrity Tests
– Gather information about behaviors and attitudes

toward unethical workplace activities

Behavioral Information (cont.)

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Step 4: personality traits and related characteristics

Conscientiousness: measures reliability, attention to
detail, desire to be quality employee – best predictor
of ethics and job performance

Organizational Citizenship Behavior: measures the
extent to which someone is likely to go above and
beyond normal job duties

Social Dominance Orientation: measures extent to
which individual inherently feels superior to others

Exhibit 3.4: How do these traits relate to ethical
behavior?

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Step 5: Interview Questions

• Previous Ethical Dilemmas

• Hypothetical Ethical Dilemmas

Let’s Practice!

• Imagine you are hiring a new employee at
your current job (or a previous job).

• Develop a hypothetical ethical dilemma to
present during a job interview.
– Dilemma should not have clear answer

– Goal is to understand applicant’s logic/thought
process when presented with difficult situation

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Step 5 (cont.)

Present finalists with realistic job preview (RJP).

Let’s Practice!

• Imagine you are talking to a potential CSUEB
student.

• How would you present a realistic “job”
preview of life as a student here?
– Remember, RJP is meant to help determine fit.

The goal is not to bash or heavily praise the
organization, but to be realistic.

The Six-Step Ethics Job Screen Process

Step 6: Post-Interview Tests

• Drug Testing

• Polygraphs
– For jobs dealing with national security issues

Where is the line?

How much information is too much
information?