Inappropriate Behavior - Research Paper Example

Inappropriate Behaviour Introduction The behaviour of the employees in the workplace is an important element of consideration for maintaining healthy work culture and good working environment in the workplace. Any form of behaviour that is not in line with the policies of the organization or that disturbs the atmosphere at the workplace causing obstacles in the course of work may be treated as inappropriate behaviour. The case of Marwan’s behaviour with the female junior actor may be treated as an inappropriate behaviour as it falls under the purview of sexual harassment under the civil rights law of the nation. In this piece of work, the actions taken by the studio authorities against Marwan due to his inappropriate behaviour and the probable responses of Marwan, union and the female actor during the proceedings in the court of law have been reviewed. Civil rights laws that prohibit Marwan’s conduct The civil rights laws in the United States were set up with the framing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. The law condemns and disapproves any form of discrimination against the minority sections of the communities and the women. The law has provisions for safekeeping the civil rights of the women and the minorities. It enforces punishment on the offenders who engages into activities that lead to the violation of the civil rights of the public at large. The activities of gender discrimination, racial segregations, any form of bias or sexual harassments are prohibited under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the context of Marwan’s case, the clause of sexual harassment in the civil rights laws is important for the purpose of discussion. Under the Civil Rights Act, the sexual harassment is explained as the activity of applying force in sexual form against the individual’s will or to gain undue sexual favours by false promises (Loevy 46). Sexual harassment may occur due to a wide range of activities like abuses or assaults that are sexual in nature. An individual may be harassed sexually by his or her senior colleagues, fellow workers, mates or an unknown individual related or not related with the profession. The organizations irrespective of their sizes and nature of activity view sexual harassment as a punishable offence under the civil rights laws. These laws prohibit Marwan’s conduct of sexual harassment towards his fellow junior colleague who has just been hired. Marwan has been playing the character role of a pirate in the Studio Five Theme Park for a long time and has earned popularity for himself. The junior artists view him with respect and looks to learn the tricks of the trade from him. When the newly hired female colleague came in proximity to Marwan during professional work, Marwan even went to the extent of grabbing her breast which was an act of violation of the civil laws prohibiting sexual harassment (Paludi and Barickman 74). The civil rights laws prohibit Marwan’s conduct of sexual harassment. The conduct of Marwan in case of his interaction with the guests of the park is also prohibited under the civil rights laws. Although the female guests took Marwan’s behaviour in good spirit, it is highly probable that any of the female guests might one day complain against Marwan’s approach while posing for pictures and photographs. Type of sexual harassment committed by Marwan and the legal nature of his employment The sexual harassment committed by Marwan has been quite offensive in nature. Marwan’s performance in the role of a pirate in the Studio Five Theme Park has been appreciated to a great extent by the audience and the guests who have been watching Marwan performing over a period of some time now. Marwan’s behaviour has not been appropriate while interacting with the guests of the park after the performance is over. Marwan has the tendency to become cosy with the female guests of the park. He even went to the extent of placing his hands on the back of the ladies while posing for photographs. This behaviour of Marwan was inappropriate in nature as the female gusts of the park did not expect Marwan to engage such kind of unwelcome conduct (Boland 65). The behaviour of Marwan towards his junior fellow colleague who was female and newly hired was very offensive and could be treated as an act of sexual harassment without any debate under the civil rights laws of the country. Marwan not only grabbed her breast but also threatened to get her fired if she refused to go on a date with Marwan. This was an inappropriate behaviour of Marwan under the context and was totally not welcomed by the female junior colleague. This is a serious case of sexual harassment committed by Marwan and was strictly prohibited under the civil rights laws of the country. The complaint by the junior female artist against Marwan led to his termination from the contract of performance in the Studio Five Theme Park. The legal nature of employment of Marwan was contractual in nature. Marwan was a senior performer in the Studio Five Theme Park and was bound by the contract of agreement for the role played by him in the character of a pirate (Achampongm 82). The provisions of the law led to the termination of the legal contract as a punishment to the act of the sexual harassment conducted by Marwan. Actions and steps against Marwan The act of sexual harassment of the junior female actor who was newly hired for performance in the plays of the Studio Five Theme Park was not welcomed by the victim. Apart from the sexual harassment which included offensive activities of sex discrimination, grabbing of breast of the junior female co-worker, Marwan also threatened to get the lady fired if she refused to go a date with him. The complaint made by the junior female actor against Marwan was viewed seriously by the management of the Studio Five Theme Park. The actions taken by the Studio Five Theme Park after receipt of the complaint against Marwan led to the termination of Marwan due to such punishable offence. I agree with this action of the management of Studio Five Theme Park in firing Marwan which was in line with the provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Apart from the action taken by the Studio Five Theme Park against the inappropriate behaviour of Marwan, I would also recommend some other actions that are supposed to be taken by the Studio Five Theme Park authority. Before the termination of Marwan, the authority of the Studio Five Theme Park should take action of exposing the actual image of Marwan to the public and the guests of the Theme Park. This would enable the guests to be cautious about Marwan in future and would establish a fair image of the Studio as they do not tolerate the activities of sexual harassment. Apart from this, the authority should take necessary action for imposing considerable monetary fines for the incident of sexual harassment. These actions would be exemplary in order to warn their actors in refraining from the activities of sexual harassment (Swift 53). The actions also establish fair and transparent policies of the studio against the offences related to sexual harassment. Marwan’s allegations and probable court proceedings Considering the case of sexual harassment of the junior female actor by Marwan, there has been allegation and counter allegation from both the parties. However, the positions of both the parties needed to be proved during the time of proceedings in the court. The complaint of sexual harassment by the junior female actor was contested by Marwan that it was a conspiracy of the studio authorities in connivance with the female actor in removing him from the role that was being played him over the years. Marwan would try to establish that this is a case of discrimination against his disability amidst several able artists performing in the Studio Five Theme Park. This conspiracy was alleged to have been planned to undermine the success level and the popularity of Marwan. These points would put forward in the court in order to contest the complaint lodged by the female actor for her sexual harassment by Marwan. In order to prove their point in the court, the Studio Five Theme park authority would need to gather evidences from the long period of contract during which Marwan has been playing the character role of a pirate. The studio authority would look to establish that the discrimination of Marwan’s disability is not valid as Marwan has been treated with respect and he has enjoyed the position of seniority over long period of time. Also, Marwan has never complained against the discrimination shown against his disability until the case of sexual harassment and his subsequent termination. The studio authorities would also need to gather evidences from the past experiences of the female co-workers and the female gusts who have been surprised earlier in the Theme Park while giving pose for photographs with Marwan (Levy and Paludi 25). These ladies gusts who at that time did not respond due to the suddenness of Marwan’s actions could be presented in the court and their statements could be recorded in order to establish the characteristic behaviour of Marwan. These points could prove to be favourable for the authorities of the Studio Five Theme Park during the proceedings of this case in the court. Defences of Studio Five against the female employee The Studio Five Theme Park was unaware of the inappropriate behaviour of Marwan over the years. There may be a case where the female employee could look to sue the authority of Studio Five due to the conduct of the senior actor, Marwan for which the female actor had to undergo the attacks of sexual harassment. This would hold the authorities liable for not being able to protect the female junior actors from the senior ones in the studio. In order to protect their image, the studio would also need to prepare their defence in response to this allegation of the female junior actor in the court of law. First of all, the studio authorities would require accepting all responsibilities of protecting the newly hired as well as other female actors in the workplace or during the time of shows. However, the studio authorities would also mention that although Marwan has engaged into unwelcome behaviour at the time of talking photographs with the female gusts in the park, they have not received any official complaint prior to this from either the female gusts or the female co-workers. The studio authorities would defend their position in this case saying that in absence of any official complaint against Marwan’s inappropriate behaviour, it was not fair for them to take any step against the individual. The female gusts who were surprised earlier due to the inappropriate behaviour of Marwan were either overwhelmed with Marwan or kept quiet due to the suddenness of the incident. Thus the studio authorities assumed that everything was being taken in good spirit between Marwan and the female guests. However, the authorities would defend themselves by responding that they have organization policies and code of practices against sexual harassments and gender discrimination for which they would accept the complaint of the female actor on a serious note and would take necessary action against Marwan (Paludi and Barickman 95). Impact of collective bargaining agreement between a union with Studio Five Considering the case that Marwan was a member of the union that had collective bargaining agreement with the Studio Five Theme Park, the previous scenarios of the actions and defence in the court proceedings are likely to be modified. This is due to the impact of collective bargaining of the union in favour of Marwan in this case of sexual harassment. The union in which Marwan is a member would look to put forward important points that would restore the best interests of Marwan in terms of his occupation and image in the community. After the complaint is filed by the female actor who has been newly hired, the union would enter into discussion and negotiations with the studio authorities before reaching a conclusion on the acceptance of the complaint and the trueness of the complaint filed by the female actor. The negotiations would be carried out by the union on behalf of Marwan with the authorities of Studio Five. The union would stress on the fact that Marwan has been playing the character of a pirate in the studio for a long time now and have gained popularity among the guests of the park (Tomal and Schilling 84). There has been so single complaint against Marwan during his long time in this occupation. The union would tend to prove that Marwan is not at fault and that it may a conspiracy against Marwan saying that he is being discriminated on the basis of his disabilities and the female actor is trying to pull him down from the level of his popularity. Company policies, procedures, and actions against harassment of employees The companies should take care of their employees and protect them from various forms of discrimination in the workplace. The companies adopt policies against gender discrimination, racial discrimination, workplace bias, etc. in order to provide the employees with a safe working environment where they could perform and excel. The procedures that are adopted for notifying the employees include introduction of relevant clauses in the appointment letter mentioning enforcement and punishments for violation of the policies against discrimination (Shrier 73). During the time of daily work, the information on the policies against discrimination and the actionable on the part of the employees are reinforced through mail communications, team meetings, HR conferences, etc. In case of violation of the policies and activities leading to harassment, actions are taken by the companies for suing the individual in the court of law. The offender is liable to be terminated for activities of discrimination at the workplace. Moreover, punishment and monetary fines are imposed on the offenders. The victims are looked after by the companies and are compensated for the losses incurred. The companies provide exemplary punishments to the offenders in order to restore a workplace environment that is free from any form of discrimination (Solotoff and Kramer 35). Conclusion Marwan became popular among the guests who visited Studio Five and watched him performing in the role of a pirate. During the photograph sessions, the female guests were surprised by the embarrassing poses given by Marwan. However, there was no complaint as the guests were stopped by the suddenness of Marwan’s behaviour. When Marwan grabbed the breast of a female junior actor, the complaint was lodged against him for the first time due to which the studio authorities terminated Marwan. Marwan also had the option of arguing in his own favour and contest the decision of termination as an act of discrimination towards his disability due to the prosthetic leg. The collective bargaining agreement with the union is also likely to impact the case of sexual harassment against Marwan. Work Cited Achampongm, Francis. Workplace Sexual Harassment Law: Principles, Landmark Developments, and Framework for Effective Risk Management. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999. Print. Boland, Mary. Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. Texas: SphinxLegal, 2005. Print. Levy, Anne. and Michele, Paludi. Workplace sexual harassment. New York: Prentice Hall PTR, 2002. Print. Loevy, Robert. The Civil Rights Act of 1964: The Passage of the Law That Ended Racial Segregation. New York: SUNY Press, 1997. Print. Paludi, Michele. and Richard, Barickman. Academic and Workplace Sexual Harassment: A Resource Manual. New York: SUNY Press, 1991. Print. Paludi, Michele. and Richard, Barickman. Sexual Harassment, Work, and Education: A Resource Manual for Prevention, Second Edition. New York: SUNY Press, 1998. Print. Shrier, Diane. Sexual Harassment in the Workplace and Academia: Psychiatric Issues. Washington D.C.: American Psychiatric Pub, 1996. Print. Solotoff, Lawrence. and Henry, Kramer. Sex Discrimination and Sexual Harassment in the Work Place. New York: Law Journal Press, 1994. Print. Swift, Evangeline. Sexual Harassment in the Federal Workplace: Trends, Progress, Continuing Challenges. Washington D.C.: DIANE Publishing, 1996. Print. Tomal, Daniel. and Craig, Schilling. Managing Human Resources and Collective Bargaining. Maryland: R&L Education, 2013. Print. Read More