Office Politics and Sexual Harassment

Extract

[...] § 1604.11(a) Office politics on the other hand may be defined as the dynamics and struggles for power within organizations. The working environment provides a feasible fighting ground for political hassles witnessed in the corporate social world. This environment does not exist in a vacuum and it is largely shaped by prevailing cultural and social forces. Office politics may therefore further be defined as the prevailing differences between people at work whether in opinions or conflicts of interests, with human communication and relationships being the center stage of each attribute (Garrity 40). [...]

[...] This theory also explains why women, who defy these gendered social and cultural expectations, are often victims of sexual harassment. The theory of reciprocity can also be used to explain why most people seek to manipulate others into doing what they want (Falk & Fischbacher 293). This aspiration allows employees to manipulate the working environment and exchange promotions and incentives for sex instead of basing these achievements on merit. This theory can also be used to explain why employers and supervisors expect and even demand sexual favors for promoting and recruiting employees. [...]

[...] Office Politics and Sexual Harassment The workplace provides a platform in which different personalities come together and work towards a common goal. However, the performance of these individuals and the entire corporation may be derailed by sexual harassment. Within the corporate world, sexual harassment is recognized as a major type of sex discrimination. This creates a hostile work environment in which employers and some employees utilize role and socially defined sexual power to intimidate corporate employees. Sexual harassment: is illegal, impedes team work, and lowers overall corporate performance. [...]

[...] City of Dundee F.2d at 903 held by the Eleventh Circuit led to the stipulation that the only way of determining whether conduct is welcome or not can be guaranteed by ensuring that, "the employee did not incite the need, or solicit for such behavior and that the employee regarded the sexual conduct as unwanted and offensive?" The need for evaluation on a case by case basis also arises from the fact that the evidence provided is often conflicting and the credibility of the parties involved is at issue. Ascertaining the fact that an offense took place should therefore be tackled from different angles. [...]

[...] In the past, there were no legislative measures that could be used to ensure equal opportunities to both genders. As a result male employees would manipulate the male dominated systems to ensure promotions were denied to female counterparts. Every workplace in the early years, and especially after the World War II when the corporate world began making great impact in the country, developed some form of politics that utterly defined each organization as different from the other. In some cases, women could not go beyond certain career points and were forced to engage in dubious activities, such as sexual favors to gain access to some of the higher positions in the corporate hierarchy. [...]