ETHICS AND HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL: INSIGHTS FROM HEALTH CARE SECTOR

 

Folakemi Ohunakin¹*, Anthonia Adenike Adeniji², Adewale Omotayo Osibanjo³, Adekunle Gabriel Sodeinde⁴, Gbenga Ogunlusi⁵

¹Dr, Covenant University, Nigeria, folakemi.ohunakin@stu.cu.edu.ng

² Dr, Covenant University, anthonia.adeniji@covenantuniversity.edu.ng

³Dr, Covenant University, ade.osibanjo@covenantuniversity.edu.ng

⁴Mr, Covenant University adekunle.sodeinde@cu.edu.ng

⁵Dr, Crawford University, goginlusi@gmail.com

*Corresponding Author

 

Abstract

Corporate ethical culture is essential for guiding workforce behavior towards the achievement of organizational goals and objectives. Existence and practicing of some of these ethical principles such as impartiality, honesty, loyalty, meritocracy, transparency, fairness or justice, cooperation, rules and regulations, discipline, etc., will provide enabling environment in which human resource personnel will operate justly. Human resource management within an organization are pivotal for adequate corporate ethical practices, through the creation, promotion and sustenance of corporate ethical culture for the organization’s workforce. Studies have shown the deteriorating state of health sector in developing nations due to non-involvement of human resource personnel in the formulation and implementation of organizational ethics. This study intends to establish the importance of human resource management personnel towards the effectiveness of corporate ethical practices in health care sector. A sample size of thirty-five (35) was purposefully drawn from total population of 49 human resource personnel working in the health care sector, in south-west Nigeria. The sample size comprises 15 principal officers, 12 assistant principal officers, and 8 other officers within the department of human resource management. One-on-one in-depth interview was adopted for gathering data from principal officers and assistant principal officers, while focus group method of data gathering was used for the remaining 8 officers working in the human resources management department. Aside the existing code of conduct that serve as a guide to the day-to-day activities of this organization, the respondents identified the importance of good company image, appropriate recruitment procedure, employee loyalty, ethics training and promotion, adequate performance appraisal, unbiased reward system, avoidance of discrimination, equal opportunities and appropriate disciplinary action against illegal dealings, or violation of laid down principles among others, for effective human resource management practices and for proper ethical formulation and implementation. This study concludes that, ethics in workplace is a vital role of human resource management team in achieving valuable ethics management outcomes in organization; their importance on effectiveness of corporate ethics cannot be over emphasized because they have capabilities and expertise in determining an organization’s strength in dealing with employee and treating them fairly. This study recommended adequate involvement of human resource management in the formulation and implementation of workplace ethics, especially in health care sectors. The limitations and area for further studies are also outlined.

Keywords: Ethics, Human resource personnel, Health care sector