Juhi Vs Reddy case

SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS:
A.Facts of the Case:
1. Reddy has impeccable work record for nearly 20 years
2. Juhi is there for only 4-5 years, hence relatively
inexperienced
3. She joined in place of another female officer who was
there for 3 years, without any complaints or issues
against/ with Reddy.
4. Reddy tried to familiarise her as she was new and the only
female employee at the Plant.
5. He conversed with her about general things such as about
her well being, food and accommodation at company
quarters.
6. He once remarked that why she was looking tired and
pale and asked if she was getting proper sleep.
7. Juhi was reserved and quiet person.
8. She found Reddy’s behaviour peculiar and felt
uncomfortable by his questions about her well-being and
lifestyle.
9. She thought of his inquisitiveness as a case of unnecessary
and exaggerated interest in her.
10. Reddy offered her to sit in his office and work on
SAP as she was the only professionally qualified officer in
his team
11. .
12. She refused the offer
13. She though that as she did not accede to Reddy’s
advances, she was given and took over the plant floor
duties by Reddy.
14.[13.] This job required late working hours and also she
had to manage her travel back to her home.
15.[14.] Within 3-months, she complained about Reddy’s
behaviour saying that he had made “inappropriate”
“sexual advances” at her.
16.[15.] Instead of going to ICC, she requested to resolve the
issue informally as she feared defamation.
17.[16.] On enquiry by GM Corporate Communications,
Reddy was embarrassed and upset.
18.[17.] He seemed unaware of how his behaviour was
perceived negatively and claimed to have no wrong
intentions.
19.[18.] On the incidences raised by the Juhi, he presented his
side a below:
a. That his intention in asking her to sit in his office was
to help her become familiar.
b. That he asked about her health and stay as he cared
about her well-being and comfortable adjustment in
new work environment. More because she was only
lady employee in the plant.
c. That when Juhi rudely refused to sit in his office, he
withdrew himself from having interaction with her
of personal nature.
d. He offered her lift out of courtesy as she had to work
late hours. But when she denied, he never made such
an offer again and let her make her own
arrangements as making any special arrangements
 might have got misconstrued as special concessions/
favours.
20.[19.] GM was still apprehensive.
21.[20.] Juhi told her side to GM as below:
a. That she looked drained and stressed out when GM
met her.
b. That Reddy showed a special interest in her and
extreme concern for her well being.
c. That his habitual enquiries made her feel nervous
and highly uncomfortable.
d. That he commented about her appearance.
e. That he had been orchestrating a set up by asking her
to sit in his office.
f. She also felt that on the Holi festival the people who
banged her home door and tried to force her to play
Holi, was on the instance of Reddy.
22.[21.] She denied any explicit or suggestive remarks or any
effort for physical contact but said that she knew the
intent of Reddy.
23.[22.] She felt that plant duty for her was a punishment for
not accepting to sit in his office.
24.[23.] She said that she did not ask for travel assistance as
she was afraid to ask for any special favour and feared
more advances from Reddy.
[24.] On Hholiy festival, some unruly plant workers kept
banging on her door. She thought that they had been sent
by Reddy to trouble her. But she did not raise any
complaint to anyone, fearing embarrassment and further
harassment.
 [25.] GM noted that barring Hholi incident, both Reddy and
Juhi provided the same details although with different
interpretations.
25.[26.] She could not took sides as she saw grey areas.
26.[27.] Being so senior to her and as a good leader, it is
quite natural for him to see that
[B.] Legal Position in India: The Supreme Court of India
defined Sexual Harassment as any unwelcome sexually
determined behavior (whether directly or by implication)
such as;

1. Physical contact and advances

2. A demand or request for sexual favors
3. Sexually colored remarks
4. Showing pornography
5. Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal
conduct of sexual nature.

PROBLEM ANALYSIS:
The problems to be resolved include the following:

1. Allegation of sexual harassment by Juhi on Mr Reddy

without any clear-cut picture emerging out as there are lot
of grey areas.
2. How to strengthen the employees’ confidence and trust so
that they are encouraged to report on incidents of sexual
harassment to the formal mechanism of the organisation?
3. What were the underlying reasons that this incident took
place? Could it be checked by taking some proactive
steps?
[3.] What should be done to educate and train employees to
make them more gender-sensitive and not act out of
naivety ?
[4.] How to strengthen the employees’ confidence and trust
so that they are encouraged to report on incidents of
sexual harassment to the formal mechanism of the
organisation?
[5.] How to ensure the beginning of a conversation in the
organisation around sexual harassment leading to
healthier interaction among employees?

Problem Analysis:

27.[28.] The case revolves around Juhi who has made the
allegation of sexual harassment by Juhi on Mr Reddy. It is
clear from the case that although none of the actions of Mr
Reddy were of sexual nature as Juhi herself denied any
explicit or suggestive remarks or any effort for physical
contact yet she felt that she is being sexually harassed by
Mr Reddy since she knew and recognised the intent. She
even attributes the Holi incident as planned by Reddy
although she did not make any effort to confirm if it was
the plan of Reddy. This may also indicate some biasness
on the part of Juhi which may be due to her past
encounters with Reddy.
28. So sheIn the present environment, Juhi feels is
nervous, uncomfortable and stressed-out. She has low
level of trust in the formal mechanism as she feared
embarrassment and defamation. If the allegations were
true, the work environment is really unsafe and
 demotivating for the female employees and detrimental to
the organisation, and calls for urgent strict action. If her
allegations do not come out to be true, she needs to be
educated, may be about interpersonal communication.

[29.] On the other hand, Mr Reddy, a very senior officer with

impeccable work record and without any such allegations
in past, is feeling shocked, embarrassed and upset. Again,
if the allegations do not come out to be true, it would be
very demotivating for Mr Reddy and affect his
productivity. Since taking care of team members is an
essential characteristic of a good leader, any false
allegation will affect his good leadership adversely . and
so to other similar officers.

29.[30.] There may be another problem of gender-sensitivity

because in case Mr Reddy has no bad intention towards
Juhi, the issue might have arisen out of poor sensitivity of
Mr Reddy towards gender sensitive issues due to which
Juhi perceived his normal concern as sexual advances.

30.[31.] Next problem seems to be of not having an effective

formal mechanism for sexual harassment as Juhi preferred
to get the issue resolved informally due to the fear of
defamation. Such a mechanism should ensure
confidentiality and a fair treatment to all the parties so
that there is no embarrassment or defamation for the
complainant and also for a person who has done no
wrong. This is necessary to encourage the employees to
 report on incidents of sexual harassment to the formal
mechanism.

31.[32.] There is absence of conversation in the organisation

around sexual harassment which is acting as a big
hindrance to healthier interaction among employees.

DECISION ANALYSIS:

Alternatives for Short Term Decisions:

1. Mr Reddy is guilty of sexual harassment and needs to be

suitably punished.
[2.] Mr Reddy is not guilty of sexual harassment and have
no baed intentions about Juhi. Instead Juhi is making
false allegation against him since she has been given a
tougher job at plant floor by him. So action must be
taken against her for making false allegations.
[3.] Mr Reddy is not guilty of sexual harassment and have
no baed intentions about Juhi. It is only because of her
quiet and reserve nature that she is perceiving the
normal actions of Mr Reddy as sexual harassment.
Hence, she must be counselled.
2.[4.] No clear-cut case exists in favour of Juhi or against Mr
Reddy. So the matter may be closed without need for
any further action.
[5.] No clear-cut case exists in favour of Juhi or against Mr
Reddy, hence no disciplinary action may be initiated
against Mr Reddy. However, both Mr Reddy and/or
Juhi may be asked to take transfer .
[6.] No clear-cut case exists in favour of Juhi or against Mr
Reddy, hence no disciplinary action may be initiated
against Mr Reddy for sexual harassment or against Juhi
for false allegations. However, both Mr Reddy and Juhi
needs to be counselled. Further, either Juhi may be given
the responsibility to work on SAP as she is the only team
member qualified for it or if she continue to work at
Plant floor, she must be provided safe transportation
back to her home, not as a part of special concession to
her but rather as a part of process for such cases. If
possible, she may be asked to report to someone else.
Redady may be given an option to take transfer. Formal
mechanism for handling the complaints of sexual
harassment must immediately be enforced on priority.
Efforts may be made to improve gender ratio in
workforce. (Best Decision)

The Points in support of Mr Reddy are as follows:

1. None of the actions of Mr Reddy were of sexual
nature as Juhi herself denied any explicit or suggestive
remarks or any effort for physical contact while
Supreme court has defined “conduct of sexual nature”
as the central element necessary for sexual
harassment.
2. He has impeccable work record for nearly 20 years
and also had a female subordinate earlier working
under him for 3 years without any complaints or
issues.
3. There is nothing wrong in making in a new employee
familiar with the work environment and asking about
 her well-being as taking care of team members and
thereby, ensuring their productivity is an essential
characteristic of a good leader.
4. He offered her to sit in his office and work on SAP as
she was the only professionally qualified officer in his
team. But when Juhi rudely refused to sit in his office,
he withdrew himself from having interaction with her
of personal nature
5. He offered her lift out of courtesy as she had to work
late hours. But when she denied, he never made such
an offer again and let her make her own arrangements
as making any special arrangements might have got
misconstrued as special concessions/ favours. So
there is no instance of making any special favour to
her.
6. Juhi has attributed the Holi incident as planned by
Reddy without any evidence and had not made any
effort to confirm if it was the plan of Reddy by raising
the issue with Reddy or anybody else.
7. Since there is no evidence at all, the false allegations
would be very demotivating and damaging for Mr
Reddy and affect not only his productivity and
reputation but also that of organisation.

The Points in support of Juhi are as follows

1. Mr Reddy showed unnecessary and exaggerated

interest in her by questions about her well-being and
lifestyle despite knowing that she is reserved and quiet.
2. He had been orchestrating a set up by asking her to sit
in his office. SAP is an online system and she could
have worked from her office also. She could have been
called for discussion whenever needed.
3. Instead, she was given a tougher plant job as a
punishment which required her to work in late hours
despite the fact that she was the only professionally
qualified officer in his team.
4. Although she denied any explicit or suggestive remarks
or any effort for physical contact but said that she knew
the intent. She could recognise and knew the intent
because the content or verbal communication conveys
only a minor part of the intent. The other part of the
intent and the major one is actually conveyed by the
body language i.e. non-verbal communication. And
that’s the reason she looked drained and stressed out
when GM met her and felt very nervous and
uncomfortable.

But, since enough substantial evidences in terms of any

recordings, witnesses etc are not available, the case cannot
be decided in either Reddy’s or Juhi’s favour.
However, since an environment of fear and distrust has
got created, both Ready and Juhi needs to be counselled.

Moreover, either Juhi may be given the responsibility to

work on SAP as she is the only team member qualified for
it or if she continue to work at Plant floor, she must be
provided safe transportation back to her home, not as a
part of special concession to her but rather as a part of
 process for such cases. If possible, she may be asked to
report to someone else.

Alternatives for Long Term Decisions:

[1.] A policy may be made that unless and until there is

clear physical act of sexual advancement, no such
complaint shall be made by anybody.
[2.] A policy may be made that women shall not be given
the tougher jobs requiring late hour working.
[3.] A transfer policy may be made to ensure a minimum
level of women employees at any establishment.that
there should be a minimum number of women
employees already working in the plant/office before
posting another women employee.
1.
[4.] The formal mechanism for reporting complaints of
sexual harassment must be made effective
especially, in terms of fairness and confidentiality,
so as to strengthen the employees’ confidence and
trust in it which will encourage to report the
incidents of sexual harassment. Additionally, the
employees must be educated and trained to make
them more gender-sensitive and also they must be
made to understand various aspects related to sexual
harassment which will lead to healthier interaction
among employees. Efforts may be made to improve
gender ratio in workforce at every level. (Best
Decision)
PLAN OF ACTION

Best Short Term Decision Taken:

No clear-cut case exists in favour of Juhi or against Mr
Reddy, hence no disciplinary action may be initiated
against Mr Reddy for sexual harassment or against Juhi
for false allegations. However, both Mr Reddy and Juhi
needs to be counselled.

[1.] No clear-cut case exists in favour of Juhi or against

Mr Reddy, hence no disciplinary action may be
initiated against Mr Reddy for sexual harassment or
against Juhi for false allegations.
[2.]
[3.] Counselling of Mr Reddy:
The counselling of Mr Reddy has to be done on the
following aspects:

[a)] Gender-sensitive issues: He needs to be

counselled about the gender-sensitivity. As he
knew that Juhi was a new employee and only girl
there, with reserve and quite nature and with her
own value system, he should have exhibited more
restraint and should have stuck to talks related to
official work only. He must be realized that in such
an environment, first and foremost, a women
employee needs to be made to feel safe and secure.
 a)[b)] Interpersonal-skill: He must be educated to
respect her value system for having an effective
communication. He continued showing interest in
her appearance and lifestyle despite knowing that
she is of shy nature and always felt uncomfortable,
looked drained out and stressed in answering his
questions. So, either he does not appreciate the
importance of understanding other person before
communicating or he was intentionally doing it
with bad intentions.

b)[c)] Education about Sexual Harassment as well as

serious repercussions in case of any wrong done:
He must be educated about the legal provisions of
Sexual Harassment act and also its very serious
repercussions including disciplinary action,
prosecution for criminal act as well as losing one’s
social reputation. He must also be informed with a
poker face that the organisation has zero tolerance
for any such act.

Reddy must be taught about the balanced leadership

approach as he is in leadership and authoritative
position. From the case study it seems (in case his
intention were good and not sexually oriented) as he
seems to be more people concerned (relationship oriented
leadership approach).

[4.] Transfer option to Mr Reddy: He may also be asked

that in the existing circumstance, is he willing to take
 transfer to some other location?. If he expresses his
desire, he may be given transfer also.

1.[5.] Counselling of Juhi:

a. Juhi must firstly be made to feel safe and secure
by assuring her that organisation is there for the
complete safety and security of its employees.
b. She must be assured that in case she feels that
inappropriate advances are being made by
someone, she can fearless raise the issue through
formal mechanism in the organisation.
c. She may be given education/training in
interpersonal skills so that she will be in a better
position to understand and appreciate the
communication. This will help in removing in
any bias that may be there due to her reserve and
quiet nature.
2.[6.] Job given to Juhi: Either Juhi may be given the
responsibility to work on SAP from a separate office
as she is the only team member qualified for it or if
she continue to work at Plant floor, she must be
provided safe transportation back to her home, not as
a part of special concession to her but rather as a part
of process for such cases. If possible, she may be asked
to report to someone else.
3.[7.] Formal mechanism for handling the complaints of
sexual harassment must immediately be enforced on
priority.
Best Long Term Decision:

1. The formal mechanism for reporting complaints of

sexual harassment must be made more robust and
effective especially, in terms of fairness and
confidentiality, so as to strengthen the employees’
confidence and trust in it which will encourage to
report the incidents of sexual harassment. Strict
actions must be taken against the persons found guilty
of doing sexual harassment, irrespective of their
positions. This will go as a strong message at all levels
in the organisation as actions speak more than words.
2. Additionally, the employees must be educated and
trained to make them more gender-sensitive and also
they must be made to understand various aspects
related to sexual harassment which will lead to
healthier interaction among employees. They must be
educated about the formal mechanism in the
organisation. Special awareness sessions must be
conducted for this purpose. There is a need for
creating a more vocal culture in the organization. It is
likely to address non-occurrence of such incidents in
future.
3. Employees must be encouraged to give witness if they
are witness to any such act.
4. Monitoring must be increased though use of devices
like CCTVs etc
5. Efforts may be made to improve gender ratio in
workforce.