CONFLICT MANAGEMENT AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE WORKPLACE
As increasing numbers of women have entered the work place during recent decades, a relatively new phenomenon, sexual harassment, has become more commonplace. Sexual harassment is now a common occurrence in business as women and men seek to together in an environment that does not cross lines of propriety. Responding to sexual harassment requires successful conflict negotiation techniques as well as an organization-wide commitment to ridding the workplace of such harassment. This type of harassment is not limited to the United States, and as the workforce in general has become more global, the issue of recognizing and handling sexual harassment has become more difficult as cultural expectations and differences come into play. The result is a confusing and sometimes contradictory work place where employees and employers try to find ways to eliminate sexual harassment while building a team atmosphere where diversity is recognized and cultivated. This research examines the issue of sexual harassment, ways in which conflict management can be used to approach the problem, and considers a situation in a Hong Kong university where sexual harassment took place.
Harassment may consist of telling dirty jokes, having managers comment on their personal appearance, or the more straightforward threat of having an intimate relationship with the boss or losing a job--or some other desired result. In these cases, women can bring suit against the company, but there is the difficult question of what constitutes sexual harassment, and what does not. In a case in Florida, a judge ruled that pornographic posters did contribute to a hostile work environment. However, in Los Angeles, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) brought a lawsuit against the Fire Department, which held that a ban on a captain's reading of Playboy violated his First Amendment rights--the ACLU had applauded th...