I personally believe the first avenue of conflict resolution is direct confrontation. Unfortunately there are a lot of simpletons out there that watch too many movies and think this automatically means punching someone or physically fighting them (Ireland is among these people, evidently). That's not implied at all. Confrontation does not mean fighting, it does not mean punching, it does not mean anything physical or even anything emotional. It means dialogue. Confronting your problems directly is something that needs to be part of this chain of options that you speak of, because direct dialogue is the easiest way to resolve the conflict and come to a better understanding. This isn't the movies. The "bully" is not always going to say "Or you'll do WHAT exactly?" if you confront him or her on the behavior you don't like. I honestly do think there is lost appreciation for the virtues of direct confrontation and dialogue in dealing with problems. After that, absolutely the responsibility is to report it up the chain of command.
Now on the other hand, when the actions taken by someone are so egregious obviously you might feel the need to go above their head immediately. I think the incident at the charity golf event fits that description.
