Chapter Eight: The Workplace – Basic Issues
Overview
➢ Chapter Eight examines the following topics:
(a) The state of civil liberties in the workplace.
(b) The efforts of some successful companies to respect the rights and moral dignity of their employees.
(c) Moral issues concerning personnel matters such as hiring, promotions, discipline and discharge, and wages.
(d) The role and history of unions, and the moral issues raised by them.
Introduction
➢ Traditionally an business’s single obligation toward its employees was to pay them for their work.
➢ Today’s workplace philosophy is much more complex, involving social, political, and moral issues.
➢ What are the obligations of an employer toward its employees?
➢ How does American emphasis on civil liberties affect the workplace?
Civil Liberties in the Workplace
➢ Authoritarianism at the workplace: David Ewing, formerly of Harvard Business Review, believes that too many corporations routinely violate the civil liberties of their employees. Historically, this authoritarianism stems from:
(a) The rise of professional management and personnel engineering.
(b) The common-law doctrine that employees can be discharged without cause (“employment at will”).