); and if it does nothing else, ethics training increases awareness of ethical issues in business (Boroughs, 1985). How can HR teach ethics? Human Resource departments across the U.S. are coming up with innovative ways to teach ethics to employees. Texas Instruments gives their employees a "quick test". This test teaches employees steps to determine if a decision is ethical. They believe the test allows employees to see a decision more objectively and ethically (Flynn, 1995). Texas Instruments has worked hard to create an environment in which the ethics office and HR personnel work closely with one another to resolve problems. If a question arises about sexual harassment or discrimination, it's up to HR to resolve it -- and the ethics office will pass along any phone call or inquiry that pertains to those issues. On the other hand, if an employee asks a HR manager whether a gift from a client is appropriate, the manager will refer the matter over to the ethics department. Human Resources also plays a role in briefing new hires about the ethics program and works with the ethics department and other company officials to refine policies and procedures. Some may believe HR plays a tangential role in the ethics debate, but that simply isn’t true. Human Resources can help design programs, advise on strategy and consult on investigations, as well as play an ongoing role in educating and training workers about ethics. The basic values of the company must be visible. Human Resources insures they are visible and communicated during the selection process, employee interview, orientation sessions and performance reviews to create a culture that emphasizes ethics. Therefore, whether an organization relies solely on HR for an ethics program or has a separate ethics office, the HR department is depended heavily upon to provide support for the underlying structure. Approximately 37% of all ethics inquiries involve HR issues, and that means ethics...
