final submission. rmt
TRANSCRIPT
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Aggression, Violence and Harassmentfaced by individuals in an organization
SUBMITTED TO: Ms. AISHA EHSAN
SUBMITTED BY: ANIS UL HASSAN
SHEIKH HANAN ELAHI
RAZA MURAD
SUBMITTED ON: 03-Oct-12
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LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION:
AGGRESSION:
Aggression refers to any behavior that is hostile, destructive, and/or violent. Generally,
aggressive behavior has the potential to inflict injury or damage to the target person or object.
Examples:
Physical Objects Property Destruction Verbal Threats Self-Harming behaviors.
VIOLENCE:
The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another
person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of
resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation.
Examples:
Intimidating, harassing, bullying, belligerent, or other inappropriate and aggressivebehavior. Numerous conflicts with customers, co-workers, or supervisors. Bringing a weapon to the workplace (unless necessary for the job)
HARASSMENT:
Unwanted conduct on the grounds of race, gender, sexual orientation.
Examples:
Any behavior that demeans, embarrasses, humiliates, annoys, alarms or verbally abuses aperson and that is known or would be expected to be unwelcome. This includes words,gestures, intimidation, bullying, or other inappropriate activities.
Making sexual comments, or abusing someone's race, religion or sexual orientation.
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BACKGROUND:
1. Workplace Aggression:
LeBlanc, M.M. and Barling, J. (2004) observes that members of the public or
organizational outsiders have the largest contribution in workplace aggression. Internal
employees of the organization rarely beat their colleagues to death, but they are mostly
found in mentally torturing them by physical means of beating, mugging, etc. A good
number of these internal members actions are non-staged acts such as making noisy
sounds, backbiting or cross-talking about their colleagues.It is exhibited that unfairness
& inequality and poor management have been the frequent causes of the members
aggression. The author concludes that these aggression-hit people has shown signs of
weak health and negative emotions (engaged in a disturbed state of mind) which has
marked a drop off in their productivity caused by unconstructive behaviors.[1]
2. Workplace Bullying:
The universal competition has given birth to numerous problems for the managers one of
which is bullying in the workplace. The furious increase in the rate of change on the
working complications has dragged bullying as a common act inside the working
environment. The respective article allows to look into the fundamentals from where
bullying has emerged with the help ofnature which means that the habit of bullying is
largely affected by the innate genetic make-up of an individual as well as nurture
which means that one develops this habit by getting affected by his surroundings or other
natural environment.Furthermore, the managers are taught to measure and look upon the
acts of bullying in large-scale organizations. (Harvey et al., 2008)[2]
3. Workplace Harassment: This donates in spoiling the workplace. The study reveals
that harassment is emerged on the grounds of religion, belief, disability, race or other
differences as per US legal definition (Carbo, 2008), and may also be considered
illegitimate in the case of unjust outcome, poor decisions of availing a certain job like
termination or demotion. Sexual harassment is a branch of workplace harassment
issues recognized with gender/sex lines. [3] (Fitzgerald et al., 1999, p. 249)[4] states
many of the four behaviors of sexual harassmentsexist behavior, sexual hostility,
unwanted sexual attention, and sexual coercion.The definition says Sexist behaviors
are experiences that can be considered primarily discriminatory based on ones sex
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This partly covered definition can make distinction between antecedents and outcomes
of gender discrimination versus harassment somehow complex. The rest of the three
definitions describe harassment in a more sexual manner.
Conclusion:
Workplace violence is a complex and common issue faced by almost all the organizations
that has grabbed the minds of vast majority of people, health experts, psychotherapists
and other law-enforcement professionals. The extended variety of acts that list under this
rubric culture include all violent behaviorand rapidly increasing threats of violence, as
well as any demeanor that can result in physical injury, damage to property, induced
sense of fear, and otherwise impede the normal course of work. Threats, harassment,
violence, intimidation, bullying, stalking, intimated partner violence, physical or sexual
assaults, and homicides list within this category. [5]
Workplace Violence real life incident:
Dimoff, T.A., president at a local firm in Ohio, found a member of the organization
threatening to his colleague that he would go home and get his gun (out of frustration).
The HR department immediately responded to this unfavorable situation whereby Dimoff
communicated the worker in person and talked the matter out by and settled it. The
worker was also provided with counseling in order to calm him down for the good sake
of the organization in future. (Stephenie Chen, 2010).
When the matter was further investigated, the results revealed that this person was over-
burdened with office work and had no leisure time which means that he was equipped
with many office chores and had less time to rest. He had many responsibilities which
forced him to burst out into frustration and behave in such indifferent way. It is
recommended that the employees get free time for leisure activities in order to get an
effective output. [6]
Workplace Bullying real life incident:
Ron Thomas:
As I opened the door, I saw her with her back turned and shoulders slumped.
When she turned around, I could see that she had been crying. I felt bad but it made
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me realize that I am not the only one who gets verbally abused. The kicker was that
she was a senior level person.
This incident took place to a senior lady manager who was insulted by her senior
manager in a room full of people.
When Ron Thomas interrogated the matter, he was told that everyone in the organization
has to undergo such behavior. Gradually, many workers in the office are seen shouting
and affected by the unjust behavior of the seniors. The disease has charged the employees
of the organization with minute mental disorders.
We hear many such complaints from many employees belonging to different
organizations, especially large-scale organizations. The seniors dont realize, but they
should revise their attitudes towards their subordinates. This strict manner affects the
production and environment of the organization in a very negative way. Such sort of
behavior only brings devastation and destruction in the performance of the organization,
and may result in increasing complains, unhygienic behavior, lower interactions,
communication gaps, high-turnover rates and unpleasant environments. [7]
Workplace Harassment Real Life Incident:
According to Wikipedia (2010), the suicide of Phoebe Prince (dated as January 14,
2010) emerged as charging some teenagers with few obligations. They had to face
criminal trial for charges including statutory rape and civil rights violations, as well as to
the passing of stricter anti-bullying legislation by the Massachusetts state legislature. It
further points out that Prince changed his designation to South Hadley, Massachusetts,
from Ireland. The lines of the newspaper said, Her suicide, after suffering months
of harassment from school classmates, brought international attention to the problem of
bullying in US schools.Meeting the date of March 2010, a committee shaped up for the
cause of her death. The Massachusetts legislation emerged as on May 3, 2010. The
accused teenagers were then brought into custody to face the trials in 2011 with reference
to the trial hearings on 15th September, 2010. The accused group was found guilty on 5th
May, 2011. [8]
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TABLE[9]
: 21st
century bullying.
Comparison of peer and bullying conflict
(Treadway et.al., 2008)
Some people are not affected by bullying like the others; the trauma throughwhich everyone goes is different. Different people respond in different ways to
bullying. Some people are not effected as deeply as the others. Some people are
so tormented that they end up taking their own life to escape the misery others
have put them through.
http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-bulletin/january2011/workplace_violence_prevention
It is obvious that the physical disability is not the main reason for people being forced to leave
their jobs (Vickers, 2009, as cited in LaRocca et al., 1982). Recently, bullying at work has
become a major issue and people are trying to recognize it as problem that is troubling most
organizations(Vickers, 2009, as cited in Einarsen et al., 1994; Hoel et al., 2003). Bullying can
be extremely harmful, it's effects on the human personality are shockingly devastating. Bullying
includes being hostile or threatening someone verbally, nonverbally, or harassing them(Vickers,
2009, as cited in Yamada, 2000, pp. 478; Felson, 2000, pp. 10) . Other ways to bully include
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lying, cheating, bad-mouthing, using unethical language, increasing workload unnecessarily,
stereotyping(Vickers, 2009, as cited in Gabriel, 1998; Farrell, et al., 1999).[10]
It has been argued that three responses have been observed from organizational representatives
when it comes to bullying: (1) see no evil, (2) hear no evil, and (3) speak no evil (Ferris, 2004,
pp. 391). The see no evil was found in organizations where representatives had decided not to
interfere with bullying or any other unacceptable activity being carried out; slowly this negative
behavior became somewhat acceptable, when in actuality it was not the case. Also, the employee
being bullied was blamed for not being able to defend him/herself and for being a weakling. [11]
Everyone should be educated about bullying so its impact on the organizations is lessened.
Bullying does not have a legal status, as yet, although some states have passed bills that condemn
it. However, there are still many organizations that are not taking bullying as a serious issue,
despite of its growing awareness.
STRATEGIES TO PREVENT HARASSMENT IN WORKPLACE:[12]
Strategies for Prevention
There are a number of steps that you can take to reduce the risk of sexual harassment occurring
in your workplace.
Adopt a clear sexual harassment policy. In your employee handbook, you should havea policy devoted to sexual harassment. That policy should:
define sexual harassment state in no uncertain terms that you will not tolerate sexual harassment state that you will discipline or fire any wrongdoers set out a clear procedure for filing sexual harassment complaints state that you will investigate fully any complaint that you receive, and State that you will not tolerate retaliation against anyone who complains about
sexual harassment.
Train employees. At least once a year, conduct training sessions for employees. Thesesessions should teach employees what sexual harassment is, explain that employees have
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a right to a workplace free of sexual harassment, review your complaint procedure, and
encourage employees to use it.
Train supervisors and managers. At least once a year, conduct training sessions forsupervisors and managers that are separate from the employee sessions. The sessions
should educate the managers and supervisors about sexual harassment and explain how todeal with complaints.
http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-bulletin/january2011/workplace_violence_prevention
PREVENTING WORKPLACE VIOLENCE:[13]
1. IMPLEMENT SECURITY MEASURES:
Security measures can range from a simple locked door to a full time security guard. Companies
should install security systems that adequately ensure employees safety.
The following actions can help to reduce work place violence:
* Make high-risk areas known and visible to more people.
* Install good external lighting.
* Use drop safes to minimize cash on hand.
* Install silent alarms and/or surveillance cameras.
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* Provide training in conflict resolution and non violent response behaviour.
* Have policy/security routinely check on workers.
* Close establishments during high-risk hours, late at night or early in the morning.
DUTIES OF EMPLOYEES:
* Instruct employees to:
Report any unescorted visitors To establish and follow good opening and closing procedures. To use all security devices available, such as locks, lights and alarms.
2. HIRE CAUTIOUSLY:
An important step to minimize workplace violence is to minimize the chance ofhiring a violent worker.
First the employer should carefully review the employment applicationlooking for any irregularities in the applicants employment or educational
background. Second, because there is a high likelihood that the violent worker has
experienced some sort of problem at a previous employer, complete reference
checks are critical.
Whitmore and Kleiner (2005)illustrate that Violence in the work place has continued to
increase in recent years and, unfortunately there is no reason to believe the trend will sub side.
This fact places employers in a difficult position. They must balance their obligations to ensure asafe work environment with restrictions that limit their ability to weed out individuals most
likely to engage in violent behavior. Companies need to be pro active without being over
reactive.[14]
RESEARCH : (source: FBI)
Research has shown that many of these situations are over in minutes and law enforcement may not arrive
in time. As a result, employees have to become stakeholders in their own safety and security and develop
a survival mind-set comprised of awareness, preparation, and rehearsal. Vigorous prevention programs,
timely intervention, and appropriate responses by organizations and their employees will contribute
significantly to a safe and secure work environment.
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http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-bulletin/january2011/workplace_violence_prevention
Critical Analysis:
We have used a quantitative approach, i.e., deductive approach to complete our research on the
issues faced by the individuals within an organization. Studying the facts and figures, we have
also learnt many issues that bother an individual in his professional career such as bullying, and
other inappropriate measures carried out of frustration whereby aggressive, violent behaviors and
incidents of sexual harassment have been discussed in detail. Following criticism would hinder
the birth of all these problems:
There could be organizations having a different department for fresh recruits whokeep a strict eye on each of them to save these individuals from bullies. Recruits are hired carefully, keeping in view their capability of soft skills and
conceptual skills that would help in maintaining a peaceful environment
guarding their people from major frustrations that may give rise to number of
issues.
Providing the employees with monetary and non-monetary benefits would have apositive impact on the environment of the workplace free from any aggressive
or violent behaviors Countries like Saudi Arabia would render least results of sexual harassments as
women there are not allowed to work and their controlled crime rate would also
hinder the rise of any experiences which could be harmful to the society.
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REVIEW IN THE LIGHT OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION:
This world has become a global village and we get to see real competition with the ever
increasing complexities and complications in it with the passage of time. A variety of problems
have emerged infecting all the individuals, but we have highlighted very few problems often
found in the workplace environment. We have talked about aggression, violence and harassment
in the workplace which are supposed to be the initial causes of crashing of the economies as by
resulting in the negative balance of trade & balance of payments (BOPs), rising of
unemployment and hence increase in inflation rate which has caused the under-developed
economies like Pakistan as to weaken the purchasing power of the individuals of the region.
This is because when the producers (workers) are not considered and their needs are over-looked
so it obviously causes de-motivation in them which results in a decreased output of the
organization (reduction in the output of the economy). Its strictly recommended adopt a kind
attitude with your subordinates if you need to improve the performance of your business, hence
putting on a positive impact on the whole economy. For this, the senior managers of thecompany or organization have to be lenient with their subordinates and should provide them with
(non)monetary benefits, performance based commissions and recognitions and especially the
leisure time to relax themselves which would benefit the organization and later, benefit the
economy. These seem to be very little problems but when they rise at national level, it comes out
as a disaster in the economies. Therefore, we may interpret that for bringing a change in the
society or the economy, we have to bring a change in ourselves by improving our own attitudes.
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REFERENCES:
Carbo, J. A. (2008). The right to dignity at work: Critical management studies and
corporate social responsibility insights into workplace bullying. 70. Available from Oclc
Dissertations database. [3]
Ferris, P., (2004, August 23), 'A preliminary typology of organizational response to
allegations of workplace bullying: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil', British Journal of
Guidance & Counseling, Routledge, Vol. 32, No. 3, pp. 391-94. [11]
Harvey, M., Tradway, D., Heames, J.T., and Duke, A. (2009). Bullying in the 21st Century
Global Organization: An Ethical Perspective. Journal of Business Ethics 85:27-40. [9]
Larsen, S. E., & Fitzgerald, L. F. (2010). PTSD Symptoms and Sexual Harassment: The
Role of Attributions and Perceived Control. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. [4]
LeBlanc, M.M. and Barling, J. (2004), Workplace Aggression, Current Directions in
Psychological Science, Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 9-12 [1]
Vickers, M. H., (2009), 'Bullying, disability and work: A case study of workplace bullying',
Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal,
Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Vol. 4 No. 3, 2009, pp. 259-67. [10]
Whitmore, L., Kleiner, B.H. , (1999),"Violence in the workplace", Management Research
News, Vol. 22. Iss: 8 pp. 1217. [14]
Other Sources:
By Stephanie Chen, CNN | August 23, 2010 [6]
http://edition.cnn.com/[7]
http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-
bulletin/january2011/workplace_violence_prevention[5]
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/preventing-sexual-harassment-workplace-
29851.html[12]
Tips to prevent workplace violence journalstar.com/article_2bda9f46-c734-11df-a54f-
001cc4c002e0.html [13]
Wikipedia (2010), Suicide of Phoebe Prince, [online], Available from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_of_Phoebe_Prince, [Accessed on 26th February, 2012]
[8]
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