University Report: Addressing CEO Sexual Harassment in Management

This report addresses a critical incident where a CEO is accused of sexual harassment, analyzing the situation and offering recommendations for the board. It examines the impact of the allegations on the company, particularly concerning employee morale and workplace environment. The report emphasizes the importance of ethical leadership, highlighting key personal competencies such as honesty, compassion, and accountability. It suggests that leaders should act as positive role models, treat subordinates with respect, and prioritize community building. The report also stresses the need for leaders to be accountable and address the needs of employees to foster an efficient and harassment-free workplace. The report concludes with a call for ethical behavior and fair treatment to ensure long-term organizational growth and a positive work environment. The report uses Maslow's hierarchy of needs to underscore the importance of safety and security in the workplace and their impact on employee performance.

Running head: CONTEMPORARY MANAGEMENT
Contemporary Management
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Response to the incident.............................................................................................................2
Recommendations for Board......................................................................................................3
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................4
References..................................................................................................................................5

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Introduction
Contemporary management refers to the planning and the organizing of the operations
of an organization so that it can achieve the organizational goals. The monitoring of the
information and the supervising of the personal are of crucial importance in the present age.
Cotton On group refers to largest global retailer in Australia which deals with the fashion
clothing along with the stationery brands (Cottonon.com 2020). The CEO of the company
have been accused of the sexual harassment by the subordinates of his previous company.
The incident have caught the attention of the media and the story pertaining to the
accusations are being proliferated with the aid of the online platforms. The CEO have denied
the incidence of the harassments but it have been confirmed from the various sources that the
stories were produced separately and each party was not aware of the accusation of the other
party. The reports that were circulated in relation to the incident was consistent that have
raised the concern for Cotton-On-Group. This report discusses about the assessment of the
situation and the recommendations that the board can resort to for solving the problem.
Response to the incident
Sexual harassment refers to the incidence of the unwelcome sexual advance and the
unwelcome request for the sexual favours that can make another person feel humiliated and
offended. It is an unlawful act that can be injurious for the environment of an organisation.
The sexual allegation against the present CEO can create the crude conversation in the
workplace that can disrupt the progress of the company. It is imperative that the harassment
free environment is created within the ambit of the workplace that can ensure the efficient
carrying out of the work in a company (Humanrights.gov.au 2020). It will raise the concern
among the female employees of Cotton On Group that would jeopardise the carrying out of
the proper work in the company. It have created the demoralizing effect on the workers in
Cotton On Group and it can discourage the female employees from asserting themselves in
workplace. It have reinforced the idea among the people that the women are vulnerable and it
have created the intimidating environment within the framework of the workplace. There are
many women who want to leave the job in Cotton On Group as they feel that they would be a
victim of the sexual harassment in the company. The Maslow theory of hierarchy of needs
talks about the fact that the satisfaction of the needs of an individual can be instrumental in
providing the motivation to a person (Bratton and Gold 2017). The needs for the security
along with the safety can be said to be vital for the performance of an individual. The people
desire the control and the order in their lives that contributes to a great extent to their
behaviour. It can be stated to be the basic needs of an individual and providing an employee
with the security can ensure the optimal performance of the workers (Acevedo 2018). The
allegations of the sexual abuse against the CEO have raised the doubts in the minds of the
women employees regarding their safety and it would have a detrimental effect on the
performance of the workers in the company.
Recommendations for Board
It can be recommended that on the basis of the key personal competencies the leaders
should act in the ethical manner that can take an organization in the right path. The ethical

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leader should behave in a fair and the just manner that can aid in the proper functioning of a
company. He should be able to inspire the respect among the followers so that they would
listen attentively to him that can take an organisation forward in the right direction. The
leader should be compassionate that can enable him in understanding the view point of the
other members of the organisation (Bolman and Deal 2017). The leader should be imbibed
with the honesty that can help him in evolving as the effective ethical leader. It can aid a
leader in evolving as a dependable person whose help can be sought by the other workers in
an organization. Honesty can be said to be integral for the effective leader and he should not
be involved in misrepresenting the facts in an organisation.
The moral leaders in an organization should act as a positive role model that can
provide the encouragement to the other employees of the company. He should be able to
provide the powerful direction to the other employees of company and should inspire the
other members in the organization (Western 2019). He should act in the ideal manner that can
cause the subordinates along with the fellow employees in following his path. He should have
the capability of leading by setting an ideal example that can take care of the fact that the
other employees meet the highest standard that can ensure the smooth functioning of an
organization.
The leader should be selfless who lives by the universal principles and recognizes the
equal rights of the other employees in a company. He should be able to cultivate the empathy
that can allow the other members of the organization in having the expansive worldview
(Sanders 2017). He should be able to understand the point of view of the other employees
that can aid in the proper functioning of a company. The subordinates should be treated with
respect by the leader that can help in the establishment of a just organization (Rosenbach
2018). The senior leadership in a company should not make use of the followers for the
achievement of his personal goals. He should have the ability of respecting the feelings,
decisions along with the values of the people working in the lower hierarchical level in the
company.
The leader should have the capability of the community building that makes him
consider the purpose of the followers. He should make the efforts that can achieve the goals
of himself along with the other subordinates working within the framework of the company.
The leader should be considerate to the community and should not overlook the intentions of
the followers in an organisation (Grint et al. 2016). He should be able to rise above the petty
circumstances and act in a noble manner that can steer the organization in the right path. He
should be cause of the inspiration for the other employees working under him that can ensure
the working of a just organization. His behaviour should act as a yardstick that influences the
behaviour of the other employees in an organization.
The leadership should be accountable to address the needs and the demands of the
other employees in an organization. The leaders should help in the reduction of the sexual
harassment in the workplace so that it can set the stage for the functioning of an efficient
organization. It can help in the establishment of the right kind of the organizational climate
that can enable the employees in working in the efficient manner (Mendenhall et al. 2017).

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The leaders are instrumental in shaping the attitudes of the other people and they should act
in a responsible manner in relation to these aspects.
Conclusion
Sexual allegation perpetrated against the CEO can be instrumental in the creation of
crude conversation in organization which can disrupt progress of company. The environment
should be freed of any kind of the harassment that can ensure good performance of
employees of company. The leaders should behave in the fair and the just manner which can
help in providing the proper direction to other employees. Leaders should inspire respect
among followers that can aid in the long-term growth of an organization. It can further be
recommended that the board of the management should take into account the personal
circumstances in the life of the subordinates who have held the CEO accountable that can
throw the light on the sexual harassment incident.

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References
Acevedo, A., 2018. A personalistic appraisal of Maslow’s needs theory of motivation: From
“humanistic” psychology to integral humanism. Journal of business ethics, 148(4), pp.741-
763.
Bolman, L.G. and Deal, T.E., 2017. Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and
leadership. John Wiley & Sons.
Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2017. Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Cottonon.com, 2020. Women's, Men's & Kids Clothing & Accessories | Cotton On. [online]
Cottonon.com. Available at: <https://cottonon.com/AU/> [Accessed 30 March 2020].
Grint, K., Jones, O.S., Holt, C. and Storey, J., 2016. What is leadership. The Routledge
Companion to Leadership, p.3.
Humanrights.gov.au, 2020. Sexual Harassment In The Workplace - The Legal Definition Of
Sexual Harassment | Australian Human Rights Commission. [online] Humanrights.gov.au.
Available at: <https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sexual-harassment-workplace-
legal-definition-sexual-harassment> [Accessed 30 March 2020].
Mendenhall, M.E., Osland, J., Bird, A., Oddou, G.R., Stevens, M.J., Maznevski, M. and
Stahl, G.K. eds., 2017. Global leadership: Research, practice, and development. Routledge.
Rosenbach, W.E., 2018. Contemporary issues in leadership. Routledge.
Sanders, J.O., 2017. Spiritual leadership: Principles of excellence for every believer. Moody
Publishers.
Western, S., 2019. Leadership: A critical text. SAGE Publications Limited.