Workplace Bullying in the United States and Canada: Organizational Accountability Required in Higher Education

IntroductionThe purpose of this paper is to compare the probable existence of two North American civilizations, Canada and the United States, and then consider how each civilization has addressed workplace bullying. Canada started to prohibit workplace bullying in 2004. However, the United States only began to address the problem ten years later, in 2014, with a few states passing statutes. Examining the differences in culture and the research on how higher education in both Canada and the United States has dealt with workplace bullying may give insights to how both Canada and the United States can better protect employees faced with workplace bullying.Brief Definition of CivilizationMany varying and competing definitions of the controversial concept of 'civilization' exist in the literature. However, Permumpanani (2013), writing with the Comparative Civilization Review, defined civilization as a "dynamic system that supports endogenous cultural development through economic activity aggregated across elements of data" (p. 9). He further noted that scholars have long debated the definitions for 'civilization' and 'culture,' failing to reach consensus. Huntington (2003) offered a list of eight major civilizations, while the British historian Clark (1982) admitted "he still did not know what civilization was, but thought he could recognize it when he saw it" (p. 18). In some discussions, 'culture' and 'civilization' are interchangeable terms, reflecting both historical and evolutionary dynamics. Nonetheless, Permumpanani (2013) considered at the basic level that civilizations started as an undefined or inchoate group, and then became defined by geographic, linguistic, or religious parameters. Once these parameters were established, the civilization evolved over time within the interaction of people living in the group (Permumpanani, 2013). Within Permumpanani's frame (2013) regarding civilization, Canada and the United States emerged as different civilizations. While they both grew from roots by leaving imperialistic governance in Europe, the United States secured independence close to one hundred years before Canada. Further, the US culture has an indelible foundation in racism, slavery, and the exploitation of different people for capitalistic gain. Until recently, the United States was intensely committed to the English language to the exclusion of other languages, even in the primary educational curriculum.In contrast, Canada's evolution involved more recent and still retained ties to the British crown. For example, in the early 1900s, Canadians resisted the World War I notion that British engagement in the war assumed Canadian engagement in World War I. Further, Canadian society was based on civic equity. Such values have been part of Quebec's struggle to maintain its French influence and language. Their official languages include both English and French. While racism is a problem affecting most civilizations, Canada did not codify racial differences by forbidding interracial marriage or institutional segregation that occurred in the United States.Further, the US and Canada maintain differences regarding economic competition. A focus on capitalist growth yielded for Canada, a Canadian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of only $1550.54 billion in 2013, compared to a mammoth $18036.65 billion in the United States (Trading economics, 2017). Thus, in comparative terms, Canada represents 2.5% of the world economy while the US contributes 29.09% of the world economy (Trading economics, 2017). These two different civilizations then have two different sets of values, with the US being more competitive and more focused on capitalism than Canada. This difference in economic dynamism and its implications for competition would inform a difference in workplace values. In turn, the differences in values about work and competition could inform the difference in commitment to anti-bullying legislation between Canada and the United States. …