After that Nike Inc. dismissed a handful of male executives for behavioral problems in recent months, some media reports linking the exits to the #MeToo movement and its revelations of harassment and sexual assault. However, interviews with more than a dozen former Nike employees, including top executives, paint a picture of a workplace contaminated by different behavior: corporate harassment. Workers say the shoe giant could be a painful place for men and women, and that women also harassed. On May 8, Nike pointed this out when it confirmed four more departures stemming from an internal misconduct investigation, including the departure of a woman with more than 20 years in the company. 

The surprise announcement in March that Nike brand president Trevor Edwards, 55, who had a reputation for humiliating subordinates at meetings, would leave after an internal investigation into workplace behavioral problems, suggests that tough guys' cuddling may have come to an end. " Some companies are realizing that an intimidating boss is not the best way to run a business, "says David Yamada, professor at the Suffolk University Law School in Boston, author of the anti-harassment legislation. " Perhaps we are beginning to see a turning point".

Gary Namie, co-founder of the Workplace Bullying Institute, which consults companies on workplace issues, says that one of the reasons some companies have tolerated or even encouraged this behavior for a long time is that many American managers believe the workplace is by nature crude. " Intimidation is inextricably interwoven with capitalism, "he says. " It cr3ates a zero-sum competitive work environment in which people feel they need to eliminate their competitors". Some former employees say that was the case at Nike, particularly among managers who used abusive tactics to safeguard their own position or authority. "There are many very talented people in the deepest part of the organization who have been marginalized by both senior management and the media trying to protect their dominance," says Shaz Kahng, who was a senior executive at Nike for six years until 2010. "People are often promoted based on relationships, not results ".

In response to complaints, including from outgoing executives, Nike dismissed Edwards, who had been a favorite to become the company's next CEO. Edwards, according to some of the former employees, sometimes intimidated workers through insults and derogatory remarks. More importantly, once he set the tone, other people reflected his behavior, they say. A handful of executives who worked for Edwards left Nike ever since. " I've been bothered to hear from some employee's behavior inconsistent with our values, "said CEO Mark Parker in an email release. " When we discover problems, we act".

Nike also provided Bloomberg with a transcript of a town hall that Parker held on May 3, in which he promised that the environment would change. " We all have an obligation, and it is not negotiable, to create and cultivate an environment of respect and inclusion," he told employees. "And that begins with me. I apologize to the people on our team who were excluded. ... Let's move from a place where the loudest voices take the conversation to [one where] all the voices are heard ". The company refused to make Edwards available for an interview. He acts as Parker's advisor until he retires in August, when he will receive a payment of $525,000, according to public documents. Nike says it is reviewing how it handles complaints, redesigning management training and starting unconscious bias awareness education for employees this year. It also pledged to promote more women and minorities to leadership positions. Currently, managers are 38 percent female and 23 percent non-white.

Workplace bullying is often defined as a behavior, which includes verbal abuse, derogatory remarks, humiliation, and impairment of work performance, resulting in physical or mental harm. About 1 in 5 Americans say it was the target, according to a 2017 survey by Zogby Analytics commissioned by the Workplace Bullying Institute. Men make up 70 percent of perpetrators and 34 percent of targets. " It's a major problem and it's still not reported," says Yamada. Surveys have shown that such behavior is four times more common than legally actionable sexual harassment, he says. " Harassment is very important". Ironically, Nike is one of the minority of companies that has a formal anti-harassment policy that denounces harassment behaviors such as verbal abuse, intimidation, humiliation and retaliation, according to a copy obtained by Bloomberg. It also notes that harassment that is not based on a legally protected feature, such as gender or race, may still violate company rules. One of the reasons few companies have specific anti-harassment policies is that there are no federal or state laws in the U.S. . Ban behavior, which leaves the United States lagging behind Western Europe, Canada and Australia.

The lack of legal protection greatly reduces the possibility of liability of employers. It is difficult to bring a harassment suit and companies have worked hard to keep it that way. Over the past decade, anti-bullying bills have been introduced in some 30 states, but all have been defeated after opposition from business lobbies, says Yamada. A workplace harassment bill is gaining sponsors in the Massachusetts legislature, but its future is uncertain. If there were anti-harassment laws, companies would be responsible and would do more to deter the practice, according to Namie. "It's the only form of abuse that hasn't been addressed by the law," she says. " It goes beyond gender to 'I'm powerful, I can do any damn thing I want'". When executives feel empowered or untouchable, that often leads to bullying and then other inappropriate behavior, says Yamada. In many of the work environments that led to some of the high-profile #MeToo moments, such as Weinstein Co., a "hidden stream" of bullying created the belief that abuse would go unpunished, he says. "It is this atmosphere of bullying that helps empower and empower sexual harassment".

According to former Nike employees, the lack of fear of retaliation created an environment in which male executives, many of them married, could pursue and have sex with subordinates and assistants, behavior that Nike says it tries to prevent but does not prohibit. Many times the careers of those involved were not affected, which only normalized the behavior, they say. And when there were repercussions, men received little or no punishment, while women often faced the consequences. In one case, several years ago, they say, an executive was caught having sex with his assistant at a conference table. He was not disciplined, some people say, but the woman was reassigned. Several former employees describe similar experiences of encountering several slights and offenses, not a single heinous incident, which increased as they ascended the ladder. One woman says her boss, a senior manager, had derogatory nicknames for female staff and would openly favor the men on the team with better opportunities. A former manager says a colleague had multiple complaints of harassment against human resources, but the only punishment she received was a delayed promotion. Finally, frustration with Nike's handling of such incidents persuaded several women to leave the company, they say. The situation was particularly irritating for employees who had been attracted to Nike due to its cold and progressive reputation, polished by advertising slogans like "If you let me play" and their t-shirts adorned simply with the word "equality". "We always want the company to live up to its marketing," says a former executive. "But it didn't". Questions for discussion

QUESTION:

1. Do you think that management misconduct is affected by the organizational structure? Why or why not?

2. Do you think that authority was misused by bullying managers? Explain your reasoning.

3. In the future, how can Nike revise or reinvent its organizational culture to attract and retain the best talent?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

1 Do you think that management misconduct is affected by the organizational structure Why or why not Yes management misconduct can be influenced by the organizational structure The hierarchical nature ... View the full answer