Locating A Topic For A Proposal And Recommendation Report

Workplaces are an arena where individuals irrespective of their gender and ethnicity meet for the purpose of achieving a specific target to be achieved as assigned by the persons at the helm of affairs of the organization (Dipboye, 2016). Interactions take place between them, of both acceptable and unacceptable forms. The purpose of this report is to highlight some unacceptable behaviours at workplace with specific emphasis on sexual harassment, gender discrimination and racism, and to persuade for conducting a research centred on them, taking the case of an organization. The following sections shall be providing with- the definition of the problems, a list of solutions, a statement of the collection of facts, the ethical issues attached to the research, the logistical details, a narration of personal experience and a concluding paragraph.

Sexual harassment is usually understood as an act of violation or outraging of one’s modesty (Godley, 2018). From both the perspective of general perception and official reports it can be deduced that such an act lie within the capacity of a man to perpetrate on a woman. However, the contrary can also happen, though its rate of occurrence is relatively low, and even lower is the instance of reporting or seeking redressal (Dipboye, 2016). Any act that is explicitly or implicitly aimed at making unsolicited advances of sexual nature, irrespective of the gender of the perpetrator, can be termed as an act of sexual harassment (Dipboye, 2016). Like sexual harassment, even gender discrimination is a social evil which puts the women at the receiving end of all the adversities. Though gender discrimination means unfair treatment of a person on the grounds of one’s gender, but by virtue of the fact that this world is by and large patriarchal, women are generally treated unjustly (Sinacore, Durrani & Khayutin, 2017). Racial Discrimination is another form of menace which is related to atrocious behaviour perpetrated on an individual of a particular race, ethnicity, colour of the skin and religion. The victims of it are usually non-white persons and the oppressors the white skinned ones. This goes as far as the aspect of defining the concepts is concerned (George & Chaze, 2014). Canada being a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and a free society is also prone to experiencing such evils and such instances occur on a daily basis in several organizations across the country (Salin et al., 2014). This shall serve as the background to the research.

Describing And Analyzing Workplace Issues

Solutions can be of two types, one is preventive solution, and the other is for dispensing of justice (Stamarski & Son Hing, 2015). In some instances they can overlap as well, like the case of laws against sexual harassment, gender discrimination and racial discrimination. The severity of penalties enshrined in the relevant sections of the book of legal statues can deter a potential perpetrator. At the same time it also makes an offender compensate for the wrongdoings. Laws are applicable for the entire country cutting across every unit and sub-unit of the systems that exist in the country. However organizations have their own way of dealing with offenders and protecting individuals against such onslaughts, which however cannot over-rule the law of the land. Organizations usually approach such offences with a policy of zero amount of tolerance. The rules and regulations, the system of perks and privileges are designed in such a way that employees receive their dues on the basis of how they perform and not on the basis of what they are. With regard to sexual harassment, the issue should be approached in a gender neutral way so that both the men and women folk can seek redressal without any inhibitions. Such cases should be solved in an organization keeping in mind the comfort level of the victim. Organizations should intimate to the employees with a clear and unambiguous policy outline with regard to sexual harassment, gender discrimination and racial abuse. Having a strict policy outline is not enough, undertaking strict actions accordingly and adhering to the principles should be taken care of both by administrators and employees. An awareness programme in form of workshops, seminars and feedback generation mechanism can help in tackling the issue. The solutions have been recommended keeping in mind the current scenario and it shall be of utmost help to tackle the situation effectively. Striking a fear of sanctions is not enough, awareness is way more important.

The research shall be limited to just one organization given the time and the cost constraint. Collecting samples can also pose as a challenge since the victim might not be willing to divulge the relevant details. However that can be overcome by convincing the interviewees about the fact that the research ethic of maintaining secrecy shall be adhered to very strictly. No unethical practice along the lines of divulging confidential informations shared by an interviewee shall not be resorted to since that can jeopardize the career of the person. These are the boundaries of the research. The research shall be in form of a Case Study to put forward the finding as a model from which lessons could be taken, or the good examples shall be emulated by other organizations as well. This shall be the scope of the research.

Solutions To Workplace Issues

The chosen research project has been planned and designed on the basis of secondary data collected by other researchers who have shown that gender discrimination, sexual harassment and racialism at workplace is rampant across Canada. They have only shown the existence of such evils, and the ways in which they are perpetrated. However none of the researchers have provided any details about the ways in which the organizations deal with the evils, nor have they provided any remedial measures. This has been deduced on the basis of the reports collected by the initial researches that have been conducted.

On the basis of the data collected by initial reports, the Case Study approach has been decided. The organization that has been chosen, has a very good track record of dealing with the crimes mentioned, and also has effective methods of preventing them. The method of collecting sample has been qualitative, and the viewpoints shall be analyzed accordingly. Structured interview method has been the chosen method so that specific answers could be easily obtained.

Work Timeline and an Estimation of the Cost

The final draft of the research is expected to be submitted within a period of four weeks from the commencement of the research. The first two weeks shall be spent in collecting the relevant data pertaining to the research question specifically. The existing literature and the gap in it has already been identified. The remaining two weeks shall be devoted in organizing the data collected and preparing the final draft.

The cost involved for the project is estimated to be at around 7000 Dollars in totality. It is very nominal compared to the amount of work which is to be undertaken. Out of the total estimated amount, 3000 Dollars have been supplemented by the sale of t-shirts with slogans printed on it. The remaining 4000 has been generated by donations from various NGOs, Self Help Groups and the National Department of Health of Canada.

I have conducted a comparative analysis of the organization I have chosen for researching, Toronto Head Office of the National Bank of Cananda, and the organization I am currently working at, HSBC Bank, Toronto. The latter lacks a lot of initiatives that have been undertaken by the former to provide solutions for the social problems this proposal report is dealing with. Neither did we have any awareness programme, nor is the authority where I currently work is satisfactorily responsive.

Conclusion

To conclude it can be said that the research has the potential of producing pathbreaking results since it is designed to achieve something unique. It shall be provide a model for other organizations to judge their standards against the findings and shall help the existing organizations to rectify themselves accordingly.

References

Dipboye, R. L. (2016). discrimination as high risk behavior in the workplace. In Risky Business (pp. 199-226). Routledge.

George, U., & Chaze, F. (2014). Discrimination at work: Comparing the experiences of foreign-trained and locally-trained engineers in Canada. Canadian ethnic studies, 46(1), 1-21.

Godley, J. (2018). Everyday Discrimination in Canada: Prevalence and Patterns. Canadian Journal of Sociology, 43(2), 111-142.

Salin, D., Tenhiälä, A., Roberge, M. E., & Berdahl, J. L. (2014). ‘I wish I had…’: Target reflections on responses to workplace mistreatment. human relations, 67(10), 1189-1211.

Sinacore, A. L., Durrani, S., & Khayutin, S. (2017). Men’s Reflections on Their Experiences of Gender-Based Violence. Journal of interpersonal violence, 0886260517742148.

Stamarski, C. S., & Son Hing, L. S. (2015). Gender inequalities in the workplace: the effects of organizational structures, processes, practices, and decision makers’ sexism. Frontiers in psychology, 6, 1400.