Consider the following quote:

It is naive to believe that ethics is simply common sense, that everyone knows what 'doing the right thing' means. No employee can understand the ethics of an organization until the association and its leaders define and communicate it (Navran, 2003).

This week is focused on additional functions of human resource management. Ethics underlies many of the concepts presented. Providing a safe and healthy work environment is not only a legal requirement but an ethical requirement as well. Managing employee relations in an ethical manner is critical for maintaining integrity at organizational and managerial levels.

In today's economy, the union often plays a vital role in helping organizations treat employees with ethics and safety in mind. They focus on bargaining for wages, benefits, and job security. Your reading will examine different perspectives on the union's role as well as the union's agenda and goals. Think about your own perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of unions. Now consider, from a manager's perspective, whether unions are necessary or unnecessary in today's global economy. Unions were originated to help ensure ethical treatment of employees and as a way to protect employee safety and health.

For this Discussion, consider topics such as organizational strategies to help improve and maintain health and safety of workers and the pros, cons, and legalities of union-busting and avoidance techniques.

With these thoughts in mind:

Select a topic from this week's readings that interested you the most. Prepare a substantive posting (200 words minimum) on the material.

Describe a real-world situation involving ethics that relates to or could be addressed utilizing primary concepts from the assigned readings.

Explain how the primary concepts could address the situation.

Explain the ethical and legal responsibilities of employers to both their employees and the community at large in this situation.

Your post should be approximately 200-250 words in length.