Organizational crisis management: addressing professional misconduct in modern workplaces

Since the 1970s, governments and organizations across the globe have achieved tremendous progress against sexual harassment (SH), especially in the workplace. However, the number of organizations suffering from this crisis has increased significantly over the past few years. Based on an overview of SH crises -that have received extra media coverage since 2014- this paper explores whether organizations managed to learn from these crises. Compared to other crises, SH scandals produce a higher magnitude of provocation within society. An individual’s act, based on their perception that the influence of power can be exchanged for sexual favors, destroys a business’s global reputation. Therefore, any research on this topic contributes to the further understanding and potential correction of this phenomenon. The current novelty is that it provides possible solutions to tackle the SH crises in the workplace by applying crisis management principles and adopting proactive behavior at a societal and organizational level.