Preventing Workplace Harassment and Sexual Assault

The provided assignment is a compilation of various sources related to preventing workplace harassment and sexual assault. It includes summaries of research papers, articles, and books that discuss the impact of workplace harassment and sexual assault on individuals and organizations. The assignment also touches upon the importance of having effective policies and training programs in place to prevent such incidents. It highlights the need for a safe and respectful work environment and provides suggestions for promoting positive change.

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management

Strategic human resource management implies proactive management of the personnel
working in the organization. It can be further explained as the process of hiring, discipline,
and payroll (Hendry, 2012). It also involves working with staff in a cooperative manner to
increase retention, improvise the quality of the work practice and maximise the
reciprocated benefit of employment for both the parties involved; employees and the
employer.
There are many problems faced by workers in the workplace such as interpersonal conflicts,
gossiping, harassment, discrimination, performance issues, communication problems, low
motivation and other related problems. Currently, sexual harassment is one of the major
issues faced by women at their workplace. Almost 95% of the women has fall victim of
sexual harassment at their workplace. Sexual harassment can be explained as the uninvited
sexual advances, appeals for sexual favours and other vocal or physical behaviour of a
sexual nature (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2018). For example, in the company
Uber; a former engineer of the company named Susan Flower had faced sexual harassment
many times by the managers of HR departments. This is the reason that she describes the
company as incomplete and unkind as no action has been taken by the company to
eradicate this issue. Therefore women employees do not feel safe to work in this kind of
organization (Kenneth, Winkler and Daniel, 2014).
There are many theories by which problems at work place can be solved such as root cause
analysis and method of Kepner and Tregoe. Root Cause analysis can be defined as the
analysis which aims at eradicating the main root of the problem. It includes some steps
which ultimately help in solving the problem as it is backward looking detective work. The
steps are problem definition, task analysis, change analysis, control barrier analysis, conduct
interviews, and determine root causes, recommend corrective actions and report
conclusions. These steps are helps in destroy the main root of the problem. The other
method of Kepner and Tregoe can be explained as the method which helps in analysing the
state of the problem (Storey, 2007). It also aims at solving the problem by proper analysing
the cause of its generation. These problem solving methods helps in solving many problems
at work place for example, decrease in sales, decrease in profits, decrease in demand of the
products and services of the organization (Ullman, 2010). The theory called Root Cause
analysis has been very helpful in case of problem like decrease in sales. This analysis checks

the depth of the problem and finds main point of error from where the problem has been
generated.
There are also several policies followed by human resource managers to prevent women
from sexual harassment. Written policy regarding sexual harassment is the key aspect of
prevention of women employees from harassment. The policy should make clear that sexual
harassment will not be endured under any conditions. Many of the employers includes
information regarding sexual annoyance into a general workplace annoyance which
considers other types of illegal harassment for example, disability, sexual preference,
harassment on the grounds of race or age (Koritsas, Coles and Boyle, 2008). On the other
hand there are employers who decide that there should be stand-alone policy of sexual
harassment. Therefore if sexual harassment problem is very common in the organizations
then both the options are right and can be included in the policy. In anyways, it depends on
employers what they want to include in the policy. In case of general policy, the terms
regarding sexual harassment and the types of sexual harassment are to be clearly defined.
In case the policy is extremely broad then its influence and clarity may be compromised
(Hall, and Moorhead, 2011). Guidelines for employers are that they should officially
introduce the policy of sexual harassment among full staff. The policy should be endorsed by
the chief executive or senior executive and they should make sure that all the employees
must follow the policy. The written policy should be mailed to every employee working in
the organization (Einarsen, Hoel, Zapf and Cooper, 2010). The employers should provide the
policy to newly recruited people as a usual part of orientation. The copy of the policy should
be displayed on the main notice board and also be included in the orientation manuals of
the organization. In order to sustain the policy in organizational environment, employers
should take signature from the employees on copy of a policy so that the policy gets
acknowledgement by every employee working in the organization.
There are many functions which have been performed by human resource manager in an
organization such as knowledge of laws, manage HR department, employee relations and
maintaining good working conditions. The HR manager should have all the knowledge
regarding laws set by the organization. By considering these functions it can be said that it is
the duty of HR manager to maintain the good working conditions in the organization. As
women employees in the organization usually faced many challenges such as unequal pay

and sexual harassment (Schneider, Swan and Fitzgerald, 2009). Sexual harassment can be
found in many different forms such as obvious or indirect, repeated or one-off, physical or
verbal and enacted by men and women against individuals of the same or opposite sex.
Sexual harassment involves staring or leering, undesirable touching, suggestive comment
jokes, insults or taunts related to sexual nature, presenting posters, magazines or screen
savers related with sexual nature, sending vulgar text messages and emails and others.
Australian organizations adhere to some rules according to which there are some
circumstances under which sexual harassment is unlawful.
According to the Act of Sex Discrimination, it is unlawful when a person sexually harasses
the other person in the areas such as employment, education and accommodation.
Whether it is a small or large business, the employer must take the steps to prevent the
employees from sexual harassment (Victorian equal opportunities and human rights
commission, 2018). This further implies that the employer should proactively implement
preventive measures to decrease the threat of sexual harassment. The employer should
take instant action when harassment does occur. According to the Act of Sex Discrimination,
a proprietor is responsible for sexual harassment if the proprietor has not taken the
necessary steps to inhibit the sexual harassment in the organization. The Act of Sex
Discrimination has not defined the actual steps involved in preventing sexual harassment as
it depends on the nature and size of the business (McLaughlin, Uggen and Blackstone,
2012). It is not necessary that steps which are reasonable for large organization are
reasonable for small organization also. Therefore the employer should decide the steps by
considering the nature and size of the business which includes the following points.
In case of large organizations, the employer should conduct formal information sessions and
some training sessions to create awareness among employees regarding the policy of sexual
harassment. In case of small business organizations, the employer should make copies to
make sure that every employee gets to know about the policy being followed in the
organization (Storey, 2009).
In case of large organization, it also depends on the availability of resources in the
organization. It might possible for the large organizations to send each and every employee
for the training regarding sexual harassment but in case of small organizations there are

limited resources and it is not possible to send each employee for the training. Small
organizations can circulate the copies of written policy of sexual harassment and then
prepare the questionnaire to develop the understanding among employees regarding the
same (Söchting, Fairbrother and Koch, 2004).
Example of a case ( P&O Ports Australian Company)
In a food services company, a woman worked as catering assistant in a canteen in which employees
of the offender company used to eat. One day in the evening an employee of the offender’s
company showed his privates to her and seized her vagina before she would do something. The
women filed a complaint against the company regarding sexual harassment. According to Victorian
Civil and Administrative Tribunal, it was found whether the company will be liable to take the
action against the employee or not. From the point of view of Tribunal, investigating about the
physical attack and recommending a disciplinary action against the employee were not enough to
discharge its vicarious liability.
Employers should take strong steps to inhibit the organization from sexual harassment.
There is a strong need for making the policy regarding sexual harassment for location like
where employees need to work in close physical proximity.
However it is impossible to ensure the employers that they will not be answerable for the
sexual harassment as it totally depends on the courts. Courts take decisions on the basis of
cases they come across but they can suggest and guide the employers on what legal
obligations should they follow to prevent sexual harassment. Employers can take several
actions mentioned below to evade the liability for sexual harassment (Yagil, 2008).
 The employers must prepare a policy regarding sexual harassment.
 The employers must take remedial action against sexual harassment. The employer
must have appropriate procedures handling the complaints regarding sexual
harassment (Tracy, Lutgen-Sandvik and Alberts, 2009).
To protect the organization from sexual harassment, the employer should implement the
policy made in regards with sexual harassment and evaluate its effectiveness which contains
the steps such as Obtain top level support which includes the employer should obtain top
level management support from the chief executive officer and senior management to

implement the strategies to eradicate the sexual harassment. The next step is written policy
of sexual harassment. Here, the employer should prepare a policy regarding sexual
harassment by consulting with employees and relevant unions. Employer should officially
introduce the policy of sexual harassment among full staff. Employer should distribute the
copies in all over the organization and should ensure that the policy should be easily
accessible on the website of organization. The written policy should be mailed to every
employee working in the organization (Salin, 2008). The employers should provide the policy
to newly recruited people as a usual part of orientation. In case of small organizations,
employers should take signature from the employees on copy of a policy so that the policy
gets acknowledgement by every employee working in the organization.
Third step is that the employees should be given regular training and information on sexual
harassment. The employers should organize training sessions for all the employees and
management on sexual harassment and organizational policy. The training must increase
the understanding of sexual harassment under the act of Sex Discrimination. Regular
training should be provided to the employees. The employer should train the managers of
all line as per their role to ensure prevention from sexual harassment. Anti-sexual posters
can also be displayed on the common notice boards (Koritsas, Coles and Boyle, 2008).
The next step includes encouraging right conduct by managers. Here, line managers should
comprehend the need to model right standards of professional conduct for all times. The
employers should ensure the right selection criteria which means the employer should
recruit the people who have the ability to deal with issues such as sexual harassment. The
selected people should have the understanding and knowledge of full policy. The employer
should regularly evaluate the performance of the managers (Hershcovis and Barling, 2010).
The next step includes positive workplace environment. Under which following things need
to be considered such as offensive, explicit or pornographic calendars, literature, posters
should be removed from the workplace. The employer should develop the policy which
prohibits the use of vulgar email, screen savers and internet websites. It is advisable that
regular audits should be conducted by the medium and large employers to examine the
incidence of sexual harassment in the organization.
Example of a case (An Australian Organization)

A lawyer (respondent) sexually harassed one of the clients of his employer under the
organization. The employer was an Aboriginal corporation, was a small organization and
Federal Magistrate Rimmer believed that it had made its anticipations of employees clearly in
regards with sexual harassment. Therefore they did not find the employer to be liable. The
employer cleared its liability by introducing an appropriate complaint tackling process. The
directors should orally inform all the employees that sexual harassment would not be
endured in the office premises. The employer should conduct workshops regarding sexual
harassment and discrimination. In addition to this, number of warnings had been given by the
employers to the respondents about his unacceptable behavior.
The employer can prevent the organization from sexual annoyance by making the
employees clear that sexual harassment will not acceptable in the organization in any case.
This can only be possible when there is clear policy describing terms and conditions about
sexual harassment. This policy should be communicated to each and every worker in the
organization. In addition to this, it is important to maintain the discipline in the workplace
(Black et al., 2011). Only a written policy will not work in preventing the organization. A non-
implemented policy is of no use therefore it should be communicated to the employees by
distributing the copies of the policy. Sometimes implementation also doesn’t work therefore
the employers must communicate the whole procedure that how one can file a complaint
regarding other of sexual harassment in the organization (Harzing and Pinnington, 2010).
It is advisable to have conventional procedure to tackle with the problem of sexual
harassment when it occurs. The employer should make an internal system to deal with the
complaints regarding sexual harassment or should adopt the existing procedure for the
same. The employer should make sure that the policy made by them is clearly defining the
steps that what should one do in case they are sexually harassed (Gidycz, Orchowski and
Berkowitz, 2011). The employers should make sure that the employees who filed a
complaint would not be victimised. The employees must know the following points.
How they can deal is the situation related to harassment arises. They should not feel
pressurized while pursuing this option. They should not go directly to the offender and deal
with him by themselves (Ullman and Townsend, 2009). They should first inform to the

authorize person who actually liable for dealing with the issues like sexual harassment.
Employee should file a complaint by following the procedure available in the organization.
Example of a case (Evans v Lee and Anor)
The manager has sexually harassed his one of his female client while providing banking services.
While detecting about the steps being taken for preventing sexual harassment, the bank gave
several evidence that they have scheduled training on sexual harassment after every six months. The
commissioner have also been told and provided with evidence of circulated videos, letters, an
instruction, a brochure and an article related with sexual annoyance. The commissioner has also
been told that there is a system of auditing in which managers make sure that they discuss about
sexual harassment after every six months. But later on they came to know from staff that there has
been no training and sessions on sexual harassment. The working staff also does not feel that they
should take any action against this kind of annoyance. The commissioner has also found that there
has been no auditing done by the managers at the branch where the harassment had taken place.
The employers can also boost the employees that will help them to avoid sexual harassment
at the workplace. For instance, sometimes the employees are already been aware of
inappropriate behaviour in the office premises before the management. The employees can
be encouraged to inform the concerns about uninvited behaviour before it creates a serious
issue against sexual harassment.

References
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