Reference no: EM133043038

CASE STUDY A case of bullying?

Rebecca, a graduate with a degree in economics from a well-known university, was working for a large international bank as a bank officer and had been with the bank for almost three years. Rebecca was hardworking and this attitude was not unnoticed by her colleagues and superiors. For some months, she had been requested to work late by several managers. She did this several times but she realized that she did not get extra remuneration for the work that she had done. She kept this to herself and continued putting in long hours working for the company. In December of last year, Rebecca fell sick. The pressure of work was too much for her to bear. She neglected her family life and her own health. She raised this issue with her branch manager, informing him that she wanted to take leave for a long holiday. Rebecca also pointed out to her boss that she was keen for a promotion as an opportunity had come up in the department. In the meeting, her branch manager advised her that her work for the year had been excellent and that it could not be faulted. Her manager also noted that her performance was 'well and truly above and beyond what was required for the role' and that she was 'one of the best members of staff at the branch'. He was happy to approve the leave application for her.

She was however caught off-guard when he advised her that he was only giving her a 'B' rating for her review-'B' being the middle or slightly above average rating in the bank's performance rating system. Rebecca queried why she was only receiving a 'B' rating when the manager was obviously very pleased with her work. He told her that while he could not fault her performance, he did not want to 'waste' a higher mark on her when there were others in the branch who would be able to benefit from it. When she pressed him on his statements, he advised her that he was only permitted to award one 'A' rating and that the rating would be seen as a performance worthy of promotion. However, he felt that Rebecca would not go far within the bank as she did not seem to be a leader and was merely doing the tasks others had asked her to do. He mentioned in a subtle manner that she lacked initiative and opinions. That was why he did not want to 'waste' the rating on her. He also told her not to think too much about the promotion opportunity because it would be very competitive and she had little chance of getting this promotion. Rebecca did not know how to respond to these statements. She left the interview shocked and despondent. Was she being bullied by doing extra work for so many months without getting paid? Was she being bullied when she was told she did not deserve a promotion? Was she being bullied when she was informed that her performance, regardless of how excellent she was, was only worth a 'B' rating?

Questions

1. Discuss why this case is a breach of an organization's legal and moral duty to provide occupational health, safety, and employee wellbeing.

2. If you were in Rebecca's position, what would your response to the manager be when it was clear that she was being bullied during her performance review?

3. If you were the manager, how would you address the issues of rewards (such as promotion) and motivation so that you have a productive and committed pool of talented individuals?

4. Workplace bullying is a common occurrence. Discuss at least two other examples of workplace bullying.

5. Discuss the different ways an organization could prevent the occurrence of workplace bullying