Principles of Responsible Commerce: Group 5
October 2010
Assessment 3: Case Study Report
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace – David Jones and Pricewaterhouse Coopers
Kristy van Duin, Li Yutao, Pablo Arenas, Jace Burgess
Executive Summary
The following report looks at the increase of Sexual Harassment claims within Corporate Australia that have been lodged with the Australian Human Rights Commission over the last decade. David Jones Pty Ltd and Pricewaterhouse Cooper are two prevalent cases which have attracted negative media with regard to Sexual Harassment, and this report utilises both Risk Management and Egoism Theories to scrutinise various impacts, responsibilities and recommendations for Individuals, Organisations and
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Corporate Australia requires immediate attention to stem the steady increase of sexual harassment. Alexander and Lewer (1998) state there is “significant interaction between industrial relations practices and the economy” demonstrating linkages between individuals, organisations and society that must be addressed.
Impact on Individuals, Organisations and Society
Individuals - the key impact is often emotional. A victim or sexual harassment may lose the ability to attain premium quality of life, when compared to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as described by Turner (1995): * Physiological – increased stress levels, mental health, decreased sense of self worth, as well as creating many other health issues. * Safety – Career focus can be destroyed, income reduced through absenteeism or loss of employment, affecting the level of security one may have. * Belonging – feelings of violation and isolation and decreased sense of value. This view is noted by Weisberg (1996, pg 725) quoting Lin Farley “the abuse also impacts destructively [by] disrupting female job attachment, promoting female unemployment and inhibiting female solidarity.” * Esteem – as a result of a lack of belonging and lack of reliable income, the self worth and the value placed by colleagues and employer is decreased. Lengthy legal battles impact on an individual’s financial stability whilst media scrutiny impacts on individual esteem and adds
In corporate America, sexual harassment is a huge concern amongst many organizations. The matter of sexual harassment is an issue that needs to be immediately attended to in
Harassment, specifically sexual harassment, is one of those challenges faced by businesses and employers as of a result of workplace diversification. Inappropriate conversations, unwanted advances and uncomfortable physical contact are some of the ways sexual harassment can occur. According to Hellriegel and Slocum, “Sexual harassment refers to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.” (p.52). To be clear, sexual harassment can, and has, affected both women and men over the years however up to half of all working women have reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment in the career (Vijayasiri, 2008, p.1). It wasn’t until 1986 though that the Supreme Court recognized sexual harassment as a violation of Title VII in the case of Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (O’Brien, 1994, p. 1). Before the high court’s ruling, however, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had begun to address the issue by drafting hostile work environment guidelines that included sexual harassment (O’Brien, 1994, p. 4). These guidelines would serve later to guide the high court’s decision. There are many more cases like this one we could look at. In 1991, sexual harassment became a household term as Anita Hill testified before congress stating she was sexually
Recently, a number of researchers have included sexual harassment behaviours in their definitions of workplace violence and aggression.
When a person is the victim of a crime. they endure several different possibilities for the negative fallout. Both in their emotional, physical and financial lives. These people have had their very inner space invaded. However, different people react differently. Some people are able to move past their financial damages but are extremely emotionally traumatized. Some people can recover emotionally, but not financially. These factors will likely affect their ability to maneuver through the justice system.
Beyond the workplace, factors exist for limiting and enhancing the plausibility of bullying manifestation, by which Catanzariti (2003) specifies, as the employer holding a duty of care, with a high emphasis on the prevention of harm or injury to subordinates. Furthermore, there is an implementation of government agencies, including the Fair Work Commission (FWC), Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), and Work Safe Australia (WSA), which exist as measures, for monitoring and enforcing the important elements of bullying in the workplace. Clearly, all companies hold an obligation, of exhibiting a workplace refrained from discernment and bullying, for which, particularly in Australia, the government legislation, regulations and laws, provide subordinates, working for an employer, the entitle of perceiving safe feeling, within their working environment. Together with this feeling of safety, these statutes additionally enable subordinates to
The negatives are usually high for each involved and may consist of depression, anxiety and also to a larger extent post-traumatic stress disorder and their association with social problems which involves domestic violence and drug abuse alongside their contribution to maladies such as heart disorder, thyroid dysfunction among others.
The consequences could result in health issues, job issues, family issues, or just overall every day environmental, social, or psychological issues.
Harassment has plagued the world for centuries. Why should the workplace be any different? Sexual harassment and workplace violence are not only of historical roots, but contemporary issues are still present in the workforce today. Managers are addressing and combating modern sexual harassment and workplace violence, however instances still occur (Robbins, Decenzo & Coulter, 2011).
Sexual harassment is a demeaning practice, one that constitutes a profound affront to the dignity of the employees forced to endure it. By requiring an employee to contend with unwelcome sexual actions or explicit sexual demands, sexual harassment in the workplace attacks the dignity and self-respect of the victim both as an employee and as a human being. Sexual harassment is well defined as an unwelcome sexual request for sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. In many countries, sexual harassment is considered a form of sexual abuse and employment discrimination. Sexual harassment is most prevalent is organizations both professional and academic, though it can occur almost anywhere.
Injustices in this world infect people's lives like diseases. One in particular has not only developed over the years, but cases spring up in the most unthought of places. This injustice commonly known as sexual harassment affects women, children, and occasionally men all across the globe. There are many aspects when it comes to sexual harassment including its background, opposing viewpoints on the popular belief, the popular viewing, sexual harassment in today's society, solutions to the problem, and what the future would be like without this injustice on the world's hands.
While the world has unanimously advanced and is more accepting of change, the workplace continues to be a place of discrimination, prejudice and inequality. Discrimination is broadly defined to ‘distinguish unfavourably’, isolate; and is context based (Pagura, 2012). Abrahams (1991) described the workplace as an ‘inhospitable place’ where gender disparity and wage gaps persist (Stamarski & Son Hing, 2015). Among other states and countries, the Australian government actively implements and passes laws to protect and maintain equal employment rights. While the objective of these laws is ‘to eliminate discrimination,’ the regulatory mechanisms in the legislation are largely ineffective at achieving this ultimate goal (Smith, 2008). However,
Providing training about harassment has proven beneficial to the business environment. As the former EEOC Chairman stated “Sex harassment has developed as one of the great lessons in how education can have an effect on an offensive practice.” There are education campaigns educating not only employees but employers about what harassment entails, how to prevent it, and how to deal with a claim. (Glazer, 1996) In fact, most
Sexual harassment in the workplace is a huge problem in recent history. It can happen to anyone and it can happen everywhere. It can affect all types of races, gender and age. Statistics today shows that more and more sexual harassment has become an issue due to the large number of cases presented. Mainstream media becomes consume covering sexual harassment because of the high profile cases. Sexual harassment becomes a topic on various TV shows, and on some major morning radio talk shows mostly everyday. Sexual harassment laws must be strengthened in order to fix what has become a serious problem today in the workplace.
Over the years, many people have believed that the issue of sexual harassment should not be discussed in public. Sexual harassment was to be discussed behind closed doors. In spite of this, the social and political systems have changed instantaneously. This social problem has affected men and women throughout time; however, it seems that the women of our society more closely look at this issue. This social topic has encouraged women to establish organizations in order to help them discuss the issues more openly and to demand equality including fairness and justice throughout the workplace and in their social lives as well. In recent years, sexual harassment has been one of the most serious and widespread problems
Janzen v. Platy Enterprises Ltd5 defines sexual harassment in the workplace as, “Unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that detrimentally affects the work environment or leads to adverse job-related consequences for the victims of harassment.” Janzen5 further goes on to state that when sexual harassment occurs in the workplace, it is an abuse of both economic and sexual power. This type of behavior in