Being promoted above one’s peers with the sudden responsibility to supervise former friends is tough enough. But when one of the friends becomes a problem employee, the problem is even worse. Ashok Pandey was working in the accounting department of the Railway Ministry along with four other staff. He had developed both a personal and a professional relationship with most of them. They were friends as well as coworkers. There was a major reorganization within the section and the accounting department was affected. Ashok was promoted to Section Officer of the department and reported directly to the Director of accounting services. After he was promoted, several changes took place. He was now his former coworker’s Section Officer rather than just being ‘one of them’. He now had to supervise their work. He had to distance himself enough to be respected yet still maintain a personal relationship with them. Shortly, after being promoted, he encountered a situation in which one of the staff was not doing his job. He was having several personal problems that were beginning to affect his work performance. He began coming in late and using the phone too much for his personal use. Deadlines were not being met. Errors were showing up in his work, one of which was costly to the Department. Ashok had to take action. This staff was expecting Ashok to go easy on him because they were friends. According to personnel policies, the staff was to be given an oral warning about his work performance, thereby giving the staff a chance to correct his deficiencies. Ashok talked to the staff, who promised to improve. Things improved for about a week, but then the staff reverted to his old habits. The next step was a written warning that was placed in his personal file. This warning spelled out the nature of the offenses. It explained that if the staff’s job performance could not be brought up to an acceptable level, the staff would be terminated.
(A) What are the ethical issues involved in the above case?
(B) Do you think care ethics and emotional intelligence will work for Ashok or he should be exploring some other approach? Discuss.