The key concept this essay explores is the occurrence of sexual harassment in the contemporary workplace. Sexual harassment is the act of unwanted sexual advances and profane remarks from one party to another, usually of opposite genders(Good & Cooper 2014). This includes actions like ogling or leering, requesting of sexual favours, the use of derogatory language and unwelcome physical touching(.ibid). The central argument of Good and Cooper is that sexual harassment in workplaces is often overlooked and not given enough attention. This essay serves to provide an explanation of the methodology used by Good and Cooper to retrieve data and a critical analysis of their central argument and methodology.
SUMMARY OF CENTRAL ARGUMENT
Good and Cooper …show more content…
Sexual harassment is a prevalent issue in the contemporary workplace. In the last five years in just Australia alone, statistics show that an approximate 25 percent of the female population and 16 percent of the male population have encountered sexual harassment(Australian Human Rights Commission 2012: 16; Australian Bureau of Statistics 2013a). This estimate adds up to approximately two million workers in total(.ibid). Studies have discovered that a majority of employees who encounter sexual harassment do not deal with this issue confrontationally due to several reasons(.ibid ). Good and Cooper also argue that the silence of the employees has led to the perpetuation of the occurrence of sexual harassment. Workers who experience sexual harassment tend to avoid raising the issue with their employers because they feel that voicing out will not lead to a significant change in managerial operations(Good & Cooper 2014). They believe that they do not have the ability to influence their working conditions and this had led to the workers dealing with these unpleasant encounters in non-confrontational ways. This behaviour is also known as ‘buffering’(.ibid). ‘Buffering’ refers to the nonvocal responses of the employees. It is used when employees do not wish to risk creating a dispute with their managers by bringing …show more content…
They decided to carry this out using a qualitative method in order to obtain a clearer insight. They interviewed university students who had jobs in the retail and hospitality industry in Australia. The interviewees were either volunteers or selected using snowball sampling. Snowball sampling is a method used to gather in data of a study by having a group of people providing referrals of individuals who would make suitable candidates for the particular research(Biernacki & Waldorf 1981). These methods were used as the issue they are examining is considered a rather sensitive topic to have a discussion on, making it harder to pick out a relevant group of individuals(Good & Cooper 2014). They managed to find volunteers by putting up notices on online class noticeboards and they also went to three different lectures asking for willing candidates. The researcher conducted a total of ten interviews with the suitable candidates; students who have the experience of working in retail and hospitality and having encountered sexual harassment from customers. The audio of the interviews were recorded, the dialogues were transcribed and the interviewees were going by names assigned to them. The interviews seek to examine the candidate’s job scope and working circumstances, how they communicate with customers, their encounters with sexual
SUMMARY OF CENTRAL ARGUMENT
Good and Cooper …show more content…
Sexual harassment is a prevalent issue in the contemporary workplace. In the last five years in just Australia alone, statistics show that an approximate 25 percent of the female population and 16 percent of the male population have encountered sexual harassment(Australian Human Rights Commission 2012: 16; Australian Bureau of Statistics 2013a). This estimate adds up to approximately two million workers in total(.ibid). Studies have discovered that a majority of employees who encounter sexual harassment do not deal with this issue confrontationally due to several reasons(.ibid ). Good and Cooper also argue that the silence of the employees has led to the perpetuation of the occurrence of sexual harassment. Workers who experience sexual harassment tend to avoid raising the issue with their employers because they feel that voicing out will not lead to a significant change in managerial operations(Good & Cooper 2014). They believe that they do not have the ability to influence their working conditions and this had led to the workers dealing with these unpleasant encounters in non-confrontational ways. This behaviour is also known as ‘buffering’(.ibid). ‘Buffering’ refers to the nonvocal responses of the employees. It is used when employees do not wish to risk creating a dispute with their managers by bringing …show more content…
They decided to carry this out using a qualitative method in order to obtain a clearer insight. They interviewed university students who had jobs in the retail and hospitality industry in Australia. The interviewees were either volunteers or selected using snowball sampling. Snowball sampling is a method used to gather in data of a study by having a group of people providing referrals of individuals who would make suitable candidates for the particular research(Biernacki & Waldorf 1981). These methods were used as the issue they are examining is considered a rather sensitive topic to have a discussion on, making it harder to pick out a relevant group of individuals(Good & Cooper 2014). They managed to find volunteers by putting up notices on online class noticeboards and they also went to three different lectures asking for willing candidates. The researcher conducted a total of ten interviews with the suitable candidates; students who have the experience of working in retail and hospitality and having encountered sexual harassment from customers. The audio of the interviews were recorded, the dialogues were transcribed and the interviewees were going by names assigned to them. The interviews seek to examine the candidate’s job scope and working circumstances, how they communicate with customers, their encounters with sexual