Nepotism

Nepotism refers to favouring relatives or close associates, for example, in hiring or business transactions, while ignoring the qualifications and merits of other candidates. Such a flaw can become unfair and unequal in organizations because the jobs or opportunities are often distributed based on personal relations instead of skills, experience or performance. On the other hand, in organizations where nepotism is predominant, it can breed a sense of unfairness among workers who think they advance based on who they know rather than what they can do. Moreover, nepotism can not only slow down the process of diversity and innovation but can also make these opportunities unavailable to those not included in the circle of favours. Nepotism needs to be addressed by ensuring that hiring and promotion processes are based on merit and qualifications and not through personal connections.

Example

One instance of nepotism may come up in the case of a family-owned business where the relatives are often appointed to higher positions without considering their qualifications or productivity. For example, the CEO can appoint his less experienced nephew to a top management position and displace more senior staff members solely because of family relations. This makes the other employees feel they are worthless despite their hard work and persistence. Also, it can create an unfavourable working environment where people tend to perceive the mere display of partiality as the norm. Morale and productivity will decay as a result. Solving nepotism in such cases requires the implementation of fair and transparent hiring and promotion rules that focus on merit and qualifications rather than personal relationships, giving all staff members equal opportunities to move forward based on their capabilities.