Ethical Practice
Ethical Practice
What you will learn
- Recognize actual and perceived conflicts of interest and handle them through disclosure and recusal.
- Define the limits of confidentiality in HR and when it cannot be promised.
- Respond to pressure to falsify or conceal by refusing and escalating.
- Spot signs of retaliation against whistleblowers and know the duty to protect them.
Ethical practice in the SHRM model isn't philosophy; it's everyday behavior: saying no to a falsification request, disclosing your relationship with a candidate, protecting someone who reported misconduct. On the exam it often comes with pressure from someone powerful, because integrity's real test is when it is costly.
Key concepts
| Conflict of Interest | A situation where a personal interest conflicts with your professional duty, actually or apparently. The usual remedy: disclose, then recuse yourself from the decision. |
|---|---|
| Need-to-Know | The principle of limiting sensitive information to those who need it to do their job. It governs pay, investigations, and medical records. |
| Retaliation | Any adverse action against someone because of a report, complaint, or participation in an investigation, such as exclusion, involuntary transfer, or a sudden poor rating. |
The recurring answer pattern in ethics scenarios
Decline to take part in the violation
Explain the legal and ethical risks
Offer the proper alternative path
Escalate through formal channels if pressure continues
No promise of absolute confidentiality for harassment reports
When an employee asks you to keep a harassment report secret and do nothing, the right answer is to keep it as confidential as possible on a need-to-know basis while explaining that the organization must investigate. Promising total secrecy is a common wrong answer.
What matters on the exam
- Position or high performance exempts no one from policy; investigation and escalation apply equally to all.
- Valuable gifts during an active bid are declined even if you believe they won't influence you.
- If you made an error in a report, proactively disclose and correct it; don't wait or fix it silently.
Quick check
Answer in your head first, then reveal.
Your relative applied for a job whose hiring you oversee. What do you do?Reveal the answer
Disclose the conflict of interest and recuse yourself.
A manager excludes an employee from meetings a week after they reported fraud. What might this be?Reveal the answer
Possible retaliation that must be investigated and the employee protected from.
Who may see another employee's salary?Reveal the answer
Only those who actually need it for their work (need-to-know).
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Your next step
Read the lesson, then mark it complete
Sources
Used to verify the facts. The writing is original to Passuit.