The Exposed Ethical Problem

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The Exposed Ethical Problem Lois Jensen was a female miner that worked in a vicious workplace where she was ruthlessly threatened with pornographic graffiti, derogatory language, stalking, and physical assaults. However in 1984, Jensen took a stand against sexual harassment and won the first sexual harassment class action suit in the United States. This legal milestone improved working conditions for American women and finally exposed the “secret” ethical problem of sexual harassment to the world. In the year 2006 alone, there were over 12,025 charges of sexual harassment in the workplace that were filled through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Although this hidden secret has been exposed, companies are unfortunately doing little to correct the issue. A company’s failure to quickly identify and immediately stop the ethical problem of sexual harassment in the workplace, will ultimately result in lowered employee morale, decline in productivity, costly lawsuits, and destruction of the company’s reputation. I strongly agree that the ethical problem of sexual harassment is a serious reality in the work environment that must be identified quickly and stopped immediately. In my career in the United States Navy, I have witnessed and experienced numerous cases of sexual harassment. Consequently, I personally know and understand how sexual harassment can truly affect a person emotionally, physically, and mentally. Before my experience in the Navy, I never realized how big of an “ethical problem” the issue of sexual harassment truly is. An example of a sexual harassment situation where I witnessed numerous ethical problems was in a situation involving a co-worker (Petty Officer Smith) and a superior (Chief Morris). Chief Morris was a married African American man and Petty Officer Smith was a single Caucasian woman. Chief Morris was the instigator of the

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