Sexual

Harassment in the
Corporate
Environment
The aim of this report is to discuss the contradictory
subject of sexual harassment in the corporate
environment. It will initially discuss the social
implications of the subject and to bring into play a
range of contrasting moral and ethical standpoints
from within the framework of European moral
thought to the extent of: what advice would these
ethical viewpoints give to the allowing or disallowing
sexual harassment in the workplace.

Sexual Harassment in the Corporate Environment

Contents
Executive Summary

Literature Review

Social Implications

A Cognitive Approach

What Advice the Differing Ethical Problems Would Offer

Immanuel Kant

Utilitarianism

Deontology

Conclusion

References

Executive Summary
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Sexual Harassment in the Corporate Environment

The aim of this report is to discuss the contradictory subject of sexual harassment in the
corporate environment. It will initially discuss the social implications of the subject and to
bring into play a range of contrasting moral and ethical standpoints from within the
framework of European moral thought to the extent of: what advice would these ethical
viewpoints give to the allowing or disallowing sexual harassment in the workplace.

Literature Review
In a paper written by Apodaca & Kleiner (2001), sexual harassment is one of the most
complex and emotional issues to burden employers and HR professionals alike. Since the
EEOC declared that sexual harassment is a violation of the Civil Rights Act 1964, law courts
have struggled to determine what constitutes as sexual harassment, when assessing cases of
claims have been brought to trial, where individuals have believed to have been the victim of
a sexual harassment lawsuit. And in turn to which circumstances have arisen to which
employers may incur financial liability, imposed by the judges whom have examined such
cases.
It is clear, then, that there is a financial imperative to eliminate improper conduct as well as a
moral one to their employees and contractors. Not doing so could result in significantly large
financial liabilities for employers.
In a study carried out by the European Commission, (1998) it revealed that there was an
association between incidents of sexual harassment taking place and the work situation: the
report suggested that cases of sexual harassment occurred more regularly in male dominated
work environments. However, Kohlman, (2004) put forward that sexual harassment both
occurred in male as well as female dominated work situations. Veale and Gold, (1998)

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concluded that sexual harassment tends to be prevalent where there are significant power
differentials between colleges and subordinates.

The Social Implications of Sexual Harassment

A Cognitive Approach
Cognition means knowing. The study of cognitive psychology studies the way in which
humans process information, the treatment of information that comes to a human being and
how this treatment leads to responses. It is the study of internal processes, language, memory,
attention and thinking, (McLeod, 2007).
The subject of sexual harassment bears the problem if its perceptual nature, (Popovich, 1989;
Tannen, 1990; Malovich and Stake, 1990). Men and woman differ in what they perceive as
sexual harassment, (Dunwoody-Miller and Gutek, 1985)
In literature research, there have been two key reasons as to why employers have been
finding it difficult to prevent sexual harassment occurring in their organisations: firstly there
has been the reason put forward by Gender Bias (1992), whom state that sexual harassment is
difficult to police because it contravenes mans primitive desire to attract partners: men and
women will be attracted to each other just as easily in the working environment as anywhere
else. Social implications of sexual harassment bring about the conflicts of the evolution of
male and female reproductive interests (Arnquist and Rowe, 2005). Such conflict stems from
the males reproductive success limited by the access to females, whereas the females
reproductive success depends on the energetic resources available, (Emlen and Oring, 1977).
This, in turn, comes from the asymmetry of costs in males and females. In the case of females
these costs are energetic costs, feeding opportunity costs, risk of preditation as well as risks of
physical injury, thus it reduces the lifespan and increase the chances of mortality (Meader and
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Sexual Harassment in the Corporate Environment

Gilburn, 2008) These evolutionary forces will continue to fuel the sexual conflict between
male and female.
Sexual harassment leads to employers possibly facing large financial liabilities in
compensation claims but there are costs associated with such claims of which go beyond the
dollars and cents which are to burden employers. In a paper written by Pearce & DiLullo
(2001) workplaces which have seen cases of sexual harassment leads to lack of teamwork,
poorer productivity, higher turnover, absenteeism, damaged reputation, lawsuits as well as
recruiting problems. They further state that an employee who has fallen victim to sexual
harassment to feel disempowered, especially if there is no clear and acceptable avenue to
which to report such a case. Employer reputation is extremely important in todays society
where people switch from one employer to another during their careers.
Michaels (1996), talks about the concept of the double society standard. This describes the
scenario that people cannot go about their daily routines, without encountering some sort of
sexual reference in advertising and media however subliminal this may be, therefore creating
a stimuli to encourage sexually-oriented behaviours between people. At the same time,
companies are required to, by law; maintain strict Victorian standards of conduct between
employees and their peers and subordinates for fear of litigation.

Discuss the ethical problem that you have identified and what advice the
different perspectives would offer.
According to Hunt, et al (2010) there is a lack of consensus as to what constitutes as sexual
harassment and is particularly the case when the examining of behaviours and circumstances,
in which sexual harassment has believed to have occurred, comes under the microscope
(Bimrose, 2004)
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Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination as a violation of the Title VII of the Civil
Right Act 1964. It is a form of unwanted behaviour conducted by one person towards another
and is generally focused on gender as supposed to their professional qualifications.
Sexual harassment comes in two forms: these are quid pro quo and the hostile working
environment. The case of Mentor v. Vonson 1986 set the standard for quid pro quo. Quid pro
quo describes the scenario of an individual putting a certain condition, or a desired outcome,
in place in return for something of a sexual nature i.e. promotion, retention. In a paper written
by Hunt et al, (2010), quid pro quo is a form of sexual harassment whereby an individual in a
corporate setting will make either an implicit or explicit move towards another individual in
return of a desired outcome, whereas the hostile working environment occurs where
individuals within a work environment make suggestive remarks of a sexual nature, jokes of
a sexual nature, or making comments, drawings, cartoons of a sexual nature towards a certain
individual such as a colleague. Smolensky and Kleiner, (2003) state that the subject of the
HWE has been widely debated upon in terms of what constitutes as the HWE. This form of
sexual harassment is more subtle than its counterpart and is often seen as a grey area of
sexual harassment when examining cases of this nature.
Sexual Harassment from the Perspective of Immanuel Kant
Kants philosophy was that each person thinks of themselves as a rational creature who is
entitled to dignity and respect (Bowie, 2000). The Employment Equality (Sex
Discrimination) Regulation defines sexual harassment as unwanted conduct (weather verbal
or non-verbal or physical contact) that has the cause or effect of violating an individuals
dignity. It could be argued that this scenario contravenes Kants view on sexual gratification.
In a paper written by Schrage (2005), Kant argues that sexual desire is an appetite for another
human being, or, is an object of appetite for another. In writing, he stated that:
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a person becomes a thing and can be treated and used as such by every one. This
is the only case in which a human being is designed by nature as the Object of
anothers enjoyment. Sexual desire is at the root of it; and that is why we are
ashamed of it, and why all strict moralists, and those who had pretensions to be
regarded as saints, sought to suppress and extirpate it. (Kant, 1963: 1634)

His philosophy is that any sexual act reduces another human being to an object for another
persons enjoyment violates the rule for morality. The rule of morality encourages us to treat
others as ends in themselves and not as mere instruments. The Employment Equality (Sex
Discrimination) Regulations further defines sexual harassment as an act with the effect of
creating a degrading, hostile, humiliating or offensive environment for the victim.
Kant then goes on to say that there is one condition to which one is free to make use of their
sexual desire. He says that this depends on the right to dispose over the other person as a
whole but questions how one obtains these rights. He answers this questions that by giving
the other person the same right over ones body in equal measure. However, this happens
only in marriage in the form of a matrimony agreement, by which they grant each other right
to the other person, by surrendering their body to the other person, with the complete right of
disposal over the other persons body, (NYtimes, 2012)
The Case of Sexual Harassment from a Utilitarian Perspective
The Utilitarianism view is a consequentialist branch and is one of the better-known views of
consequential ethical viewpoints. Utilitarianism is the doctrine that the morally correct course
of action that results in bringing about the greatest good for the greatest number, regardless of
the distribution of benefits and burdens, should be chosen over alternative paths.
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Utilitarianism is a theory that defines morality by net maximization of expected utility of all
parties affected by the decision or action initiated by the agent (Wofford, 2012).
Utilitarianism, as defined by Utilitarian, (2012), is the philosophy that has the policy that an
action or a decision carried out by an agent is the right decision if it creates as much or more
of an increase in happiness to all those affected than it would have by an alternative action,
and is the wrong decision or action if it does not have this affect.
Further literature reviews by The Columbia Electronic Encyclopaedia (2007) states that the
theory of utilitarianism is the theory that the rightness or the wrongness of an action is
determined by its effect on bringing about the most happiness to the maximum amount of
people affected by that decision.
It was John Stuart Mill (1806 1873) who developed the definition of utilitarianism as that:
actions are right to the degree that they tend to promote the greatest good for the greatest
number of people. Utilitarianism as a place in ethics looks at the consequences of the act and
not on the motives or nature of the agent, (Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, 2008)
The utilitarian viewpoint allows us to consider the immediate and less immediate
consequences of the agents actions and to look beyond the self-interests and to consider the
impartial interests of all persons affected by ones actions. The utilitarian viewpoint offers a
simple way of deciding the morally right course of action to take, which is to choose the
course of action which gives the greatest amount of benefits once costs have been taken into
account.
Carrying out a sexual harassing act may not be the best course of action when the act of
refraining from carrying out such an act towards an individual may have better results bas
better consequences for the team.

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A Deontological Perspective
The deontological theory of philosophy goes that people should maintain their obligations
and duties to others when analysing an ethical dilemma. (Ridley, 1998). Kants theory is said
to be an example of deontological philosophy as it examines the nature of the actions the
agent initiates rather than the outcomes of those actions: deontology looks as the inputs rather
than the outcomes versus utilitarianism (which focuses on the consequences) (Wofford,
2012).
Kant stated that the consequences do not matter as far as moral evaluation is concerned. One
categorical imperative focuses on the respect for human beings that they should never be
merely used because their value is never merely instrumental. Of course, they can be useful
but must always, at the same time, be treated with respect also as an end, (Wofford, 2012)

Conclusion
Feary (1994) states that sexual harassment will only be resolved when the corporate world
recognises that such behaviour is a moral problem and provides moral education for
employees. Hunt et al (2010, p 667) state that organisations must undoubtedly adapt a
culture which does not tolerate such acts between individuals within their corporate setting.
Further supported by Dougherty and Smythe (2004), says that the EEOC argue that the best
way to prevent sexual harassment is by communicating to all employees that sexual
harassment is an unacceptable way of personal conduct and to ensure an organisational
culture that does not promote such behaviour is fully implemented in all areas of the
organisation.

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References
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Arnqvist, G. and Rowe, L. (2005) Sexual Conflict. Pricetown University Press.
Berdahl, J. and Moore, C. (2006) Workplace harassment: double jepordy for minority
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Bimrose, J. (2004) Sexual Harassment in the workplace - an ethical delemma for career
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Bowie, N. (2000) A Kantian theory of leadership. The Leadership and Organizational
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Emlen, S. and Oring, L. (1977) Ecology, sexual selection, and the evolution of mating
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Gutek, B. (1985) Sex and the Workplace. San Fransico: Jossey-Bass, p.NK.
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Kohlman, M. (2004) Person or Position? The Demographics of sexual harassment in the

workplace. Equal Opportunities Internaltional, 23 (3-5), p.143 - 62.
Meader, S. and Gilburn, A. (2008) Asymmetrical costs of sexual conflict in the seaweed fly.
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Pearce, J. and DiLullo, S. (1996) A Business policy statement model for eliminating sexual
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