Impact of Sexual Harassment at MegaMart: Research Report

This research report investigates the issue of sexual harassment within the workplace, using MegaMart in Jamaica as a case study. The report explores the background of the problem, emphasizing its negative impacts on employee performance, morale, and motivation, as well as the potential detrimental effects on overall business performance. The study poses research questions to assess the impact of harassment, explore preventive measures, and evaluate their effectiveness. The literature review synthesizes information from secondary sources, highlighting the legal and ethical dimensions of sexual harassment, its impact on victims, and the importance of creating a safe and respectful work environment. The report identifies causes and effects, aiming to recommend measures to mitigate sexual harassment and improve workplace dynamics. The research aims to determine how sexual harassment at the workplace can result in affecting the overall business performance, thereby, affect the sales and revenue generation too. Objectives are included to determine causes and impacts, and to recommend measures for overcoming the sexual harassment issue and make the working environment a better place for the female workers to work effectively and even contribute to the management of successful business functioning in the long run.

Running head: BUSINESS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Business research Methodology
Name of student
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Research topic: Sexual harassment within the workplace of MegaMart, Jamaica.
Introduction
The research is done to focus on the impact of sexual harassment within the workplace
considering the case study analysis for MegaMart in Jamaica. The topic will present an idea
about how this major issue, i.e., sexual harassment with the workplace can result in poor
performance from the employees as well as affect the overall performance of the organisation
negatively. The research subject has been chosen for the purpose of ensuring that the issue
within the workplace is minimised and a positive impact is created on the overall business
performance (Mainiero & Jones, 2013).
1.1 Background to the Study
The background of the research highlights the impact that can be caused due to the
sexual harassment of women in the workplace, which is against the law under the Equal
Opportunity Act 2010. The sexual harassment issue often makes the individuals offended,
humiliated and at times, intimidated, which can be in the form of both verbal as well as
physical abuse and harm (Spector et al., 2014). This kind of issue is a negative behaviour that
has not been mutually agreed upon by two individuals. Thus, the research background sheds
light on the actual purpose, which is to determine the probable impacts or effects created due
to sexual harassment within the workplace and also the descriptive research design and
interpretation of results will be done based on the data and information collected (McDonald,
Charlesworth & Graham, 2015).
1.2 The research problem
The problem of research often demonstrates the problem associated with the sexual
harassment experienced within the workplace, which can often lead to lower performances of
the workers due to being felt humiliated, offended and sometimes intimidated too. The

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victims of sexual harassment are mainly the women and besides gaining request for sexual
favours, unwelcome conduct or behaviours related to sexual matters have alleviated the issue
furthermore (Hersch, 2015). With the emergence of sexual harassment within the workplace,
there would also be violation of fundamental rights of women to equality and hindering the
formation of a safe environment that is free from sexual harassment. Thus, the problem
statement here is the sexual harassment within the workplace, which can be dealt with the
help of implementing right laws, policies and procedures to keep women safe within the
working environment (Valiente, 2013).
1.3 The research questions
 What can be the impact of sexual harassment within the workplace on the job
performance and motivation level of employees at MegaMart in Jamaica?
 How do the workplace harassment affect the morale level and can result in poor job
performance within the workplace?
 Is there a link between the overall business performance and sexual harassment of
men and women within the workplace?
 What are the various measures that have been recommended for the prevention of
sexual harassment within the workplace and ensure improvement of job performance
and increase level of motivation too?
 How will the measures recommended can have positive impact and increase
employee’s job performance and level of motivation?
1.4 The research hypothesis
H0: The sexual harassment of women within the workplace does not pose any serious
positive impact on the overall business performance

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H1: The emergence of sexual harassment within the workplace can direct affect the overall
business performance due to lower morale of staffs and being offended with such issues
1.5 Rationale or purpose of the study
The rationale of the research study highlights the problem related to the sexual
harassment within the workplace. The women working at the organisations believed that
sexual favours were being asked for by the managers, which also made them feel humiliated
and offended. This kind of problem is a major fact that contributed to the management of this
research study for ensuring that the issues are overcome and a good working environment and
culture is created that is free from discrimination, harassment, both physically and mentally
(Mainiero & Jones, 2013). With the management of these issues, the organisations would be
able to undertake various approaches and measures to ensure prevention of workplace
harassment and discrimination based on gender, race or religion, etc. too. Thus, the goal of
the research study is to overcome the sexual harassment problem and maintain a good
environment for working though with the consideration of causes and effects of the problem
(Buchanan et al., 2014).
1.6 Research aims and objectives
The research aims to determine how the sexual harassment at the workplace can result
in affecting the overall business performance, thereby, affect the sales and revenue generation
too.
Objectives
 To identify the probable causes as well as the impacts of sexual harassment within the
workplace
 To evaluate various causes that may be associated with the sexual harassment issue
within the workplace of MegaMart, Jamaica

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 To assess how effectively, the various approaches to resolve sexual harassment issues
are addressed for prevention of discrimination and offensive behaviours towards
women
 To recommended necessary measures for overcoming the sexual harassment issue and
make the working environment a better place for the female workers to work
effectively and even contribute to the management of successful business functioning
in the long run
1.7 Significance of the research
The significance of the research is that the major problem, i.e., the sexual harassment
within the workplace has been identified, which can allow the researcher to facilitate his
scientific knowledge and skills, furthermore, manage policies and intervention techniques to
build confidence all throughout the researcher (Okechukwu et al., 2014). The research study
is important for both the business, as it would make those follow the laws, rules and
regulations and ensure that a good working environment is created where good
communication process is encouraged along with fostering the development of a healthy
culture where people can work as an unit without any fear of sexual favours being asked by
others within the workplace (Hersch, 2015).
1.8 Conclusion
The first chapter provides an introductory overview of the research topic and this
portion has prioritised on various components including the background of research, problem
of the research as well as the aims and objectives have been represented. Considering the
objectives and aim of the research, the research questions have been formed, which are
needed to be addressed in the next portions with the use literature data and information
acquired from the secondary sources. This could not only address the issues, but could even

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allow for resolving the issue and conduct the research accurately for addressing the issue and
overcome it accordingly too.
2.0 Literature review
The literature review section draw relevant information and data related to the
research topic from various secondary sources of data including the journals, articles,
documents newspapers, articles and internet websites too. The secondary data and
information are based on the various case studies involving the business organizations also by
looking into information related to various case situations where harassment within
workplace has been experienced (Mainiero & Jones, 2013).
2.1 Sexual harassment within the workplace
According to Hersch (2015), the sexual harassment within the workplace has been
termed as the behaviours of individuals, which make people commit acts of physical violence
or even make comments on gender stereotypes along with sexual assault. These kinds of
activities are not legal and have often affected the ability of individuals by making them
perform poorly as well as suffer from lower morale and lack of motivation at the workplace
too (Hersch, 2015). The sex related conduct that are unreasonable add unwelcome as well as
tend to harm people within the workplace are not only responsible for creating negative mind
sets among the people, but has also resulted in poor job performance at work, thereby
affected the overall organisational performance and resulted in poor level of production and
lower revenue generation as well (Valiente, 2013). McDonald, Charlesworth & Graham
(2015) also stated that the sexual harassment within the workplace has also been caused with
an individual asking for sexual favours, physical touches without consent of the individual or
even any kinds of behaviours and activities related to the sexual nature that could result in
offensive behaviours towards others as well as humiliate them (). McDonald, Charlesworth &
Graham, 2015). These activities often affect the corporate culture negatively and also has

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resulted in a hostile, intimidating and offensive working environment where people might
feel afraid to work as well as feel humiliated and down to perform to their actual potential.
Due to this, not only their job performances deteriorate, but also the overall organisational
performance has been hampered, which has been one of the major causes of business
downfall, lower productivity and sales decline in business too. Mostly, the women are the
victims of sexual harassment within the workplaces, which made them either leave the jobs in
certain cases or even commit some major mistakes due to humiliation and lower morale
(Buchanan et al., 2014). The sexual harassment, as stated by Okechukwu et al. (2014), has
also been subjected to cause harm to migrant workers, who were often discriminated and had
the highest chances of sexual assault or harassment, which might also be the cause of
violence and abuse. The sexual harassment has been considered by many as a form of sex
discrimination where the terms, conditions, laws, rules and regulations related to employment
practices have been harmed and this has affected the overall work performance negatively
with higher turnover of employees, increased level of absenteeism and avoidance of
interaction between the victim and the harasser, which might affect the communication and
overall organisational performance (Okechukwu et al., 2014).
On the other hand, Mainiero & Jones (2013) argued the fact that harassment might not
be the only cause of such issues, because every organisations tend to follow certain
organisational policies and principles that are related to the prevention of discrimination and
harassment within the workplace. Thus, knowingly and willingly, none of the employees are
likely to engage in such kinds of acts that might be improper and unethical and could also
lead to negative image of the company. Mainiero & Jones (2013) also disagreed to the fact
that often to gain attention and move forward in the professional environment, few employees
do spread fake news about harassment, which might make the higher authorities consider it
within no time and provide them additional benefits too.

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2.2 Impact of workplace harassment on the job performance
The impacts or effects caused due to the emergence of harassment of people within
the workplace are mostly negative and these impacts could be severe, once these issues are
related to the physical and psychological harms caused (Gutek et al., 2013). The major
effects of workplace harassment, as discussed by Ineson, Yap & Whiting (2013), included the
stress, high level of anxiety. Depression, panic attacks, lower morale and de-motivation at
work. Due to the workplace harassment, often the victims make themselves prepared not to
disclose anything as it might harm their image though they tend to experience troubled mind
sets, which prevents them to make decisions as well (Ineson, Yap & Whiting, 2013). They
are often unable to concentrate on certain matters and their self-esteem has been lost, which
automatically, resulted in lower production and poor job performance at the workplace. The
level of motivation tend to get lowered and the victims mostly find it difficult to defend
themselves ad even prevent the harassment that they might face again in the near future.
People mostly do not provide enough mental support and the extended rumours further cause
distress and suffering from inside for the victims, which weakened their abilities at most
times to carry out their job roles and responsibilities fruitfully (McDonald & Charlesworth,
2016). According to Buckner et al. (2014), the sexual harassment within the workplace has
also affected the employee performance by creating more job stress and also made the
employees less committed to the organization, which further deteriorated with the increased
level of anxiety and depression while performing their roles at work. Due to this major issue,
not only does the policies, principles, laws, rules and regulations have been violated, but also
the physical and psychological problems have emerged in large numbers, which formed a
hostile working environment and also fostered high level of turnover of employees along
with increased level of absenteeism at work too (Buckner et al., 2014).

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McDonald & Charlesworth (2016) disagreed to the context and believed that though
workplace harassment could be the cause of psychological issues and result in lower level of
motivation, still job performances are not to be affected. It is because for most of the cases, in
spite of the lower motivation, they must focus more on the job duties rather than on the other
aspects related to the incidents. As such, he believed that this kind of incident should be
ignored and rather focus should be on engaging with the workforce and carry out the roles
and responsibilities appropriately.
Workplace harassment affecting the morale level
Mainiero & Jones (2013) also argued the fact that though the employers have the
ability and skills to respond to the workplace harassment and bullying, still in most of the
cases, the victims of the sexual harassment keep these matters totally secret and feel afraid to
tell others or report to higher authorities within the workplace, fearing to lose the job position
or gaining bad reputation. These issues remain enclosed within and necessary precautionary
measures are not undertaken, which often affected the overall organisational performance in
terms of the reduced productivity level and lack of revenue generation too (Mainiero &
Jones, 2013). On the contrary, Etikan, Musa & Alkassim (2016), also argued that the victims
often suffer from depressed minds, which made them feel lack of interest in performing their
job duties, which has also lowered their motivation level, their productivity and also the rate
of absenteeism increased with time (Etikan, Musa & Alkassim, 2016). Therefore, Gutek et al.
(2013), also suggested that the harassment of workplace has been a serious crime, which
could violate the organisational policies, laws and rules, furthermore, resulted in interfering
with the work performance as well as hinder them to progress in their career too. Often these
issues have been related to lowering down the morale of employees and making them feel
lesser interested to concentrate on their job roles and reponsisblties, furthermore, should
affect their overall performance too.

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2.3 Link between workplace harassment and motivation at work
As stated by Buckner et al. (2014), the harassment of individuals within the
workplace mostly created negative impacts such as cause of physical and mental harm or
abuse along with feeling depressed and less motivated to work are other impacts of
workplace harassment too. It has also been found from various secondary sources
constituting the literature review section that the visibility of these kinds of impacts of sexual
assault or harassment within the workplace have taken the lives of women to unprecedented
levels at present in many workplace areas (Buckner et al., 2014). The widespread workplace
harassment has been experienced by mostly women at the workplace, which has caused
severe implications and these negative consequences often made them face mental and
physical problems. The problems also arise with their morale level going down slowly and
lacking interest to work at the organisation, furthermore, created career interruptions and the
earnings were lowered too. Moreover, according to the statement of Creswell (2014), the
sexual harassment of women within the workplace have also discouraged and de-motivated
them to make advancement in their career, furthermore affected their skills and ability to
contribute to the gap in gender wage structure (Creswell, 2014).
Based on the literature review section, it has also been understood that the sexual
harassment and physical assault at work often had been considered as one of the major causes
of economic advancement of women, thereby, also hindered their security level and created a
negative image of the organisation where they had been working (Creswell & Clark, 2017).
Though laws, rules and regulations have been put in many organisations, still there have been
implications that represented the fact that at most of the times, the victims keep these kinds of
matters secret or even feel afraid to tell others, as it is related to their career somehow. As
stated by Creswell & Creswell (2017), it has also been found that from the employer’s
perspective, neglecting the implementation practices for the prevention of harassment within

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the workplace could also make them violate the state and federal law, furthermore, make
them face penalties as well as subjected to actions towards them for committing such
mistakes (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). On the other hand, Creswell & Poth (2017), Also
added that not only the physical and mental harms are caused, but also a hostile environment
within the workplace has been created, which could result in distress among the people who
have been the victims of sexual harassment. This also has increased the risks of mental
depression along with anxiety, panic attacks and other health related issues that might prove
to be fatal considering the context and nature of harassment experienced within the
workplace (Creswell & Poth, 2017).
Moreover, the financial impacts are also negative considering the fact that with the
emergence of so many complaints related to the workplace harassment, there have been
settlement of a substantial amount of money, which tend to increase during the later stages
furthermore (Gutek et al., 2013). Due to the lack of interest and poor level of motivation, the
employees’ productivity level also diminish, which has made them neglect their job duties
while handling a project, distraction while doing a work and even higher level of absenteeism
have been major effects of the harassment within the workplaces (Halcomb & Hickman,
2015).
McDonald, Charlesworth & Graham (2015) also disagreed to the fact that there is a
proper link between the workplace harassment and morale of staffs, because the harassment
is related to emotional issues and even sometimes physical health, but it cannot reduce the
morale of staffs. It is because it is more related to higher level of absenteeism and even the
employees can complain to the higher management in case of such incidents. If they does not,
theen it is the fault from their side, which must not be considered when combined with the
morale level of staffs within the workplace.

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2.4 Ways to reduce the occurrence of workplace harassment
The workplace harassment effects are mostly negative and due to this, there are more
chances of risks associated with the health and mental conditions of people too. According to
Hersch (2015), the managers play a significant part in making sure that the harassment within
the workplace has been prevented to create a good workplace environment and promote a
healthy culture where people could work as an unit free from any kinds of discrimination of
harassment (Hersch, 2015). The managers must ensure that roper workplace harassment
policies and anti-harassment rules, regulations and guidelines are formed to overcome the
emergence of these kinds of issues, furthermore, commit to a safe and positive working
environment with much ease and efficiency. Ineson, Yap & Whiting (2013), also argued the
fact that it is always necessary to determine the legal liability issues and understand the
personal responsibility as well as others wellbeing within the workplace (Ineson, Yap &
Whiting, 2013). To make sure that the employees, especially the women individuals do not
become victims of sexual harassment or abuse, Hersch (2015), suggested that monitoring the
activities at the workplace has been important and also the reports and complaints must be
carefully reviewed to prevent any kinds of issues as early as possible.
It is the duty of the management department to make sure that the health and safety of
the employees are taken care of properly, furthermore, keep them productive as well to
prevent any adverse effects as well as resolve the staffing issues with much convenience,
thereby build a good working environment and promote healthy work culture too (Buckner et
al., 2014). Other than the policies, Creswell & Creswell (2017), also suggested that
consulting with the organisation’s attorney for gaining professional advice on the written
policy, thereby, make sure to define the various harassment policies clearly stated in the
statement and must also be in accordance with the state, federal and local employment laws,
rules and regulations. Considering the statement of Creswell & Poth (2017), consultation with