Sexual Harassment

Jen Thibeault

Mrs. Saloman

Grade 12 Business

January 11, 2006

Research Assignment: Essay

Sexual harassment is a crime in the workplace that should be stopped. People should not be hired for a job because they have good looks, or they should not get a promotion because they are having sexual relations with their boss. People should be hired by the skills they have and their intelligence. Sexual harassment is defined as under a theory constitutes the denial of an employment opportunity because of the individual's refusal to have sexual or social relations with a supervisor.

In the workforce there are many problems that affect the managers. There are five ethical problems faced by managers. One of the most common ethical problems faced by managers is sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is when a manager makes a coworker feel uncomfortable because of inappropriate comments or action regarding sexuality or where a manager requests sexual favors in return for favorable job treatment. Many managers take advantage of young employees because they are vulnerable. Many young and new employees are taken advantage because they want to be successful and that may be the only way how. Many ethical dilemma's reported by managers involve conflicts with superior, customers and subordinates. The most frequent issue involved dishonesty in advertising and communication with top management, clients, and government agencies. Significantly, the managers bosses were singled out as sometimes pressuring their subordinates to engage in such unethical activities as supporting incorrect view points, signing false documents, overlooking the boss's wrongdoing's and doing business with the boss's friend. (Management, p.150-151)

Discrimination in employment occurs when someone is denied a job or a job assignment for reasons that are not job relevant. It is against federal law in the United States to discriminate in employment. An important cornerstone of legal protection for employee rights to fair treatment is found in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1972 and the Civil Rights act of 1991. These acts provide for equal employment opportunity - the right to employment without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age or physical and mental ability. The intent is to ensure all citizens have a right to gain or keep employment based on only on their ability to do the job and their performance once on the job. Sexual harassment is a discrimination of their physical appearance. Hiring someone because their appearance is discrimination to all employees. Discrimination is a very common reason for many people to be unemployed. U.S laws protecting against job discrimination for disabilities, age, and pregnancy and family matters. There should be no discrimination in the workforce. (Management, p. 307-309}

Human Resource management must be accomplished within the framework of government regulations and laws. All managers are expected to act within the law and follow equal opportunity principles. Failure to do so is not only unjustified in a free society, it can also be very expensive mistake resulting in fines and penalties. The American legal and regulatory environment covers human resource management activities related to pay, employment rights, occupational health and safety, retirement, privacy, vocational rehabilitation and related areas. A committed managers or human resource professional would want to stay informed on to following and other management issues of current legal and ethical consequences. Sexual harassment occurs when a person experiences conduct or language of a sexual nature that affects their employment situation. According to the EEOC, sexual harassment is behavior that creates hostile work environment, interferes with their ability to do a job or interferes with their promotion potential. The equal pay act of 1963 provides that men and women in the same organization should be paid equally for doing equal work in terms of required skills, responsibilities and working condition. (Management, p. 309-310)

The very term diversity basically means the pressure of differences. What differences dose it make when one subculture is in "majority" status while others become "minorities" in respect to representation with the organization. Even though organizations are changing today, for example most senior executives in large organizations are older, white and male. There is still likely to be more workforce diversity at lower and middle levels of most organizations that are at the top. The daily work challenges faced by minority cultures or population in organization can range from having to deal with misunderstanding and lack of sensitivity on the one hand to suffering harassment in form of unwanted sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and sexually laced communication is a problem female employee in particular may face. Minority workers can also be targets of cultural jokes; one survey reports some 45 percent of respondents had been that targets of such abuse. Most women are discriminated to sexual harassment. (Management, p. 52-53)

There are two types of sexual harassment, quid pro quo harassment and hostile work environment sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is unlawful under both state and federal laws. Simply stated, sexual harassment is an abuse of employer's power. Quid pro quo harassment occurs when an employer's conditions any terms of employment on the performance of sexual favors. For example, an employer cannot require an employee to engage in sexual conduct to keep from getting fired. Hostile environment sexual harassment occurs when unwelcome sexual conduct unreasonably interferes with an individual's job performance or creates a hostile, intimidating of offensive work environment even though the harassment may not result in tangible or economic job consequences, that is, the person may not lose pay or a promotion. Employers, supervisor, co-workers,