Case Study: 1

1.Can an individual effectively manage a group and be a close personal friend

with group members?
Yes, an individual can effectively manage a group and be a close personal friend
with group members to some extent. This can be possible only if personal life and
professional life are kept separate. Being part of an organization usually means
being part of an ecosystem of people who are in constant interaction with one
another. In a setting in which you are in close contact with the same people on an
everyday basis, you tend to create relationships with these people. While there’s
certainly nothing wrong with employees developing close personal relationships
with one another, the dynamic between the boss and employee is a bit different.
When you’re friends with an employee, you have a hard time seeing existing flaws
or setting your personal feelings aside when necessary. For example, you may
overlook their mistakes because you have an emotional connection with them.
Your friendship with an employee should never influence your decisions about
raises, assignments and layoffs. If they are going through a difficult time, show
them you are willing to help and give them advice. You can show empathy for
their problems without getting involved in them personally.

2.What should Avishek do to ensure that the work of the typists will
improve?

Avishek being the manager of customer relations department, his main duty is to
generate best outcomes from his employees. As mentioned in above case, their
department has been receiving many complaints regarding the work of the typists
from the human resource department. So, to ensure that the work of the typists
will improve, Avishek should guide Aishwarya to make her authority clear to the
other typists and make decisions unbiasedly. Aishwarya should evaluate other
typists performance by leaving personal feelings and personality traits out of
performance reviews. Honesty is one of the best principles you can use to
establish a healthy balance between caring your employees and leading them
professionally. All strong relationships are built on honesty. And just like a good
friend would tell you when you are doing something wrong no matter how much
it hurts, Aishwarya should use open communication to help typists become better
at what they do. From above case , it can be seen that Aishwarya is a type of
person who empathize with other people as she spends most of her time typing
to reduce the work load of other. Aishwarya should know that being a good
mentor to other typists can show empathy for them.

3.Should Aiswarya have been promoted to office supervisor?

Yes, Aiswarya should have been promoted to office supervisor as she deserved it
because of her dedication and hardwork for the company. Aiswarya has been an
ideal employee for ten years, she was good at her work and was also liked by all
the typists. From Avishek perspective, she was liked by all typists and was
productive employee so as a result Avishek showed favoritism towards
Aishwarya. He didn’t took other things in consideration while promoting her to an
office supervisor. As a leader, you need to avoid any perception of favoritism.
Other employees can notice favoritism almost instantly and the resentment can
start building up fast. This can lead to the creation of a perception of favoritism
and unfair treatment, even if it does not really exist. Other will think that they
have no chance at growth opportunities and that the employees you are closest
with will end up being the ones who will most likely receive raises and promotions
that aren’t based on performance. Career development opportunities should be
strictly based on performance and skills. That’s why you need to make sure that
everyone in your team knows that they share the same advancement
opportunities that are strictly based on the merit.

4.If you were Aiswarya, What would you do?

If I was Aishwarya I would have been careful of the way I conduct myself with the
typists because as a leader I have to be very cautious with boundaries. I should
keep my personal and professional life separate. There are lines that should not
be crossed, for a variety of reasons. If you are a boss or manager, it’s all about
balance when it comes to becoming friends with your employees. On one hand, I
would have avoided extremely close personal friendships with other typists, but
on the other hand I would have let them know I care about them as individuals,
not just as workers.