Question

Some managers do not want to become overly friendly with their subordinates because they are afraid that doing so will impair their objectivity in conducting performance appraisals and making decisions about pay raises and promotions. Some subordinates resent it when they see one or more of their coworkers being very friendly with the boss; they are concerned about the potential for favoritism. Their reasoning runs something like this: If two subordinates are equally qualified for a promotion and one is a good friend of the boss and the other is a mere acquaintance, who is more likely to receive the promotion?

Questions

Either individually or in a group, think about the ethical implications of managers’ becoming friendly with their subordinates.

Do you think managers should feel free to socialize and become good friends with their subordinates outside the workplace if they so desire? Why or why not?

Answer 1

1. The ethical implications of the managers becoming friendly with their subordinates can lead to

• Perception of Favoritism
• Biases in promotion and transfers
• A wrong perspective of other employees
• It may hamper business as secrets could leak in case of non-reliability
• The subordinate may or may not listen to all the orders because of friendship
• Biased performance evaluations
• Termination can be painful and could affect the entire team
• It could affect the productivity of both
• It could lead to negative feedbacks on both by peers and bosses.

2. Yes, Managers should feel free to socialize and become good friends with their subordinates outside the workplace if they so desire. It is a personal choice, it depends on the boss and employee if they want to have any personal relationship. But the friendship should not affect their professional relationship. Because it will be unethical behavior as a manager is always considered a role-model in the organization.