1. What aspects of the organizational culture in the RCMP may be contributing to its problems with wide-spread sexual harassment allegations?

2. Do the alleged claims of sexual harassment point to a leadership problem? Why or why not?

3. Devise a plan to manage a culture of change at the RCMP. What resistance might you encounter and how could you overcome it?

This case study analyzes how organizational culture influences the way power is used in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). It further investigates how leadership contributes to a climate where harassment and bullying is accepted.

In this case we hear from eight named female officers about incidents of sexual harassment and bullying that led them and countless other female officers to launch a class action lawsuit against the RCMP for sexual harassment. All the named officers and many others have left the force after they were systematically targeted by male colleagues. Many were discharged with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of ongoing workplace harassment and bullying.

Evidence points to an entrenched culture of male domination in the force. Complaints by female officers over the years were dismissed and ignored. This problem went all the way up to the then-Commissioner of the force. The lack of response from anyone in authority sent a signal to the (male) members that silence, cover-up and minimization were the preferred methods of dealing with harassment within the force.