The Ethical Concerns Surrounding Employers Viewing Employees Social Media Profiles in the Recruitment Process. Is this Information Considered in Hiring Decisions?

Kenneally, Orla (2021) The Ethical Concerns Surrounding Employers Viewing Employees Social Media Profiles in the Recruitment Process. Is this Information Considered in Hiring Decisions? Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

The recruitment process has seen rapid developments in recent years due to technological advancements such as social media platforms. Social media has taken recruitment online to public cyber spaces such as, LinkedIn. Human Resource Managers and Recruiters have an ethical responsibility to hold whilst making recruitment decisions. This research aims to discover what ethical responsibilities they hold, and what concerns surrounding ethics could arise from using social media in the screening process of recruitment. Previous literature projects were mostly based on candidate’s experiences with social media screening, but in research there was no recent studies on employers use of social media in the hiring process. This study completed a qualitative survey questionnaire which allowed the sample of HR professionals to give opinion based responses on the topic of their ethical standpoint of the use of social media in the recruitment process. The findings from this survey were that HR professionals didn’t agree with social media use during work, as it could tarnish the reputation of their company or it may look unprofessional. Another finding related to why human resource departments may be interested in the content on an individual’s social media, is if the candidate was not the right ‘fit’ for the company, and the financial loss organisations face if a candidate was to leave the company after training. Recruiters are under pressure to make the correct hiring choices from higher management, to prevent this financial risk. The ethical concern of utilitarian moral power and the privacy of individuals is discussed throughout. The significance of these findings confirms that all organisations should have a social media usage policy in their contracts to prevent the any ethical dilemmas or pressure on to employees or applicants.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BJ Ethics Z Bibliography. Library Science. Information Resources > ZA Information resources > ZA4150 Computer Network Resources > The Internet > World Wide Web > Websites > Online social networks T Technology > TK Electrical engineering. Electronics. Nuclear engineering > Telecommunications > The Internet > World Wide Web > Websites > Online social networks H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management > Recruitment
Divisions:	School of Business > Master of Arts in Human Resource Management
Depositing User:	Clara Chan
Date Deposited:	16 Dec 2021 15:22
Last Modified:	16 Dec 2021 15:22
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/5252

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