Read the CASE Below: EMC CONFRONTS HARASSMENT CHARGES, Answer the three questions at the end of the case in a 2 page paper APA format in Third Party!.
1st Page Title Page
2nd Page 1st paragraph Introduction
2nd Page 2nd paragraph Review/Analysis of the case (Answer to Question 1)
2nd Page 3rd paragraph Answer to Question 2
3rd Page 4th paragraph Answer to Question 3
3rd Page Summary/Conclusion
4th Page Refrence page
CASE : EMC CONFRONTS HARASSMENT CHARGES
Since 2003, at least half a dozen lawsuits have been filed
against EMC Corporation, based in Hopkinton, Massachusetts,
claiming the company discriminated against
female employees. Recently, two former EMC saleswomen
asked that their suit be given class-action status. EMC,
which provides software for information management, denies
that the company tolerates discrimination or sexual
harassment.
According to the complaints in the lawsuits, EMC
subjected saleswomen to demeaning sexual comments,
company-paid trips to strip clubs, and retaliation against
women who complained. Three women said managers
took away accounts they had built up and gave them to
male colleagues. One woman said her boss wouldn’t give
her a big account because she refused to “smoke, drink,
swear, hunt, fish, and tolerate strip clubs.” The law firm
requesting the class action gathered 30 sworn affidavits
from saleswomen supporting allegations that the workplace
was hostile and discriminatory.
Pay data show that saleswomen at EMC have earned
less than salesmen with the same length of experience.
During one year, for salespeople with two to three years of
service, the women’s median pay was $266,063, compared
with $305,417 for men. EMC responds that the pay gap
reflects differences in performance. The lawsuits include
claims that employment decisions were based in part on
consideration of individuals’ sex, pregnancy, and marital
and parental status.
One problem may be that women are poorly represented
at EMC. While 40 percent of the sales force is
female at IBM, another big software company, just 13.5 percent
of EMC’s salespeople are women. Gillian Thomas, a
lawyer for a women’s legal-rights association called Legal
Momentum, says, “Hostile environments for women tend
to occur where they’re dramatically in the minority.” At
EMC, salespeople traditionally have been recruited from
among former college athletes, and the culture is aggressive.
Salespeople call clients daily and are expected to
spend evenings taking them out to dinner and weekends
playing golf with them.
EMC’s Web site says the company values diversity, and
the company has a formal policy defining and banning
sexual harassment. The company sponsors a Women’s
Leadership Forum. Frank Hauck, who has been in charge
of marketing at EMC for several years, insists that sexual
harassment is not tolerated. He recalls a situation that
arose shortly after he took the top marketing job: a salesman’s
expense account included a visit to a strip club with
a client, and Hauck told the company’s controller that, in
accordance with company policy, EMC should not pay
the bill.
EMC points out that its saleswomen hold important
accounts, including Chrysler and Citigroup. Emily Stampiglia,
who has been selling for EMC for seven years,
describes the sales force as “the most aggressive,” adding,
“I’m comfortable in that competitive world.”
Questions
1. Compare the behavior described in this case with this
chapter’s description of sex discrimination and sexual
harassment. Does EMC seem to have violated any
laws? If so, which ones, and how?
2. Can EMC continue to sell as aggressively yet avoid
charges of sexual harassment and sexual discrimination?
If so, how? If not, why not, and how should it resolve
this conflict?
3. Imagine that you are an HR manager at EMC. Recommend
two actions the company can take to avoid
sex discrimination lawsuits in the future. Explain how
your recommendations will help EMC’s business
performance.
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