Abstract:
Human resource is the key source of competitive advantage for an organization if
properly managed. The main objective of the study was to examine how ethical issues in
human resource management affect employee performance in two public universities in
Nyeri County. It is therefore important to put in place ethical consideration to ensure
fairness and equity in their practices. This would increase their morale, motivation and
hence increase productivity for the entire organization. The study discussed ethical issues
in four variables; recruitment and selection, performance appraisal, compensation and
reward and health and safety. The study adopted descriptive research design in order to
gather the required information. Target population for this study was 335 respondents
who were non teaching staff from various departments at Dedan Kimathi University of
Technology and Karatina University. The study used stratified random sampling as its
sampling design whereby 101 respondents who are 30% of the target population were
considered. Both open and closed ended questionnaires were used for data collection.
Interview was also conducted to obtain a deeper understanding of ethical issues in human
resource management in public universities. Out of the probable 101 respondents, 91
respondents representing 90.1 % of the target sample returned the questionnaires.
Collected data was analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) to
generate descriptive and inferential statistics. The relationship between ethical issues in
human resource management and employees' performance was analyzed using multiple
regression analysis. The finding of the study revealed that ethical issues in recruitment
and selection, compensation and reward management, and health and safety measures
had positive and statistically significant effect on employee performance. Further,
performance appraisal had positive but statistically insignificant effect employee
performance. The researcher recommended that universities should come up with policy
on ensuring that ethic and integrity is adhered to during recruitment and selection
process. HR department should put in place ethical consideration by ensuring that there is
fairness and equity in their practices when reviewing employees' compensation and
reward system. Universities should ensure review health and safety policy and ensure that
health and safety measures are put in place in order to enhance performance. In addition,
public universities should ensure that objectivity during appraisal is maintained and
appraisers are not being too lenient or very strict. The study suggests that future research
could focus on the challenges faced by public universities when addressing ethical issues in
human resource management.
