Tuesday, September 2, 2008
What is Bullying?
Bullying is a problem that can occur at any setting regardless of whether it's at school, at work, or just around your neighborhood. The dictionary definition of bullying is a person who is habitually cruel or overbearing, especially to smaller or weaker people but this definition is too general and does not describe the different form of bullying. The first thing that comes to mind when I hear bullying is someone hitting, chasing or threatening another person, however bullying is not just using violence or physical force. There are other ways to hurt someone other than using physical forces and that can be considered bullying too. Name calling, teasing, ignoring someone, or telling lies about someone is a form of bullying. A non-complete list of the different types of bullying includes Physical Bullying, Cyber-Bullying, Exclusion, Teasing, and Threats. What is your idea on bullying? What do some of the bullying types mean to you?
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Bullying Ranges from a large veriety. There rankings prove how often they are used at schools or everyday life activities. Here is what I think about bullying.
'Bullying' is the use of an advantage of power, to cause physical, emotional or intellectual hurt, against someone's feeling of consent.
Bullying therefore has three key components:
1)an advantage of power
2)an effect of hurt (or loss)
3)an absence of consent
Power advantage
An advantage of power exists where the behaviour of one person is able to control or strongly influence the behaviour of another.
A simple example that illustrates this is that of a young toddler physically hitting his father whilst in a tantrum. This is not bullying because the father is able to cope easily with the attack. The father has a range of choices, from physically restraining the toddler, through introducing distractions, to walking away and returning when the tantrum is over. The toddler's behaviour does not dictate what the father does in this situation.
The other elements of bullying are present in this example. The toddler has the intent of, and may succeed in, causing some physical harm to the father. Also, the father does not consent to the tantrum. However, there is no advantage of power, so this example does not constitute bullying.
In the workplace, an advantage of power exists when someone has authority. This authority may arise from the position in the organisation, the network of people he/she can influence, the taking of a platform at a presentation, or being the holder of important information at a meeting (eg: expertise, or confidential details about employees).
Therefore, a statement such as "Agree with my proposal, or I'll tell people how much bonus you got last year" might constitute bullying, because it is using informational power to coerce someone into conceding a decision (ie intellectual hurt).
An effect of hurt, or loss
Bullying involves some form of hurt - physical, emotional or intellectual - to the person being bullied.
An example that illustrates this is that of a policeman redirecting traffic at the scene of an accident. The policeman has an advantage of power, and is using it to cause drivers to change their route. Also, the driver may not want to go via the detour. However, there is no physical, emotional or intellectual hurt that is being caused, so this example does not constitute bullying.
Examples of hurt that can occur in the workplace are: 'put-downs' or humiliation, being forced to take action that the person does not want to take, concessions in decisions, or the loss of status or respect from others.
An absence of consent
For bullying to take place, there has also to be an absence of consent by the person being 'bullied'.
For example, when two boxers throw punches at each other, trying to use their advantage of power with the intention of causing physical harm, this is not bullying, because they are both consenting to the use of power. Or when Greg Rusedski plays a low ranking tennis player with the aim of beating him, this is not bullying. Even if the low ranking player feels emotionally hurt by the defeat, they have consented to the use of power in this way.
It is important to note that 'absence of consent' refers to the way the person thinks or feels inwardly, and not to what they say outwardly. Sometimes, when confronted by a situation in which people feel bullied, they will state their consent to a particular course of action. However, inwardly they may feel exploited, intimidated or 'bullied', because they do not want to consent. They may have expressed consent for some other reason, such as a lack of assertiveness, or fear of the consequences of disagreeing.
Consent is an important concept, because it can highlight how different people can view the same situation differently. One person might see the situation as normal and rational, and the other as one where bullying has taken place.
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