A Selected Review of the Underpinnings of Ethics for Human Performance Technology Professionals -Part Two: Professional Resources

Abstract

Professionals serving as internal and external consultants, whether as performance technologists, human resource development facilitators, training specialists, organizational development change agents, or quality improvement engineers, are uniquely positioned to influence ethical awareness in the workplace. Yet it is unlikely that they will be able to exert much influence without knowledge of the factors that influence ethical behavior in organizations and knowledge of ethical decision making. Although the literature on ethics is proliferating, little of it is directly related to performance improvement professionals. Those who want to educate themselves in ethics have been left to their own devices. Part One in this series of two articles presents a review of key ethical theories and research. Part Two is a list of references available for those who are ready to examine the ethical responsibilities of HPT professionals, who have encountered ethical issues, who want to include an ethics audit in their needs assessment tool box, or who need to suggest ethics-related solutions to performance problems.