What, if anything, would you report to Anne since she asked about the case?

Case Study: Hostile Working Environment

1. Identify and describe the problem(s) in the case study as you see it/them.

Wheels inc. is a company which majorly deals with the production of quality wheels in the United States. Besides, sexual harassment is one of the actions which is taking place in most of the working places in many companies in the United States. Sexual harassment is rampant such that up to half of the working women have been reporting some form of sexual harassments by some of the male staffs.

In the wheels company, one of the female employees, Yvonne was sexually harassed by the Jerrick just after the second shift. She said that Jerrick hugged her in what was believed to be congratulation to the Yvonne and other staff for the exceptional work they did before. Regarding to what happened, I would have actually made a lengthy investigation concerning what actually happened to Yvonne. Firstly, I would have inquired about what made Yvonne be the victim of circumstances and the other working personnel. Another thing is concerning the possibility of the same event to have occurred in the past. Concerning the Jerrick side, a number of issues have to be discussed for instance, if a matter had been reported from him regarding sexual harassments. Jerrick is believed to have been attending various classes on the discussion on how the employer should relate with their employees. The origin of Jerrick is Jamaica where harassments of employees are seen as normal or the way of life. This report will be taken immediately after the incidence to avoid the occurrence of the same mess in the future. I would be able to give a detailed analysis of the incident which occurred in the course of the event to Ann who is the Manager of Employment and Organizational Development at Wheels, Inc. for further actions since Jerrick had been warned several times.

2. Is there any additional information you would have attempted to obtain from any other the individuals involved (directly  or indirectly) in the incident? Why or Why not?

Regarding the steps that I will have to follow if I were leading the investigation, it is equally important to understand that bullying at workplace occurs when workers lack trust in organizational management. Besides, other factors such as reduced productivity, higher absenteeism, depression, anxiety, poor organizational climate and even high litigation costs contribute to bullying. After these factors have been understood, it can give a good atmosphere to come up with recommendable steps that will settle cases of hostile work environment.

Now, the first step I will ensure it is made available is coaching. According to (Gross, 2008), coaching the workers will help in understanding the most intriguing and dynamics complexities of bullying as well as coming up with ways of getting rid of aggressive workplace behaviors. Indeed, this is the task of the Human Resource so that managers such as Anne can impact the well-being of the employees which in return help in propelling proactive actions on the job. Another step that I will ensure is creating awareness as well as training. These two aspects as denoted by (Merkin, 2008) can instill the effects one will face the moment cases of any forms of harassment are reported. And since Anne is such a straight shooter and one who believes in policy and procedural to the letter, these two steps can be fully applicable. Also, it can be a good step in adjusting the employee’s attitudes towards their colleagues and other workers.

3. What, if anything, would you report to Anne since she asked about the case?

In this case study; there is the fact that four critical parts play a fundamental role in decision-making process. These four essential components include; training in diversity and sexual harassment, abiding by workplace policies, involving Human Resource Management in making decisions process and eventually the last part is the progressive discipline policy that is always employed on those found to have violated the workplace rights for service.

References

1. Gross, B. (2008). Sexual harassment: Dressing for a hostile environment. Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association, 38-41.
2. Merkin, R.S. (2008). The impact of sexual harassment on turnover intentions, absenteeism, and job satisfaction: Findings from Argentina, Brazil and Chile. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 73-91.
3. Vijayasiri, G. (2008). Reporting sexual harassment: The importance of organizational culture and trust. Gender Issues, 43-61.