SEMESTER A201, SESI 2020/2021

MANAGEMENT ETHICS

VIDEO ASSIGNMENT
Movie Reflection on “North Country”

GROUP X

HO JING YI

262527

PREPARED FOR:

DR. MOHD NIZAM BIN M SARKAWI

DUE ON:
10th JANUARY 2021
After watching this movie North Country, among the many ethical issues in it are plainly seen
as the poor treatment and gender discrimination of feminine workers at the mining excavation
owned by Mr Pearson. The women portrayed in the movie were violently abused, verbally and
physically. Not only that, but they were also pervasively sexualized through very offensive
visual anti-women references which portrayed women as sexual objects. There are two chapters
that reflects the issues from this movie: Chapter 7 Ethics of Job Discrimination and Chapter 8
Ethics and the Employee.

According to Chapter 7, discrimination is the act of distinguishing people not based on

merit, but on the basis of prejudice and stereotype. In this movie, there are two types of
discriminatory behaviour displayed by all involved parties.

First of all, almost all male workers were intentionally discriminating against the female
miners there, both new and long-serving. Upon starting her job the first day, Josey and the other
new female employees were attacked with sexual remarks and women-hating insults. Her
supervisor had also participated in sexually harassing her. From the movie, he gave her a
remark about how the doctor claimed how she looked good when naked. The reason for the
men’s behaviour towards them is because they aggressively believed that women should not
work in the mines by displaying the power of patriarchy in the mining industry and bully all
female labours who participate in this job.

With this mindset, the company practices institutional discrimination. This is defined
as the discrimination as a result of many participants acting similarly in an institution and of
their routine processes and policies. A recurring theme in the movie is the shushing of illegal
acts towards others. According to the movie, Josey confronts her manager about the constant
harassment she and her female colleagues were receiving from the men. Instead of
investigating her complaints and acting to improve their safety at work, he dismisses her to go
back to work and wanted her to not make noise over this. By brushing her off, this encourages
discriminatory and aggressive behaviour towards the women as well as the accepted nature of
male dominance over women. In addition, it shows negligence as a leader.

Furthermore, the president of the mining company, Mr Pearson, had also dismissed her
after she presented her complaints to him. However, the president himself had not honoured
his role as a leader as well. Even though he invited her to find him when she had a problem but
did not treat her issue with seriousness and once again asking for her to stop accusing the men
and riling up the female workers over their mistreatment.
 Sexual harassment constantly plagues the women in their workplace. The women were
given vulgar names and addressed sexually, which is highly illegal in most of today’s
workplaces as many have implemented policies against sexual harassment. Not only were the
women pranked and verbally abused, but they were also threatened with requests for sexual
favours, unwelcomed sexual advances and non-consensual physical contact that constitutes to
sexual harassment. As seen from the movie, Bobby Sharp constantly attempts to get physically
close to Josey. Whenever Josey was working alone, he would emerge from behind her and
press himself against her while she tries to ignore him. He even tried to lure her up the conveyor,
a place with no one around and sexually harass her. At one point, he jumps on her and tries to
rape her in the pits or the ‘powder room’.

Besides Sharp, many other men harass the women by spray painting walls and
equipment with visual obscenities that comprise of debauchery and profanity. During lunch
time, the men would prank the women by stealing her food and replacing them with offensive
objects inside of their lunch boxes. Another instance was when one of the women had entered
the Porta-Jane, three male workers pushed the toilet around and eventually toppling it, causing
the excrements to spill all over, including the women as well.

This causes hostile and offensive working environments not only for the women, but
also the men who do not participate in illegal act. One example was after Josey was nearly
sexually assaulted by Sharp, she confronted and accused him in the cafeteria for attacking her.
Even though she did this in front of other employees, however, her male friend would not
validate her accusation and keeps mum. Even though there are some who do not commit
harassment, they are afraid of standing up for the women to prevent getting shunned or bullied
by majority of the men. No one believed her, and she felt anguished from this and proceeded
to immediately resign. The women were constantly in fear of being raped at work than the life-
threatening danger of work-hazards. However, if they were to support her, they expect this will
further provoke the men to further harassing them.

With such division and malice between workers, the supervisor and all corporate
leaders in the company should be held accountable for these sexual harassment cases that were
reported but not resolved to ensure the safety of their workers.

According to Chapter 8, everyone in a company has a role to fulfil, such as the employer
must provide fair wage and proper working conditions, and workers must pursue business goals.
Every job has it risk, whether monetary or environmental. In this movie, it focuses on the
mining factory which posted various health and safety risk.

At the start of working there, the workers were briefed with when to wear their safety
gear and how to handle the equipment. However, the mines do not provide safe and hygienic
environments for workers. It did not seem as there were any safety or health officers assigned
to supervise the safety of working conditions of the mines and the health of worker. This is
specially to emphasise and remind them to wear a mask when they are working near places
with the most rock dusts and poisonous chemical fumes, given the dangers and health problems
that may arise from working under these hazardous conditions. For instance, as Josey was
scraping oil from a machine, she did not wear a mask or any safety gear to protect herself from
the poisonous fumes. Further, it did not seem it was compulsory to wear a mask as she was
instructed to check the conveyor even though the rock dust caused her to choke and wheeze.
Moreover, there was injustice when women were awarded the hardest and dirtiest jobs in the
pits, those that men with less experience could not be assigned.

It is not only lax regulations, but employee behaviour from institutional discrimination
that has also created a risky and dangerous working environment for other workers. There are
many workers who fool around, obstructing other workers from doing their job, thus affecting
their work performance and employment. For instance, Sharp constantly interrupts Josie from
conducting her work, especially hazardous task that require her full attention and energy. By
disturbing her, it affects her mentally and causes stress and anxiety. Another example is after
being rejected and dismissed by her colleagues for accusing Sharp, she proceeds to resign from
work due to the corrupted working conditions harassment and the strong prevalence of male
dominance has created.

Another issue with the company is the lack of appropriate facilities. For instances, the
female employees do not have a toilet designated for them. It was after someone had fallen ill
to bladder infection did the union decided to become concerned regarding the matter.

An employer’s job is to ensure progress towards reaching business goals, this job also
entails overseeing their worker’s welfare and ensuring safe working conditions for them. Not
only did their manager treated his workers differently based on gender, spoke unprofessionally
to the female workers, and also used sexist slurs to insult them.

Despite all the harassment, bully, and suffering endured by the main character, I admire
how she is still able to stand up for herself and report to her manager of her tragic experiences.
More importantly, after she is brushed off and dismissed time and again, she continues to come
into work and does her job as instructed, alongside the employees who verbally and sexually
harass her.

This movie had left me in tears. To be harassed at such degrees, all the while sacrificing
not just her dignity but for the sake of her family as well. It has opened my eyes to how our
world has changed. It’s hard to believe how mistreated women were back then. We have been
told about these events, as well as reading about them in our textbooks. However, to watch a
film about it really sets the message in your head. Women today are still fighting for equality.
And after watching this film, it feels like it’s time for everyone to understand the hard work,
and unfortunate events, that has got us where we are today.