Abstract
In determining when sexual behavior in the workplace creates a hostile working environment, some courts have asked, ‘Would a reasonableperson view this as a hostile environment?’ Two recent court decisions, recognizing male-female differences in the perception of social sexual behavior at work, modified this standard to ask, “Would a reasonablevictim view this as a hostile environment?” As yet, there is no consensus in the legal community regarding which of these standards is just.
We propose that moral theory provides the framework from which business people can construct just procedures regarding sexually hostile environments. We argue that the natural duty of mutual respect of persons and the natural duty not to harm the innocent compels business people to identify sexually hostile work environments from the perspective of the reasonable victim, usually from the woman's perspective.
Within the context of this moral framework, a training approach designed to reduce the incidence of sexually harassing behaviors in the workplace is proposed.
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Deborah Wells is an Assistant Professor of Management at Creighton University. She received her Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology. Her publications have appeared in theJournal of Applied Psychology and theJournal of Vocational Behavior. Her primary research interests are related to women's workplace issues.
Beverly Kracher is an Assistant Professor of Business Ethics and Society at Creighton University. She received her Ph.D. in philosophy. She has lectured on business ethics to accounting, sales, and management groups. Her current research interests are ethical role modeling, the place of moral motivation in business, and sexual harassment in the workplace.
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Wells, D.L., Kracher, B.J. Justice, sexual harassment, and the reasonable victim standard. J Bus Ethics 12, 423–431 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01666555
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01666555