BMAL 770 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY ETHICS CASE STUDY_2024.pdf

ETHICS CASE STUDY 1

The #MeToo Movement: Tasking Sexual Harassment Seriously

School of Business, Liberty University

ETHICS CASE STUDY 2

Abstract

Famed Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein sexually harassed and sexually assaulted

members of his staff and film industry actresses for more than four decades. There were 87

women who came forward, and their stories revealed pervasive issues and problems within the

entertainment industry focused on protecting a predator instead of his victims. Weinstein utilized

a cadre of human resources, legal, public relations personnel, and a robust professional network

to silence his accusers and potential whistleblowers by utilizing non-disclosure agreements,

the organization and its personnel. The Scripture also presented a Christian worldview and

demonstrated God’s expectation that leaders serve ethically and lead by example.

Keywords: bullying, ethical behavior, followership, influence, power, toxic leadership,

unethical behavior, unlawful behavior, and worldview.

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The #MeToo Movement: Tasking Sexual Harassment Seriously

Film industry women and reporters exposed renowned Hollywood producer Harvey

Weinstein for perpetual sexual harassment and sexual assault (Johnson, 2018). The situation

exposed the perpetrator and the team of professional enablers who helped Mr. Weinstein cover

up his crimes by orchestrating a series of non-disclosure agreements, financial payouts, and

smear campaigns targeting victims (Rutenberg, 2017). Actress Alyssa Milano encouraged all

women who had ever experienced sexual harassment in the workplace to utilize the hashtag

Rutenberg, 2017).

Unethical Behaviors

The Scripture highlights the dangers of enabling unethical, immoral, and illegal behaviors

in Ephesians 5:11, “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them”

(English Standard Version Bible, 2001). The Apostle Paul alerts Christians to their responsibility

to avoid sin by clearly defining acceptable and unacceptable behaviors and committing to hold

those who harm others accountable for their actions. The verse also relays a clear message

focused on how ignoring darkness is not the answer because God instructs his children to be

courageous and fight darkness with light. This case study draws attention to Harvey Weinstein’s

predatory nature and unethical behaviors of toxic leadership, bullying, and engaging in unlawful

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conduct. Also, it exposes the lengths his associates took to protect him, inevitably allowing him

to victimize more women over a substantial period without taking accountability.

Toxic Leadership

Johnson (2018) refers to toxic leadership as a series of destructive and dysfunctional

leadership behaviors which harm organizations and personnel. Toxic leaders are also viewed as

abusive, lacking integrity, corrupt, and untrustworthy. Mr. Weinstein demonstrated these

maladaptive and deviant workplace behaviors by sexually harassing and assaulting female

who were involved in covering up his sexual deviance were also culpable as they had several

opportunities to quit and report the behaviors to the proper authorities once they were made

aware of the systemic unethical behavior; however, so many chose to enable him by willing

participating or through choosing to do nothing.

Bullying

Weinstein also engaged in bullying behaviors by utilizing forced compliance and

threatened to ruin professional careers if he was reported (Moniuszko & Kelly, 2018). Bullying

is a common form of workforce aggression where leaders threaten, dehumanize, and make the

workplace unsafe for personnel. According to Park et al. (2020), leaders also encourage

colleagues and followers to engage in these deviant workplace behaviors when a whistleblower

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emerges and threatens to expose the organization and its personnel for unethical conduct.

Personnel who worked with Weinstein for several years risked being outed and had self-

interested concerns, leading to an “Us versus Them” mindset.

God reminds victims of unethical and immoral behavior that he will judge and hold

perpetrators who do not repent or atone for their sins accountable for their actions. “But as for

the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murdered, the sexually immoral, sorcerers,

idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with first and sulfur, which is

sexual harassment have rights under the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. They

can also pursue a criminal case dependent on the circumstance alongside sexual assault charges

and prosecution. Weinstein was convicted of multiple counts of rape, sexual assault, sexual

penetration by a foreign object, and forcible oral copulation in California and New York, and

more than 87 women have come forward to tell their stories (Francescani & Katersky, 2020;

Moniuszko & Kelly, 2018; Salahieh & Mossburg, 2022). Weinstein and his allies had previously

silenced these women by making them sign non-disclosure agreements. Collectively, opposing

parties threatened professional ruin and legal action if victims attempted to break the legally

binding document. This was the preferred method to silence accusers and provided Mr.

Weinstein with the legal cover he needed to continue his workforce abuse. According to Barmes

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(2023), non-disclosures have been routinely used as an unethical practice to silence victims of

workplace sexual harassment and make it difficult for organizations and personnel to combat the

behavior because of the lack of transparency and accountability.

Power and Influence

Mr. Weinstein co-founded Miramax Films and later founded The Weinstein Company,

allowing him to exercise all five power bases: coercive, reward, legitimate, expert, and referent

power. The abundance of power also connects to why he was able to avoid facing criminal and

was within their responsibilities to protect the company (Rutenberg, 2017).

According to Johnson (2018), the leader’s referent power also earns follower admiration,

reward power provides value to employees, and coercive power gives leaders the authority to

penalize and punish. Weinstein used these powers to give bonuses to loyal employees while

simultaneously punishing, firing, and ruining the reputation of those who spoke out, all while

continuing to grow his business and earning the respect of one of Hollywood’s top producers.

Asad et al. (2020) refer to this as “narcissism based on power,” which contributes to a false sense

of security, maladaptive behaviors, and a charismatic persona leading to unethical, illegal, and

immoral organizational influence. Weinstein was a powerful, prestigious, and wealthy executive

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with unlimited resources, giving him the false illusion of being untouchable for several decades

until his eventual arrest and conviction.

Followership Challenges

Harvey Weinstein led thousands of people during his co-founder and chief executive

officer tenure within the entertainment industry. As previously addressed, he was a toxic leader,

and a bully, committed unlawful acts, and used his power to reward personnel who gave his

allegiance and punished those who went against him. Weinstein had control over his personnel’s

relationships out of loyalty and, in many cases, fear. The leader may set the tone for the entire

organization; however, this does not absolve followers from their own unethical, illegal, and

immoral behavior.

Johnson (2018) provides examples of what personnel can do when faced with unethical

leadership behaviors and recommends courageous followership and whistleblowing as viable

alternatives. However, followers may feel conflicted about what to do when their leaders make

unethical decisions. They may also feel like they are betraying the organization and colleagues

by bringing internal issues to external sources for assistance. Standing up to these unethical

leaders requires moral judgment and personal courage, which is not an easy feat. According to

Park et al. (2020), whistleblowers can gain internal and external support by collecting

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information, uniting colleagues towards a common goal, planning an exit strategy, and seeking

employment with another organization before submitting a complaint. Unfortunately, ethical

followers cannot stay in unethical situations long-term because they risk unintentionally enabling

deviant workplace behaviors by failing to report or choosing to leave a toxic organization and

become part of the problem.

The Scripture also identifies why calling out bad behavior is not always enough and

instructs followers on their responsibility to give justice to those who have been victims or have

or fail to stop evil and expects followers to trust in him to give them strength.

Worldview

An individual’s worldview can affect how someone views ethical and value-based

behaviors and the importance they put on them. Harvey Weinstein is a practicing Jew with a

theistic worldview focused on an all-powerful, just God who created the world and links ethics

and morality to God’s character (Mawson, 2021). However, his actions were not aligned with

Judaism-taught morals, beliefs, or acceptable behaviors and represented cognitive dissonance

resulting from conflicting views. The Scripture addresses this concept in 1 Corinthians 10:21,

“You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of

the Lord and the table of demons” (English Standard Version Bible, 2001) meaning Weinstein

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could not be a genuine practitioner of his faith while simultaneously and continuously sexually

harassing and assaulting women in the workplace and using his money and influence to cover up

his crimes.

Conclusion

Unethical leaders feel a sense of grandiosity and often believe that the rules apply to

everyone else. They have an inordinate amount of power and wield it to make the rules, reward

those who show loyalty and punish those who reject illegal and immoral requests. These leaders

promise to help those harmed and victimized. The Scripture also relays this message in Galatians

6:1-2, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore

him in the spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself; let you, too, be tempted. Bear one

another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (English Standard Version Bible, 2001).