Creating Ethical Decision Makers: The Influence of Education on Perceptions of Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault

Abstract

The sport industry is ripe for issues of sexual harassment/assault due to the high value placed on masculine characteristics and the power differential between male leaders/coaches and female subordinates/athletes. This culture permeates sport organizations, as issues of sexual harassment/assault committed by athletes and coaches/administrators are commonplace and have recently been mishandled, raising questions about effective education. This study examined the relationship between education on sexual harassment/assault and the endorsement of rape myths by sport management students. Results indicate that training on sexual harassment/assault in sport management classrooms is low and is potentially ineffective at curbing rape myth acceptance, suggesting current curricula are insufficient. These findings have both theoretical and practical contributions related to how sport management departments can prepare future professionals to change the culture of sport.

Evidence, empathy and emotions: decision-making styles of human resource professionals and their effectiveness in resolving complaints of sexual harassment

“…At the same time, with research indicating how unaware HRPs and managers can be about sexual harassment (Taylor et al, 2019), in such instances, it would be more effective to use the dependent style during an investigation and maybe as a backup style in deciding the outcome. Sometimes, even when the HRPs are conversant in and sensitive to sexual harassment and know the nuances of the issue, it would still be good to adopt the dependent style in order to be more certain and effective in their decision.…”

“…As research indicates, decision-makers can rely on concepts and prior perceptions to filter data or focus on the details of the situation, independent of their perceptions (Scott and Bruce, 1995). If HRPs lack fundamental knowledge about sexual harassment and harbour misperceptions and myths regarding sexual harassment, that would lead to unfair decisions being made (Taylor et al, 2019), especially when they follow a style such as intuitive and judgemental. Those misperceptions and myths can lead them to adopt the avoidance style.…”

“…Hence, HRPs, as well as other decision-makers in complaints of sexual harassment can be made aware of the different styles people use in making decisions, how those different styles impact the issue, the parties involved and the company, and the effective styles that need to be used for fair and just decisions in cases of sexual harassment. Further, the findings also indicate the importance of training HRPs on the nuances of sexual harassment and the myths, misperceptions and biases that surround the issue (Taylor et al, 2019), as that too would have an impact on the decision styles they use and their effectiveness.…”

“…This in turn could lead to more effective resolutions of complaints of sexual harassment. Understanding the decision-making styles of HRPs is especially critical when many of these decision-makers are said to be mishandling complaints of sexual harassment (Eckert and Steiner, 2018;Martinez, 2020;Taylor et al, 2019).…”

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Challenges in Enacting Procedural Justice in Resolving Sexual Harassment Complaints

“…If employees pursue litigation, courts will consider the company procedure's fairness in arriving at a judgment and hold the employer liable if procedural unfairness exists. However, while numerous criteria and norms have been established to ensure procedural justice, there are many instances that decision-makers/HRPs fail to maintain justice or where they are seen as unfair (Eckert & Steiner, 2018;Ruark, 2000;Taylor et al, 2019). Even though research has explored these instances of unfairness and ineffectiveness of complaint handling, why those occur have not been explored adequately.…”