INTRODUCTION

Employee competitiveness is not only strength for organizations these days; rather it is more of a
necessity. According to (Brinson) 2005, workplace bullying is defined as the acts of co-employees
targeted at fellow employees, making the latter uncomfortable intentionally. The process of workplace
bullying is not only harmful for employees who are being bullied but also the organization (Brinson,
2005). This is for the simple fact that the employees of an organization who are mostly bullied are the
smartest, most efficient and most productive employees of the organization. Even in the organization of
Professional Design Company, the efficient and young employees were bullied who possessed huge
potential for the growth of the company.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Individual and Group Bullying
According to Corsun & Costen (2001), bullying in workplaces is usually of two types depending on the
number of employees involved in the immoral act.

Bullying
Individu
al
Bullying

Group
Mobbin
g

Fig: Different types of Bullying (Corsun & Costen, 2001)

Bullying has been defined by Corsun & Costen (2001), as the intentional act of humiliation or
intimidation with the intention of harming or sabotaging the performance of the fellow employee. When it
is done by a single person against a fellow employee, it is called individual bullying. Group mobbing
happens when one or more individual bully a fellow employee by gathering other employees for the
malicious act who themselves may or may not be willing for it. Group mobbing is apparently more

harmful for the employees being bullied as the employee feel uncomfortable and unconfident in front of
the whole peer group (Corsun & Costen, 2001).

Prevalence and Reasons of Workplace Bullying

According to several popular media houses workplace bullying is highly prevalent in organizations and
happens in the best of the global companies. Almost more than 20 percent of the employees in entire US
market have faced work place bullying in their career (Davenport, et al., 1999). This shows the prevalence
of the menace in one of the most developed markets in the globe. Other reports show that one in every six
employees has been bullied in their workplaces at least once in their careers.
Researches show that workplace bullying is done for several reasons. Some of the prominent reasons that
have been present in places where workplace bullying is prominent are shown below in the figure.

f
d
N
w
C
i
t
e
p
m
o
I
n
D
g
T
c
s
M
r
P
l
a
W
E
k
y

Fig: Reasons for Workplace Bullying (Grubb, et al., 2004)

Need for power and thrive of employees to gain authority has been one of the most common reasons of
workplace bullying. The thirst of control over other employees is also usually a reason why some
employees chose to bully their colleagues. According to Grubb, et al. (2004), it has also been observed
that workplace bullying has been also more common where the majority of the employees are male and
the work culture is male-dominant. Intense competition among employees leading to unhealthy steps for
competing with each other also leads to workplace bullying. Another major reason for workplace bullying
is the presence of weaker employees in terms of self-confidence and the process of targeting them (Namie
& Namie, 2004). Thus, workplace bullying is done for several reasons. However, one of the most critical
reasons of workplace bullying is the lack of effective involvement of administration and organizations
leadership in opposing and stopping workplace bullying in all its forms.

BULLYING AT PDC AND SOLUTIONS

The work-culture of PDC as explained in the case in not very employee friendly and especially if an
employee is a woman. The case also describes the case of Lucy who has been working with the company
more than two years but still has not been provided any real opportunity to grow and work at her full
potential (Smith, et al., 2003). Workplace bullying is thus a very real problem with severe consequences
for the employees and the organization. Some of the possible solutions for workplace bullying are shown
in the figure below.

Communicat
ion

Record
Keeping

Actions

Regulations

Counseling

Fig: Solutions to Workplace Bullying (Smith, et al., 2003)

Communication should always be the first approach of resolving workplace bullying related issues.
Counseling for both the bully as well as employees getting bullied is also an effective process of reducing
bullying culture (Brinson, 2005). Some other methods of avoiding and diminishing the practice of
workplace bullying strict action by organization, record keeping of bullying activities in organization and
regulations in organization, etc.

CONCLUSION
Workplace bullying is thus a big menace for any organization as the harmful effects of the malpractice not
only negatively affects the employees but also the organization. Even in PDC, bullying and other human
resource related issues must be actively resolved to ensure high productivity and loyalty of employees.

Bibliography
Brinson, S. A., 2005. Boys dont tell on sugar and spice but not so nice girl bullies.
Reclaiming Children and Youth Journal, 14(3), pp. 12-15.
Corsun, D. L. & Costen, W. M., 2001. Is the glass ceiling unbreakable: Habitus, fields
and the stalling of women and minorities in management. Journal of Management
Inquiry, 10(1), pp. 16-25.
Davenport, N., Schwartz, R. & Elliott, G. P., 1999. Mobbing: Emotional abuse in the
workplace. Ames, IA: Civil Society Publishing.
Grubb, P. L., Roberts, R. K., Grosch, J. W. & Brightwell, W. D., 2004. Workplace
bullying: What organizations are saying.. Employee Rights and Employment Policy
Journal, 8(2), pp. 16-21.
Namie, G. & Namie, R., 2004. Workplace bullying: How to address Americas silent
epidemic. Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal, 8(2), pp. 17-21.
Smith, P. K., Singer, M., Hoel, H. & Cooper, C., 2003. Victimization in the school and
the workplace: are there any links?. British Journal of Psychology, 94(2), pp. 175188.