Contemporary Management 7th Edition by Gareth Jones,Jennifer George

Exercise 7

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