Practical implementation of Human Resources theories, strategies, and models is not always easy. It can be a challenging and exciting task at the same time. Dealing with a hostile work environment and sexual harassment is one of the priories for Human Resources as it can become either a success story or a missed opportunity.
Challenge
Current economic hardships demand efficient management. Describing nowadays business trends, Christensen (2006) states that “social and business values around the world are changing dramatically, making it increasingly challenging to predict the consumer, workforce, and environment of the future” (p. 1). Hence, factors that reduce workforce effectiveness, namely sexual harassment, should be excluded from business practice.
Theoretically, as stated by Strate, Tae Hwa, and Leidlein (2009) most managers “adhere to a code of ethics, such as the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) code and various EEOC regulations and guidelines” (p. 62). In one of the IT companies, a working team consisted of 10 men and two women. There was no restricted dress code, and the women wore very provoking dresses in summer. Eventually, it created a hostile work environment, not for the women but for the men. None of the male workers commented on the situation or harassed the women, but the effectiveness of the teamwork dropped significantly.
Actions
Most team managers prefer to deal with problems without turning to the Human Resources department to save time. Hence, an overloaded work manager hesitated to address the problem as there were no complaints from the male or the female workers. As time passed, the effectiveness of the team was steadily decreasing. Moreover, the manager realized that eventually, this situation can lead to sexual jokes, touching, unwelcome pressure for sex, or even physical assault and demands for sex (Strate et al., 2009). Finally, he decided not to follow EEOC guidelines as it was time-consuming and chose an informal talk with the women.
Result
Consequently, the women reported sexual harassment to Human Resources and accused the manager. There was no written harassment policy in the company, but the issue had to be dealt with. By Ferris, Hall, Royle, and Martocchio (2004) “HRM systems are critically linked to the attitudes and behaviors of its workforce, and both the climate and reputation of the organization” (243). So, it took much time and effort for the manager to explain the situation. Consequently, Human Resources together with Legal Department designed a written policy about the dress code. This task was also challenging because as Guy (2010) states “peoples of vastly different heritages live and work together” (p. 173). Fortunately, as Farazmand (2009) claims “the world seems to have become smaller, with more people able to interact easily across the globe” (1007). Hence, both departments found the information needed and created the policies. Furthermore, they decided to conduct seminars about sexual harassment. During the seminars, the Human Resource department explained existing laws and regulations to the employees.
Benefit
According to Ivancevich (2013), effective Human Resources Management should be not only “action-oriented” but also value people, think “globally” and “provide for competent, well-motivated employees” (p. 5). Therefore, the situation with sexual harassment was a good lesson for the company. They used it for the best, improved work environment, and effectiveness of their employees. Women felt secure, and men did not have disturbing work environment factors anymore. This story made top management of the company reconsider some of their old practices and policies that did not let the company develop.
References
Christensen, R. (2006). Roadmap to strategic HR: Turning a great idea into business reality. New York, NY: AMACON.
Farazmand, A. (2009). Building administrative capacity for the age of rapid globalization: A modest prescription for the twenty-first century. Public Administration Review, 69(6), 1007-1020.
Ferris, G. R., Hall, A. T., Royle, M. T., & Martocchio, J. J. (2004). Theoretical development in the field of human resources management: Issues and challenges for the future. Organizational Analysis, 12(3), 231-254.
Guy, M. E. (2010). When Diversity Makes a Difference. Public Integrity, 12(2), 173-183.
Ivancevich, J. M. (2013). Human resource management (12th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill/Irwin.
Strate, J. M., Tae Hwa, J., & Leidlein, J. (2009). Sexual Harassment! Public Integrity, 12(1), 61-75.