You are currently a Junior Associate in People Practice and are working on your CIPD qualification. A local television production company has contacted the Head of your Study Centre to ask for some ass

Case study

You are currently a Junior Associate in People Practice and are working on your CIPD qualification. A local television production company has contacted the Head of your Study Centre to ask for some assistance. They are making a current affairs program on business issues and ethical practices. They are particularly keen to highlight the role in a People Practice team to help support and promote ethical practice in organizations following a number of well-publicized examples of unethical practices and exploitation at work.

They are concerned about the link between ethical practice and the impact on the day-to-day experience of work for members of staff. You suspect that they might be biased and are looking for examples to justify their view that modern-day organizations exploit workers and do not care about their wellbeing at all. The Head of your Study Centre has asked you to prepare an initial briefing paper to help shape the response to the production company

• Task One – Ethical Practice Briefing Paper

The purpose of the briefing paper is to demonstrate the role of HR in practicing and promoting professional values, ethics, and principles within organizations. The paper should include and address the following points:

1. Explain what is meant by ‘ethical principles’ and ‘professional values, and how these might inform the way people approach their work. (1.1)
2. Identify a piece of legislation and a Code of Practice that supports ethical and professional practice, with examples of how an HR professional can conform to these. (1.2)
3. Explain the importance of ethical behavior for an HR professional and the potential consequences (personal and professional) for them of unethical behavior (2.1)
4. Describe how an HR professional would demonstrate a positive and ethical approach to each of the following: (1.3, 2.2)

• clarifying problems or issues
• contributing views and opinions
• working in a team
• showing sensitivity to others*
• showing respect for colleagues*

* For the two asterisked bullet points, you should include a work-based or personal example of when you have demonstrated the positive and ethical behavior you describe.

You may use bullet points to add emphasis to your briefing paper and it is expected that you will use headings as well to help guide the reader through.

• Task Two – Self-Reflective Journal

Self-reflection is a valuable means of analyzing, identifying, and recording how improvements can be made to your professional practice. In this task, you are required to write a reflective journal that considers how you perform at work and in your studies, and how you develop your skills and abilities.

Your task is to write a self-reflective journal, which addresses the following:

1. At the beginning of your journal, summarise different ways a people practice professional can upgrade their knowledge and skills and stay up-to-date with developments in the people profession and wider world of work. These might be informal methods such as discussion and reading through to formal research and development methods. (2.4)
2. Continue your journal with ongoing reflections on your performance and development. Your journal should record (2.5)

• Examples of your performance (successes or challenges) or issues you have faced. These may be from current or previous work, your studies or personal examples. Give a little detail about each. (This is the WHAT of your reflection.)
• Your reflections on your performance/response. What was the impact – positive or negative – on you and those around you, such as colleagues, customers, stakeholders, your organization? (This is the SO WHAT of your reflection and can be the most difficult part as you are asked to think in ways that may be unfamiliar – but it is from this reflective thinking and learning, that you are able to progress to the next step.)
• Examples of how you have recognized and accepted your own mistakes, and how you have recognized others’ mistakes whilst showing them empathy. (2.3)
• The action you will take as a result of your reflections. (This is the NOW WHAT). Based on what you know and feel about the situation, what should happen next? Do you need to learn something new? Do you want to change a process or a procedure? Do others need more training? (Note: the action you take here could form the next example for you to reflect on.)
• Finally, complete your journal with a short review of how effective you have found this Reflective Journal approach to your professional development