Dear Avik,
I stand by what RSK said in the above comment. You did not look at the incident but you looked at the persons while delivering justice. Before taking any action, you should have thought of the principles of natural justice. All are equal before the law, and there should not be any gender discrimination. If both have committed the offense, then both should be punished.
Possibly, you can reconsider your decision now and give some exemplary punishment to both of them.
Ok...
Dinesh V Divekar
From India, Bangalore
8032I stand by what RSK said in the above comment. You did not look at the incident but you looked at the persons while delivering justice. Before taking any action, you should have thought of the principles of natural justice. All are equal before the law, and there should not be any gender discrimination. If both have committed the offense, then both should be punished.
Possibly, you can reconsider your decision now and give some exemplary punishment to both of them.
Ok...
Dinesh V Divekar
From India, Bangalore
Dear RSK,
I beg to differ from your opinion.
I presume that the concerned Manager is senior and the lady Executive is junior.
According to you, since both were (or appeared to be) intimate, both should get EQUAL punishment, right?
My dear friend, do you know, for instance, in some organizations' Code of Conduct, it is forbidden to seek any monetary or other pecuniary help from a subordinate?
Why? And why is this rule not applicable in case you seek assistance from a Senior?
Because (I'll answer it for you): when you solicit something from a senior/superior, he/she has a RIGHT to say NO; he/she can refuse to agree with you.
But, in the case of a junior, you do not give him/her the right/privilege to disagree or say NO or dare to refuse. Implying that a junior can be pressurized/coerced to give his/her acceptance/agreement to a wrongful act, whereas in reality, he/she does not agree with it.
Therefore, the differential punishment awarded is just and fair to both the offenders.
Hope the issue is clear to you now. (No offense meant. I know you are smart and sharp. I have the feeling that your response is just to JUDGE the capability of HR professionals in being able to arrive at correct thinking/decision independently, even if the evidence points otherwise. Looks like a Vikram-Vetal question. By the way, do you know, this is the name given to the training program in Future Group (Big Bazaar) involving Case Studies.)
Let us congratulate Avik: on taking the bold step of catching the bull by the horn, and as we can see, the unethical manager had to bite the dust.
P.S.: It's good that the matter has been resolved; else apart from a Workplace Romance Policy, I was also going to suggest a Consensual Relationship Agreement a.k.a. Love Contract to be signed by both the parties; which indemnifies a company in case of potential sexual harassment charges when the romance turns sour. Being an MNC, the acceptance would not be a problem.
Warm regards.
From India, Delhi
I beg to differ from your opinion.
I presume that the concerned Manager is senior and the lady Executive is junior.
According to you, since both were (or appeared to be) intimate, both should get EQUAL punishment, right?
My dear friend, do you know, for instance, in some organizations' Code of Conduct, it is forbidden to seek any monetary or other pecuniary help from a subordinate?
Why? And why is this rule not applicable in case you seek assistance from a Senior?
Because (I'll answer it for you): when you solicit something from a senior/superior, he/she has a RIGHT to say NO; he/she can refuse to agree with you.
But, in the case of a junior, you do not give him/her the right/privilege to disagree or say NO or dare to refuse. Implying that a junior can be pressurized/coerced to give his/her acceptance/agreement to a wrongful act, whereas in reality, he/she does not agree with it.
Therefore, the differential punishment awarded is just and fair to both the offenders.
Hope the issue is clear to you now. (No offense meant. I know you are smart and sharp. I have the feeling that your response is just to JUDGE the capability of HR professionals in being able to arrive at correct thinking/decision independently, even if the evidence points otherwise. Looks like a Vikram-Vetal question. By the way, do you know, this is the name given to the training program in Future Group (Big Bazaar) involving Case Studies.)
Let us congratulate Avik: on taking the bold step of catching the bull by the horn, and as we can see, the unethical manager had to bite the dust.
P.S.: It's good that the matter has been resolved; else apart from a Workplace Romance Policy, I was also going to suggest a Consensual Relationship Agreement a.k.a. Love Contract to be signed by both the parties; which indemnifies a company in case of potential sexual harassment charges when the romance turns sour. Being an MNC, the acceptance would not be a problem.
Warm regards.
From India, Delhi
Dear Ravi,
Actually, Mr. Raj is right when he mentioned "when you solicit something from a senior/superior, he/she has a RIGHT to say NO; he/she can refuse to agree with you. But in the case of a junior, you do not give him/her the right/privilege to disagree or say NO or dare to refuse."
I agree when you state "intimate" - it is further beyond than just a mere advance from one end. However, the punishment for a senior is tougher in these situations compared to what a subordinate has to go through because the subordinate listens to the boss. If a boss says something, and the subordinate is sure that it will be a flop business plan but still has to listen to the "Boss," the boss has to be blamed! So the same applies here.
And Awik: Congratulations!!
From India, Madras
Actually, Mr. Raj is right when he mentioned "when you solicit something from a senior/superior, he/she has a RIGHT to say NO; he/she can refuse to agree with you. But in the case of a junior, you do not give him/her the right/privilege to disagree or say NO or dare to refuse."
I agree when you state "intimate" - it is further beyond than just a mere advance from one end. However, the punishment for a senior is tougher in these situations compared to what a subordinate has to go through because the subordinate listens to the boss. If a boss says something, and the subordinate is sure that it will be a flop business plan but still has to listen to the "Boss," the boss has to be blamed! So the same applies here.
And Awik: Congratulations!!
From India, Madras
Mr. Avik Roy,
You have done a good thing. After going through the remarks of our colleagues regarding the discrimination in the punishment imposed on the manager and the lady executive, I do not agree with their opinion. As a manager, one should not pressure his female subordinate to have an affair with him. Otherwise, there is a chance for him to exercise bias, creating problems in the workplace or recommending no increments during her appraisal, etc.
It is likely that your lady executive fell into the trap of the manager, causing her to suffer equally for such actions. I sincerely appreciate your timely decision to ensure the general discipline of your organization.
Regards,
N.V. Rao
Hyderabad
From India, Hyderabad
You have done a good thing. After going through the remarks of our colleagues regarding the discrimination in the punishment imposed on the manager and the lady executive, I do not agree with their opinion. As a manager, one should not pressure his female subordinate to have an affair with him. Otherwise, there is a chance for him to exercise bias, creating problems in the workplace or recommending no increments during her appraisal, etc.
It is likely that your lady executive fell into the trap of the manager, causing her to suffer equally for such actions. I sincerely appreciate your timely decision to ensure the general discipline of your organization.
Regards,
N.V. Rao
Hyderabad
From India, Hyderabad
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