Certificate III in Dental Assisting

This article discusses strategies to address sexist behavior, prevent bad behavior, and resolve conflicts in the workplace. It provides solutions for three different scenarios in Certificate III in Dental Assisting. The article also highlights the importance of clear policies, communication, and openness among employees to mitigate bad behavior.

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Scenario 1
Sexist behaviour is founded on the ideology that draws on the belief of one sex being superior to
another which is expressed most often toward the female gender1. I believe that the CEO in this
case is displaying a sexist behaviour and that Danielle is not being overly sensitive for several
reasons. The first reason is that discriminates her from the rest of the male staff and brands her
the “office mum” while neither of the male staffs are referred to as the “office dad”. Secondly, he
gives Danielle the responsibility of handling office birthdays and always asking her to organize
for coffee managerial meetings every month. He seems to be taking advantage of the fact that
Danielle is a woman hence beliefs she is in a better position to carry out such activities without
even seeking her consent first in an agreeable manner. Thirdly, the CEO doesn’t seem to care
about Danielle’s feelings about these requests and the label of “office mum”. This is evident
when she expresses her concerns to the CEO who dismisses them on the basis that Danielle is
being “overly sensitive” yet she was really frustrated. Sexism in the work place is more
tenacious, subtle and complicated than many people would realize2. Majority of women struggle
with many forms of indirect discrimination on a daily basis. They are expected to, for instance,
to tolerate sexist comments, jokes and names for fear of being perceived as uncooperative and
humorless. In this case of Danielle and the CEO, perhaps she was agreeing to the requests of the
CEO to avoid being seen as uncooperative at the expense of her subjection to sexism.
Strategies to Curb this Behaviour.
a) Turn the tables
1Michael, Kasumovic, and Kuznekoff H., Jeffrey. "Insights into sexism: male status and performance moderates female-directed
hostile and amicable behaviour." PloS one 10, no. 7 (2015)
2 Ivona, Hideg, and D. Ferris Lance. "The compassionate sexist? How benevolent sexism promotes and undermines
gender equality in the workplace." Journal of personality and social psychology 111, no. 5 (2016):
2

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Danielle could ask the CEO if he would have made those requests and labeling her
‘office mum’ if she happened to be a man. She could also use the same approach for her
managerial colleagues. However, it’s done in a nonthreatening manner, perhaps with a
sense of humor but the point of being treated differently standing out.
b) Ask why she is being targeted for these tasks without necessarily bringing up gender.
She could ask him for a simple explanation instead of heading direct to an accusation of
sexism.
c) Have a sit-down talk with the CEO in private.
She could stay calm and keep it simple by not forcing an argument- just making her
position clear that she is uncomfortable. He would probably appreciate her feedback.
Scenario 2
While it’s considered exemplary to prevent hiring employees with these traits completely, it is
also valuable to note problems early enough and seek for intervention measures in order to
minimize its harmful impact. Therefore, the most viable strategies that the team leader would use
to stop the bad behaviour without necessarily disclosing confidential information would include
the following;
a. Secondary Prevention
This means noting the bad behaviors early in the employees’ tenure and minimizing its
impacts on other employees in the workplace3. This would involve coaching and
providing some education about bad behaviors to the entire team by mentioning to them
devastating effects such ill behaviors would have on the team’s performance. I would use
3 Muharrem Tuna, Ghazzawi Issam, Yesiltas Murat, Akbas Aysen Tuna, and Arslan Siddik. "The effects of the
perceived external prestige of the organization on employee deviant workplace behavior: The mediating role of job
satisfaction." International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 28, no. 2 (2016)
3

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this method because it allows for reflection and deeper understanding of the need to work
together without hurting each other’s feelings.
b. Address the individual employee privately.
The objective would be to bring the inappropriate behavior to his attention. The team
leader could provide the particular employee with specific instances of their negative
behaviour4. However, care should be taken, not to disclose confidential information about
the victim of the toxic behavior. I would adopt this strategy because its appropriateness
with respect to privacy of the individual.
c. Work on a Plan to Correct Behavior.
The team leader could explain and set out certain expectations to improve the employees’
behavior. The plan would also inform the workers the consequences of non-compliance.
This could be facilitated by highlighting the definite policy of the workplace that the
behavior breaks.
Scenario 3
It is important to note that heated and unresolved discussions at the workplace can negatively
impact on the involved employees’ performance5. For instance, it would create the room for a
potential division among the team members. In this case, I would be torn between the two
parties; those making bad comments and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees.
Therefore, it means that most of my efforts and energy would be directed towards mitigating this
4 Sandra Robinson L., Wang Wei, and Kiewitz Christian. "Coworkers behaving badly: The impact of coworker
deviant behavior upon individual employees." Annu. Rev. Organ. Psychol. Organ. Behav. 1, no. 1 (2014)
5 Shin Freedman, and Vreven Dawn. "Workplace Incivility and Bullying in the Library: Perception or
Reality?." College & Research Libraries 77, no. 6 (2017).
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Certificate III in Dental Assisting
behavior and reconciling the two parties instead of carrying out my work responsibilities6. The
person has broken the law that warns against discrimination on the basis of race.
Some of the issues affecting this situation include poor communication, lack of openness among
employees and lack of clear policies which highlight the particular unethical behavior at the
workplace7. It is important for employees to learn to accommodate the diversities of their fellow
colleagues, discern and mitigate bad behavior8. The non-indigenous workers should be able to
understand the plight of indigenous Australians and help them work through them. Therefore,
they need to support the welfare of the indigenous Australians, socially and economically.
Arbitration is one of the best method of resolving problems because it allows for dialogue. In this
case, I would approach the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person and explain to him the
need to observe calmness and embrace dialogue with the colleagues by expressing his feelings
about the bad comments. I would explain to him that it’s okay to get annoyed, but also the
importance of learning to get through them.
6 George Saridakis, Lai Yanqing, and Johnstone Stewart. "Does workplace partnership deliver mutual gains at
work?." Economic and Industrial Democracy (2017)
7 Franziska Zuber, and Kaptein Muel. "Painting with the same brush? Surveying unethical behavior in the workplace
using self-reports and observer-reports." Journal of Business Ethics125, no. 3 (2014)
8Clive Boddy R. "Corporate psychopaths, conflict, employee affective well-being and counterproductive work
behaviour." Journal of Business Ethics 121, no. 1 (2014)
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Certificate III in Dental Assisting
Bibliography
Kasumovic, Michael M., and Jeffrey H. Kuznekoff. "Insights into sexism: male status and
performance moderates female-directed hostile and amicable behaviour." PloS one 10,
no. 7 (2015): e0131613.
Hideg, Ivona, and D. Lance Ferris. "The compassionate sexist? How benevolent sexism
promotes and undermines gender equality in the workplace." Journal of personality and
social psychology 111, no. 5 (2016): 706.
Tuna, Muharrem, Issam Ghazzawi, Murat Yesiltas, Aysen Akbas Tuna, and Siddik Arslan. "The
effects of the perceived external prestige of the organization on employee deviant
workplace behavior: The mediating role of job satisfaction." International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management 28, no. 2 (2016): 366-396.
Robinson, Sandra L., Wei Wang, and Christian Kiewitz. "Coworkers behaving badly: The
impact of coworker deviant behavior upon individual employees." Annu. Rev. Organ.
Psychol. Organ. Behav. 1, no. 1 (2014): 123-143.
Boddy, Clive R. "Corporate psychopaths, conflict, employee affective well-being and
counterproductive work behaviour." Journal of Business Ethics 121, no. 1 (2014): 107-
121.
Zuber, Franziska, and Muel Kaptein. "Painting with the same brush? Surveying unethical
behavior in the workplace using self-reports and observer-reports." Journal of Business
Ethics125, no. 3 (2014): 401-432.
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Certificate III in Dental Assisting
Freedman, Shin, and Dawn Vreven. "Workplace Incivility and Bullying in the Library:
Perception or Reality?." College & Research Libraries 77, no. 6 (2017).
Saridakis, George, Yanqing Lai, and Stewart Johnstone. "Does workplace partnership deliver
mutual gains at work?." Economic and Industrial Democracy (2017):
0143831X17740431.
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