Some may not be familiar with the term, but not with the act itself. Fraternization is romantic or overly friendly social involvement that can occur between employees or employers working within the same organization. Fraternization can lead to many problems inside and outside of an organization. Some organizations have fraternization policies and some do not. Although some organizations obtain fraternization policies, there is a possibility that fraternization has occurred within that organization. Fraternizing with employees can also lead to very unpleasant circumstances and unexpected results.

Employee fraternization can lead to situations related to unfavorable behaviors, such as claims of favoritism, tension, manipulation and separation of employees. This could be detrimental to individuals and to an organization. An organization must have a code of ethics, but if fraternization is included in a particular organization’s code of ethics, it is within that organization’s preference.

A code of ethics is a set of principles of conduct within an organization that guide decision-making and behavior.” The code of ethics provides employees with guidelines or a path to accountability when making ethical decisions (Henry, 2010) It also establishes a responsibility within their work environment (Henry, 2010) Codes of ethics are very important because they ensure efficient and effective action by public or private employees, maximize public trust, eliminate illegal discrimination and encourage behavior that shows fairness, loyalty, compassion, responsibility, and respect toward co-workers and their customers (ASPA Code of Ethics, 2006).

Remembering that ethical behavior provides a positive image for an organization and applying the appropriate behavior can save time and money for the company and the employee. That is, the time it takes for the company to recover from a relationship gone wrong within the organization, its effects on other employees, and the cost of lawsuits that could possibly result from employee behavior complaints.

Administrators or managers who engage in ethical behavior tend to manage organizations that have fewer lawsuits, and because managers have a strong sense of ethics, are able to implement efficient and effective productivity improvements than those managed by organizations. by managers with a lesser sense of ethics and who, as a result, pursue innovation but ignore responsibility and responsiveness (Henry, 2010). Establishing and enforcing a Code of Ethics is very important to creating a highly reputable, respectful and productive organization.

I believe that incorporating the fraternization policy into an organization’s code of ethics is entirely up to the organization, but the pros and cons must be weighed during the decision-making process.

References:

American Society of Public Administration. (2006). ASPAS Code of Ethics. Retrieved from http://asapnet.org/scriptcontnet/index_codeofethics.com.

Enrique, N. (2010). Public Administration and Public Affairs. New York, NY: Longman.