INTRODUCTION 19organizations and societies, as indeed Sorell admirably demonstrates in his
discussion of a strike in emergency services.
Ardagh outlining a framework for professionalization directly considers
how to encourage HRM to be more ethical in pursuit of political and eco-
nomic objectives. We further consider the professional project he recom-
mends, based on avirtueethics approach to living and acting well, in the con-
cluding chapter where we discuss ways that HRM as an ethical institution may
be established in society. Reed’s chapter however offers a very thorough and
sceptical critique of this project examining how professional work historically
has been differently valued and organized.
In Part III (Progressing Human Resource Management) we focus more on
the opportunities for promoting collective ethics in HRM and for encourag-
ing high standards of individual moral behaviour. Watson’s opening chap-
ter contends that it is unrealistic to conceptualize HRM as having principal
authority for ethics in organizations. His argument, informed by sociological
theories, focuses on the general intended and unintended consequences of
our actions. Margolis, Grant, and Molinsky also consider our actions’ conse-
quences but concentrate more on how a deontology comprising specific HRM
standards can improve matters. The next two chapters address ways that HRM
might become more ethical. Kamoche’s innovative contribution examines the
contemporary context of knowledge work explaining how employers’ and
employees’ moral behaviour is underpinned by regimes and individual expec-
tations of economic appropriation. Macklin draws this section to a conclusion
by examining in detail how individuals working in HRM can reflect on moral
dilemmas and on their own moral decisions. His message is an uplifting one
recommending individuals have the courage to reflect on the morality of their
practices in HRM. Inspired by Heller’s work, Macklin’s ontology offers a num-
ber of ideas for discussing moral behaviour in the workplace: our intentions,
our actions, and their various consequences.
Overall, one of the most highly evident themes in this book is the ideologi-
cal tension between individualism and collectivism and especially the increas-
ing vulnerability of many employees when trade union protection is reduced
while the collective power of the corporation is enhanced. While this may
benefit economic performance and may be justified in terms of the general
well-being, it has some stark and, for some, unacceptable consequences for
those whose economic security is at the mercy of market imperatives. Can
and should HRM simply seek to mitigate these consequences in individual
cases, or could there be a more positive and systematic approach to the CSR
of companies to their employee stakeholders?
Another recurring tension is between those who, self-consciously or not,
identify ‘ethics’ with respecting the autonomy and well-being of those indi-
viduals with whom we daily interact and working to protect their interests
against the threats posed by the social and economic system within which