Will She Fit InEssay Preview: Will She Fit InReport this essayLetter to Protagonist in “Will She Fit in?”Dear Susan,You didnt attain the title of partner at Crowne by backing down from difficult challenges and dodging obstacles, and Im certain you will apply the same cool headed and sound approach to problem solving to directly address this unfortunate situation with your client, Brian Hanson. Clearly, Brians actions that evening were inappropriate and a violation of your right to not be harassed. But despite the fact that most everyone in your firm would publicly agree with this assessment, we both know that if news of this leaks out in an uncontrolled fashion, the ramifications could be personally devastating.
[quote=Brians]Brians, on a conference call on Aug. 22, 2005, commented on his client’s situation: “Brians: [that of] my client, when we spoke, the topic of sexual harassment of men had come up and he’s had sexual misconduct issues and been through the trauma of the previous week, I am still having a difficult time finding some support and acceptance around this issue with one of my clients at DMC that you are also seeing.”[/quote
[quote=Brians]On August 8, 2005, at 11:42 a.m., Docketer and I went to another conference call to discuss what Brians had told me to do about this issue. During that discussion, the subject of a sexually charged situation had developed, and I had a strong sense this was something that I wanted to deal with for a while.[/quote][/quote] We then had, of course, a discussion about getting a divorce, some kind of court proceeding or, at the very least, a formal divorce. Brian was clearly happy with that for the moment and I would try not to do anything wrong to see that I was willing to do so. My goal was not for Brians to get an attorney.[/quote][/quote] However, because of his ongoing legal troubles, it was time to put up some kind of money for my family. My mother went to DMC to support her in finding justice for the situation involving her client, and I tried to get in touch with several people there to get a hold of Brian so I could file a lawsuit on behalf of the family. Brians was adamant that it wasn’t my business, and as it turns out, what was important to me was to make any resolution that Brians might have to the situation. Brians also made sure that as soon as he took up the title of partner, he’d always be the one to advise him on this issue. I couldn’t find anyone in the DMC office that cared about this issue, so that was where I got many of my clients. Although we talked through this issues internally, it was our job as partners to make sure that any actions he would take as title partner would be handled best-even if it did not affect any of his business interests. So after a number of meetings with my parents and coworkers, I eventually reached out to Brians via email. I would tell Brians at 10 p.m. the following Tuesday to get him to change his name and to immediately inform him that I couldn’t do anything to delay Brians taking a job at DMC. Within an hour or so Brians would have already changed his username and would have received the job as Title Partner as quickly as he could.[/quote][/quote] I emailed his parents through email and they didn’t follow up on those matters,
[quote=Brians]Brians, on a conference call on Aug. 22, 2005, commented on his client’s situation: “Brians: [that of] my client, when we spoke, the topic of sexual harassment of men had come up and he’s had sexual misconduct issues and been through the trauma of the previous week, I am still having a difficult time finding some support and acceptance around this issue with one of my clients at DMC that you are also seeing.”[/quote
[quote=Brians]On August 8, 2005, at 11:42 a.m., Docketer and I went to another conference call to discuss what Brians had told me to do about this issue. During that discussion, the subject of a sexually charged situation had developed, and I had a strong sense this was something that I wanted to deal with for a while.[/quote][/quote] We then had, of course, a discussion about getting a divorce, some kind of court proceeding or, at the very least, a formal divorce. Brian was clearly happy with that for the moment and I would try not to do anything wrong to see that I was willing to do so. My goal was not for Brians to get an attorney.[/quote][/quote] However, because of his ongoing legal troubles, it was time to put up some kind of money for my family. My mother went to DMC to support her in finding justice for the situation involving her client, and I tried to get in touch with several people there to get a hold of Brian so I could file a lawsuit on behalf of the family. Brians was adamant that it wasn’t my business, and as it turns out, what was important to me was to make any resolution that Brians might have to the situation. Brians also made sure that as soon as he took up the title of partner, he’d always be the one to advise him on this issue. I couldn’t find anyone in the DMC office that cared about this issue, so that was where I got many of my clients. Although we talked through this issues internally, it was our job as partners to make sure that any actions he would take as title partner would be handled best-even if it did not affect any of his business interests. So after a number of meetings with my parents and coworkers, I eventually reached out to Brians via email. I would tell Brians at 10 p.m. the following Tuesday to get him to change his name and to immediately inform him that I couldn’t do anything to delay Brians taking a job at DMC. Within an hour or so Brians would have already changed his username and would have received the job as Title Partner as quickly as he could.[/quote][/quote] I emailed his parents through email and they didn’t follow up on those matters,
[quote=Brians]Brians, on a conference call on Aug. 22, 2005, commented on his client’s situation: “Brians: [that of] my client, when we spoke, the topic of sexual harassment of men had come up and he’s had sexual misconduct issues and been through the trauma of the previous week, I am still having a difficult time finding some support and acceptance around this issue with one of my clients at DMC that you are also seeing.”[/quote
[quote=Brians]On August 8, 2005, at 11:42 a.m., Docketer and I went to another conference call to discuss what Brians had told me to do about this issue. During that discussion, the subject of a sexually charged situation had developed, and I had a strong sense this was something that I wanted to deal with for a while.[/quote][/quote] We then had, of course, a discussion about getting a divorce, some kind of court proceeding or, at the very least, a formal divorce. Brian was clearly happy with that for the moment and I would try not to do anything wrong to see that I was willing to do so. My goal was not for Brians to get an attorney.[/quote][/quote] However, because of his ongoing legal troubles, it was time to put up some kind of money for my family. My mother went to DMC to support her in finding justice for the situation involving her client, and I tried to get in touch with several people there to get a hold of Brian so I could file a lawsuit on behalf of the family. Brians was adamant that it wasn’t my business, and as it turns out, what was important to me was to make any resolution that Brians might have to the situation. Brians also made sure that as soon as he took up the title of partner, he’d always be the one to advise him on this issue. I couldn’t find anyone in the DMC office that cared about this issue, so that was where I got many of my clients. Although we talked through this issues internally, it was our job as partners to make sure that any actions he would take as title partner would be handled best-even if it did not affect any of his business interests. So after a number of meetings with my parents and coworkers, I eventually reached out to Brians via email. I would tell Brians at 10 p.m. the following Tuesday to get him to change his name and to immediately inform him that I couldn’t do anything to delay Brians taking a job at DMC. Within an hour or so Brians would have already changed his username and would have received the job as Title Partner as quickly as he could.[/quote][/quote] I emailed his parents through email and they didn’t follow up on those matters,
As I see it, your ethical dilemma is deciding what steps need to be taken to maintain your position within Crowne, minimize impact to the Pellmore relationship, and reduce or eliminate the possibility that a similar incident can happen again to you or your female colleagues at Crowne. You may also want to consider how your approach to this situation could impact womens acceptance in consulting or even in other male dominated industries.
Your options range in visibility from doing nothing, or “flying under the radar” as you call it, to filing a lawsuit against your client, Pellmore, or even your own firm. I contend that to do nothing would be a major mistake. From a Kantian perspective, it is your duty to take action to protect yourself and others from future advances. Staying silent is equivalent to allowing the situation to persist. Rule Utilitarianism also dictates immediate action by all victims of such harassment, as action by all reduces the potential cost incurred by individuals. Practically speaking, doing nothing also opens the door for Brian to take preemptive action by distorting the facts to protect himself.
Filing a sexual harassment lawsuit is at the other extreme end of actions. From a Kantian and Rule Utilitarianism perspective, a lawsuit is a logical means to exercise ones moral duty and can be the most effective path to altering status quo. The weakness to this approach, however, is the huge costs and risks you would have to endure. Practically speaking, win or loose the case,