Question

B

You are the Human Resource Manager for a small, non-unionized company. Your boss (the owner of the company) hires several college juniors to work as interns each summer. By the end of the summer, these interns are well-trained and are highly sought after for employment by your competitors when the students graduate the following spring. Your boss has been frustrated that most of these students turn down your job offers and go to work for your competitors. The boss asks you to draw up a non-compete agreement for newly-hired interns to sign that will prohibit them from working for a competitor for a period of five years. How would you respond?

Answer 1

Internships are temporary. As the Human Resources Manager, it is my duty to adhere to professional and ethical code of conduct and ensure all others are also adhering to this. Hence, it is my vital responsibility to advise the management on the ethical issues concerned with drafting a non-compete agreement for the newly-hired interns.

It is essential to highlight the fact that a non-compete agreement for interns are unfair because it is a temporary job. A non-compete agreement is a contract between the employee and the employer wherein the employee promises the employer that he/she will not enter into any type of competition for the employer. This non-compete agreement also restricts the employees from revealing any data or secrets to any other person. It is important to note that this non-compete agreement comes into effect only after the employer-employee relationship begins. Hence, I would advise my boss about the ethical issues concerned in drawing a non-compete agreement for the newly hired interns. According to the Deontological theory of ethics, the morality of an action is determined if that particular action is right or wrong according to a set of rules. Unlike the Utilitarian principle, Deontological is based on the rationality between right or wrong rather than focus on the consequences of the action.

As the HR manager, it is my vital duty to also understand why the well-trained interns seek employment with the competitors. I would first identify those factors and then address them in my company to ensure that these well-trained interns are employed with my company. I would develop a strategic framework on this issue and discuss with my boss for approval.