Task 1
Explain one ethical principle and one professional value that you consider to be important, and which underpin your behaviour at work (or in your studies). For each of these, provide a real example of HOW they inform your approach to work.
Ethical and Professional Values in the Workplace
Ethics assist people to know what is right and avoid making wrong decisions with the aim of making a profit. These principles act as a guide to the right and wrong in people’s lives and how they conduct their actions (CIPD, 2021). Individual values like integrity, honesty and fairness enhance the positive results for the individual’s self and the group. When employees promote these values, both the employees and employers get benefits, although the organizations get the most benefits by attaining their strategic goals. Compliance with company code of conduct reduces cases of employee relations with management, while ethics enhance professionalism, team work and inclusion since employees are encouraged to treat everyone equally and with respect (CIPD, 2021).
Professional Values and their Importance
Professional values are defined as the capability, expertise, and conduct of people in the course of their work or careers (CIPD, 2020). Experience when blended with professional training and education sets the professionals apart in their respective field. The CIPD Professional Map shows that, professional principles comprise of values, behaviour, knowledge and specialist skills (Davies & Shaw, 2017). Such values and principles provide direction on what is right or wrong in the workplace and define the professional culture of an individual.
Key Components of Professional Values
1. Organizational Culture– It is important to understand that every organization has expected values, which define how employees should act and which way their actions should be directed to correspond to the organization’s image, mission, and corporate culture. These values are supported by a strong organizational culture to sustain the success.
2. Core Knowledge– This is defined as the core ideas and knowledge of the area of practice of a given professional. For example, knowledge of business literacy, analytics, culture and behavior is useful for HR professionals to provide valuable services, generate values, and manage digital work.
3. Core Behaviors– These are the core abilities that define personality and ways of interpersonal communication necessary to succeed in the contemporary global and volatile world of work. The professionals should be able to show flexibility, interdependence, and professional responsibility.
4. Specialized Expertise– Specialization enables experienced individuals to practice in certain areas including talent management, employee relations, learning and development and people analytics. Other areas are resourcing, reward or employee relations (CIPD, 2020). Expertise improves job performance and results in the achievement of organizational goals.
Describe, with examples, two ways in which you as a people professional conform (or, in future employment, would conform) with ethics related legislation. (AC 1.2)
The Equality Act 2010 and Ethical Conduct in the Workplace
2010 Equality Act
The Equality Act 2010 enhances behavior by making discrimination illegal and simplifying anti-discrimination laws. By consolidating multiple previous laws into one statute, it improved protection across various situations and made the legislation easier to understand (Wadham et al., 2010). The Act outlines several forms of prohibited mistreatment and includes key provisions such as:
- Protection against discrimination, harassment, and victimization in workplaces, organizations, educational institutions, and public transport.
- Eliminating the requirement for medical supervision for gender reassignment, ensuring broader protection for individuals undergoing gender transitions.
- Defending individuals against discrimination based on perceived or associated protected characteristics, such as a family relationship with someone who has a protected trait.
- Strengthening protections for nursing mothers, standardizing rules for voluntary positive action, and providing a clearer definition of indirect discrimination across all protected characteristics (Wadham et al., 2010).
- People professionals play a key role in ensuring compliance with the Equality Act by avoiding discrimination in recruitment, promotions, employee development, and other HR-related activities (Wadham et al., 2010).
Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct
A code of ethics provides the moral framework for decisions and actions within an organization, outlining principles for ethical behavior and offering guidelines for resolving issues such as harassment, safety, and conflicts of interest (Alizadeh et al., 2020). This code reflects the organization’s values and offers employees or members a clear understanding of acceptable behaviors and decision-making standards (Alizadeh et al., 2020).
In addition to the code of ethics, companies may implement a code of conduct, which specifies how employees are expected to behave in particular situations. These policies regulate employee behavior and ensure alignment with organizational values. Furthermore, the code outlines the consequences for failing to comply with these ethical standards, ensuring accountability (Alizadeh et al., 2020).
Describe how a people professional would demonstrate respectful and inclusive working in relation to: • contributing views and opinions • clarifying problems or issues • working effectively as part of a team (AC 2.1)
Respect
The meaning of respect can be understood as an appreciation of somebody’s characteristics, as well as proper behavior towards other people, which means that one has to be polite to them. Respect can be demonstrated through the following practices:
- Active Listening
Listening to other people and allowing them to speak helps to create respect. This in turn fosters a far more healthy and positive working environment (Werner, 2022).
2. Respecting Nonverbal Indicators
It is therefore important to note that, while speaking is a major part of communication, what you don’t say is also important, including gestures and the way you say it. That means you can still respect a person even when you are not talking to him/her by avoiding any interaction with him/her. Make sure that your communication is always courteous (Werner, 2022).
3. Transparency
If the employees are given the autonomy to work with information and are informed of the overall organizational goals and objectives, they feel appreciated and valued.
5. Acknowledging Efforts and Contributions
As with listening and accepting input it is vital to acknowledge the skills, accomplishments and hard work of individuals within a team to foster respect and enhance the bond between the individuals in the team.
working effectively as part of a team
Working inclusively involves creating an environment where diversity is embraced, and every individual feels valued (Zulmi et al. 2021). This can be achieved through the following strategies:
1. Promoting Inclusion and Diversity
It is essential to advance inclusion and diversity in the workplace by educating employees about its importance and aligning these values with the organization’s goals.
2.Developing Nondiscriminatory Policies
Human resource professionals should actively participate in creating and implementing policies that promote fairness and prevent discrimination.
3.Respecting Different Cultures
Fostering respect for employees from various ethnic backgrounds and cultures through activities like team-building can encourage collaboration and spark creativity within the organization.
4. Creating a Positive, Inclusive Culture
Employers play a key role in promoting cooperation among colleagues. Facilitating discussion groups and open forums helps foster an inclusive environment where diverse perspectives are welcomed.
5. Engaging in Cross-Cultural Learning
HR specialists should participate in informal discussions, roundtables, and cross-cultural activities to deepen their understanding of diverse backgrounds and enhance workplace inclusion.
Explain why it is important for a people practice professional to stay up-to-date with developments in the world of work and people practice and recommend two methods you have found most effective for this purpose. (AC 2.2)
The workplace environment is dynamic and constantly changing because of the new legislation, advancement in technology, and employees’ demands. For people practice professionals, such developments are important to maintain compliance, standardization, and the capacity to design and develop effective experiences for employees. It also helps the HR teams to be prepared for future issues and offer solutions to the management and implement the best practices that will favor the achievement of business objectives (Zulmi et al. 2021).
One of the most useful strategies is to join professional associations and organizations of the industry. The SHRM or CIPD, for example, offer members access to publications, research reports, events and networking opportunities. These associations provide continuing professional development (CPD) activities which make members aware of the changes taking place within the industry. It also enables the professionals to share ideas and knowledge through these bodies.
Another important approach is to read government and industry publications. Information on changes in regulations and employment laws can be obtained from updates from labor departments and state level labor agencies. Newsletters and government websites are useful in updating the HR professionals on the current regulations in order to avoid cases of non-compliance and thus enable the business run smoothly (Alizadeh, 2020). Compliance with the current legal provisions is vital in managing the workforce while avoiding legal risks.
Last but not the least, the role of training and development and the role of expanding the professional circle cannot be underestimated in helping people practice professionals stay informed. Establishing rapport with experienced professionals or engaging in job-sampling programs provides a glimpse of what is in store in the field. LinkedIn and the likes of Mentor Selector are important in creating links with professionals and building strong professional relationships. Such interactions assist professionals in acquiring practical experience, enhancing their skills, and maintaining enthusiasm in the process of career advancement.
Therefore, it is crucial for people practice professionals to keep abreast with changes that occur in the workplace in order to be relevant, legal and profitable. The three ways of maintaining professional development and relevance to the profession involve membership in professional bodies, reading professional journals, and finding a role mode (l.
References
Alizadeh, A., Dirani, K. M., & Qiu, S. (2020). Ethics, code of conduct and ethical climate: implications for human resource development. European Journal of Training and Development.
CIPD 2021. Ethical practice and the role of people professionals. https://peopleprofession.cipd.org/profession-map/core-behaviours/ethical-practicegref <Accessed on 17 October 2022>
CIPD. 2020 The People Profession. Available at https://peopleprofession.cipd.org/. < <Accessed on 17 October 2022>
Wadham, J., Robinson, A., Ruebain, D., & Uppal, S. (2010). Blackstone’s guide to the Equality Act 2010. Oxford University Press, USA.
Werner, J. M. (2022). Academic Integrity and Human Resource Development: Being and Doing. Human Resource Development Review, 15344843221078505.
Zulmi, M. M., Prabandari, S. P., & Sudiro, A. (2021). Inclusive Human Resource Management (HRM) Practices for Employees with Disabilities as an Effort to Manage Diversity. Studies of Applied Economics, 39(12).
| CPD Record |
Planned outcome
What did you do during this period? Why did you do it? What did you learn and how can you use it?
| Key Dates | What did you do? | Why? | What did you learn from this? | How have/will you use this? Any further action? |
Jan 2024 | Sat in a 3day Leadership Development Workshop considering the topics of communication, emotion management, and conflict. | To develop leadership skills and to build up experience for the newly assigned job in team leadership. | Enhanced Conflict Solving and Interactions.Increased ability to manage dynamic and team related issues | Keep on applying the communication techniques in meetings.Get more practice in the area of leadership by attending a coaching skills course.Use feedback from the members often, to establish the level of progress made. |
Apr – May 2024 | Attended a six weeks online course on Technology Tools for HR with emphasis on HRIS such as BambooHR and Workday. | To get informed about new HR software and also to enhance the efficiency of the working processes with the help of software. | Proactively learnt to automate different processes to minimize on manual activities as well as minimize on errors.Acquired knowledge on the aspect of analyzing and managing HR data. | – Automate different processes in HRM including other ones like performance management.This is where you should enroll in a data analytics course so that the right decisions can be made. To ensure you are getting the most of your software, you should check for new updates often. |
Aug – Sept 2023 | Nominated myself to be part of the multidisciplinary team to work on improving onboarding of fresh talent across the organization. | Partly to gain more experience in project management, and partly to enhance crossorganizational cooperation. | The ability to plan and coordinate projects much better than before. Gained better insight about other departments and how they work. | Learn how to use project management skills in future endeavours.– Exchange project information to help others learn from it. Research on a formal project management certification. |
Aug – Sept 2023 | Offered self for the crossfunctional project to develop the strategies of the redesign of the onboarding process for newly joiners, including those from different departments. | Both to enhance project management competencies and to strengthen the interdisciplinary cooperation. | Improve the abilities to plan and organize projects.Obtained better insight of other departments and their functions. | : Use project management skills in the future projects.– Anyone can forward project insights to other people in the company to enhance team work. Explore a formal project management certification. |
Oct 2024 | Participated in a DEI workshop . | To enhance the skills in creating nonsexist and nonracial culture and managing bias at the workplace. | Awareness of Diversity and Cultural competence skills acquired. Learned about the role and significance of personal biases. | Apply inclusive practices in recruitment and team interactions.Plan a departmentwide DEI initiative. Track the impact of DEI efforts through employee feedback. |
Oct 2024 | Read “The Future of HR” by Dave Ulrich. | To explore and identify new trends in the field of HR and match the strategies with the future realities. | To help me increase my knowledge of new trends in the area of HR and better link solutions to prospective issues. Developed knowledge about how digitalization and analytics work in the field of HR.Look for areas where my organization lack good talent management strategies. | Understood the use of digitalization and analytics in HR.Realized which areas of talent management my organization is lacking behind in. |