Ethics in business may involved everything including hiring decisions, pricing decisions, strategic decisions, and so on. The need for a process for making ethical decisions in business is great. There are a large number of instances where ethical decisions are necessary in business operations, and corporations find that they can get themselves into trouble even when they are trying to be ethical if they do not have a strong and effective procedural structure to guide employees in making such decisions. The Human Resources department must operate with ethical standards that are clear and that address the kinds of issues this department will face. The HR professional handles more than hiring and firing of employees, also being responsible in some degree for orientation, training, union negotiations, decisions regarding compensation, special programs for addressing workplace problems, and so on. All of these tasks must be infused with an ethical structure that helps HR professionals make good decisions.

             Hallier and Leopold (1996) note the nature of defining the problem of characterizing the personnel function by pointing out that the terminology is "ambiguous, contradictory and controversial" (p. 46) and yet as a discipline on which a good deal is placed:.

             At its most ambitious, however, HRM has been seen and promoted as a set of beliefs and practices which are radically different from those of traditional personnel management. Most significantly, the management of the workforce is seen as central, if not the key, to competitive advantage (Hallier & Leopold, 1996, p. 46).

             To a degree, the distinction made between personnel and HRM is only a matter of terminology, yet more respect is accorded HRM than the personnel function in the literature. .

             Human Resource Managers will have to respond to a number of demographic changes in coming years, each requiring some special consideration, including older workers, minority groups, and single and childless couples.