Small assignment. Reply to a discussion post

This was my initial post and my professor asked me a question (at the end of my post). I need a reply. Please help. Please make sure you in-text site a source. Does NOT need a title page.

Bullying in workplaces can be defined as physical or mental intimidation of an employee. Workplace bullying can come from the top management, supervisors or even from peers and colleagues. According to Fox & Cowan (2015), bullying can have some negative effects whereby the morale and the productivity of the affected employee can gradually deteriorate.

In this case, Mr. Candleson was the Chief Assistant Store Manager for three (3) year and performed passionately. This is a proven fact as he had received stellar work reviews during the seven-year period. After the Friendliest Candle Store in the World was purchased by another company, Store Manager Ms. Susan Doe was laid off and Mr. William Ambition was appointed as the new store manager and things started following a different trend. Some of the actions that Mr. Ambition had instilled are examples of workplace bullying.

The actions of asking employees to respond to their whereabouts via email every hour and requiring them to response within three minutes, cutting of holiday parties and eliminating of happy hours are some activities that lowered the employee happiness and morale. These actions even made some employees resign due to the harsh conditions that they were experiencing in their workplace. Mr. Ambition called Mr. Candleson, who was his assistant an “idiot” due to a decision that was made and that he didn’t agree with. This was not the first-time insults had happened, but it was the third time in the three months that it had occurred. As the director of compliance in the company, I view this as a case of workplace bullying (Carden, & Boyd, 2010). This is because it makes Mr. Candleson feel undermined in the field which he has invested for seven years and has had major success in it.

When bullying occurs in a workplace, the company should have been instituted a good policy and procedure to handle the issue. In this case, as the director, I would summon the two involved persons and so that I could hear the story from both sides. I would handle interview each person separately. First, I would summon Mr. Candleson, who is the complainant in this case and hear his part about the bullying incident. I would do the same with Mr. Ambition. During each of the interviews, I would ask if any other employees had witnessed their interaction regarding the name calling. In addition, I would also interview those employee witnesses and obtain all the emails pertaining to the hourly check ins. In addition, I would secure any audio/video surveillance tapes that might be available to corroborate or substantiate the bullying action. After compiling all these statements and evidentiary matters, I would prepare an investigation report and a recommendation for the corporate chief executive officer (CEO) to take make a decision according to the company policy and procedures (Fox, & Cowan, 2015).

In our case, it is evident that Mr. Ambition is truly guilty of the accusations that he is being accused of. It is also understandable that all the harshness that he has brought into the company has worked to the financial advantage of the company hence that cannot be underestimated either. This case is not a criminal matter unless I found that there was a physical altercation or battery that occurred requiring the notification of law enforcement. However, I would settle this case internally by recommending a letter of reprimand. It should be noted that Mr. Ambition should be praised for his success in reducing costs to the company. However, the success of the company is also dependent upon the employees. Although, the more senior employees have left and been replaced with lesser experienced and paid employees, it is still costly to training the new employees. In addition, a high turnover rate of employees is not acceptable. The recommended written reprimand and warning to Mr. Ambition should address that his bullying methods and insulting behavior to employees would not be the tolerated. If his actions occur again, then further legal steps would be taken against him. I would also make some suggestions and recommend that the company provide training to Mr. Ambition so that he can supervise his employees more efficiently and effectively without bullying.

References

Carden, L., & Boyd, R. (2010). Workplace Bullying: An Ethical Context Applying Duty and Outcome-Based Approaches to Human Resource Functions. Southern Journal of Business and Ethics, 2,144-155.

Fox, S., & Cowan, R. L. (2015). Revision of the workplace bullying checklist: the importance of human resource management’s role in defining and addressing workplace bullying. Human Resource Management Journal, 25(1).

Hi Lisa – I very much appreciate your nice initial discussion board post! In general, what do you think is the greatest challenge to addressing incidences of bullying in the workplace, and why?