Sexual Harassment at Haleron Memorial Hospital
Overview
- Who are the primary characters in this case?
- What is Bradford’s position? How qualified is he to carry out his responsibilities?
- How would you describe Bradford’s management style? How well does he handle his interpersonal relationships?
Situation I
- How should Bradford react to Thompson’s emotional allegation against Smith?
- What should Bradford do about Thompson’s threats to sue Haleron and her demand that the Airgoods Corportation be removed from the bidding list? What would be the ethical justifications for those actions?
- How should Bradford investigate this incident, as required by company policy?
- What additional information does he need?
Situation II
- Should Bradford have talked with Peters about Thompson’s allegations? What is the ethical justification for doing so? For not doing so?
- Is Haleron Memorial responsible in this incident even though Smith is not one of its employees? What moral responsibilities and obligations does the hospital have in relation to Thompson?
- What is the significance of the informal note that Bradford found in Thompson’s personnel file? Should he place credence on it? How should this information be used in appraising her current allegation?
- What significance should Bradford attach to the information he received form Stewart? How should Bradford use this information in appraising Smith?
Situation III
- What are Smith’s rights?
- In investigating the incident , how should Bradford regard Smith’s rights?
- Should Bradford have talked with Maxwell about the case? Why or why not?
- What is the difference between “flirtation” and “sexual harassment”?
- How should Bradford evaluate what Maxwell told him? What role should this information play in his investigation? What effect does Maxwell’s reminder of the time Bradford asked out one of Maxwell’s saleswomen have on Bradford’s course of action?
- What should Bradford recommend after his investigation is complete? What is your ethical justification for this recommendation? Can all parties be treated fairly?
Answer preview
- Primary characters in the case
The central characters, in this case, are first, the two companies Haleron and Airgoods. This is because the two companies do business together and one of the Airgoods staff is accused of sexually harassing the other from Haleron Company. This makes the two companies primary characters owing to their obligation concerning sexual harassment at work. I would also say that by extension, the two managers Maxwell and Bradford, since for the sake of the well-being of their companies, they have to handle the incident well. They have to strike a balance between ensuring that the matter is not blown out of proportions by pursuing alternative mechanisms of resolving the dispute and at the same time they should not be seen to be complicit and to dismiss severe issues of sexual harassment. Finally, Smith and Jane Thompson are also central characters in this story since they are the people who are directly involved in the alleged sexual harassment that allegedly took place wh…
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