Much is being written today about the changing nature of the American workforce. This article summarizes 10 of these changes: (a) global competition; (b) the changing skills of work; (c) the declining impact of unions; (d) the altered human composition of the workforce; (e) the effects of continuous improvement, downsizing, and reengineering; (f) the growing use of part-time employees; (g) the widening income gap; (h) lessened employer and employee loyalty and commitment; (i) early retirement programs; and (j) telecommunications and virtual (...) employees. Rather than just identifying and documenting these trends, this article discusses the ethical implications of such movements. In this article, employee relations ethics is defined as "treating employees properly, with respect and dignity." The term employee relations ethics is used both individually and collectively to analyze the negative human results from a moral rather than an economic perspective. The age-old clash between bottom-line mentality (economics) versus higher order thinking (ethics) is revisited with a focus on employees, not owners (old theory) or customers (new theory). (shrink)

The concept of the Golden Mean, which has been accepted as a behavioral guideline of human beings for thousands of years, is briefly reviewed. Several empirical studies in the field of organizational behavior are summarized as evidence that the concept has practical management applications. Based on the Golden Mean concept and its management empirical evidence, the authors propose a model of “Reasoned Responses” and its practical application to the decision-making process.

This article presents a "new" theory of management for the new millennium: "new" not because singularly the ideas are recent, but because the combination of these older ideas collectively is novel. To some extent, this article represents the reestablishment of previously existing employment ethics that for various and sundry reasons lapsed into disuse in the past several decades. This article discusses employee relations ethics (ERE) in terms of an ERE credo and a set of assumptions. The modern millennium mission states (...) that all organizations (public and private) should primarily be employee centered, not owner or administrator controlled, customer or client driven, or both. (shrink)

The concept of the Golden Mean, which has been accepted as a behavioral guideline of human beings for thousands of years, is briefly reviewed. Several empirical studies in the field of organizational behavior are summarized as evidence that the concept has practical management applications. Based on the Golden Mean concept and its management empirical evidence, the authors propose a model of Reasoned Responses and its practical application to the decision-making process.