Nepotism in the workplace is a moral issue

Myka Renzie A. Siababa

Introduction

In an organization, fairness is the most basic theme in running a business and treating its employees. This is to implement professionalism and effective management in their respective workplace. However some businesses do not consider the word “Fairness” in some ways and it may affect the behavior of the employees on how they treat each other, how they work with other co-workers and on how they perform their responsibility as an employee in the organization.

One of the practices in the organization that can cause unfair treatment of employees is nepotism. Having nepotism is not new phenomenon in the business industry and politics, this unfair practice by a powerful person of giving jobs and other favors to relatives may hurt the company or mistreated the employees. Such management behavior or practice is already considered as immoral because they give undue advantage to someone who does not necessarily merit this treatment. But, if they practiced it properly nepotism can be a true asset in an organization. According to a One Business Week story they noted that family-run businesses can have lower employee turnover rates as specific managerial values are passed down from generation to generation. Some businesses encourage hiring qualified relatives and spouses, with idea that good people tend to associate with good people.
In this article it will identify what is nepotism, determine the possible advantages and disadvantages of nepotism in the workplace and explain if nepotism in the workplace is a moral issue.

WHAT is NEPOTISM?

Wheatley (2016) defines Nepotism as the practice of those with power (perhaps your boss or manager), showing favoritism towards friends or family; usually by way of giving them a job or benefits. According to her originally, nepotism meant favoritism of family members, but today it has a much broader meaning.She said that In the workplace this could mean favoring members of staff because they’re friends, relatives or they just really like their personality; as a result they’re offered better opportunities. 

Abun, (2014) defines nepotism in two ways : the relative nepotism and the friend nepotism. According to him relative nepotism as a common practice everywhere to hire, save, prioritize and promote the relative first before anyone else while the friend nepotism is a management behavior that is giving special attention to friends. He considered it “inner circle of influence” to the management and they are the priority of the management. He defined Connection nepotism as a practice to give a special treatment to persons who have connection with the management, be it political connection, sports activity/hobby connection, and many others. He said it may seem to be unimportant but often time such connection influences management for special treatment. In Contribution nepotism he refers to the practice in which management gives a special treatment to persons who have contributed something to the achievement of the management while this practice may not be totally bad but it should always consider the total whole. He determined that the performance of the management is a contribution of all people working for the organization because all works are interrelated and thus evaluation to the level of contribution must be done to determine how much each one has contributed to the organization.The origin of the term “nepotism” came from Catholic bishops who would bequeath wealth, property, and priesthood to their “nephews?” The nephews were usually their illegitimate offspring, and it served as a way for church clergy to both own property and to retain power in their families by (Bellow, A. 2003) and (Jones, R.G. Ed., 2012).

If you say nepotism it gives negative response in other employees and in the organization because of favoring and hiring relatives and friends. It usually manifests itself in the form of negative practices like undeserved promotions to the relatives or close friends who are employed and workers getting jobs that are not qualified in the position.Nepotism in the workplace can decrease motivations to the hard-working employees who are professionally performed their respective jobs well but they didn’t benefited on the way they give effort. In this matter the relationship with the person (relative or friend) who receive merit without any hard work and the hardworking employees may create barrier between them due to unequal treatment in the management which may involve difficult conversation and it may lead to conflict with their works.

Today, nepotism refer to the hiring or promotion of a family member (including in-laws), and it smacks of favoritism. Indeed, the hiring of relatives in some companies is forbidden by company policy more on the government services. Umali (2015) identified the nepotism in the Philippines government as A general knowledge on the laws and rules governing nepotism is very critical to all Philippine government officials, as it is an inherent trait of Filipinos to take care of their kamag-anak first, like in the appointment or designation of officials or employees in the government service. Section 59, Book V of the Administrative Code of 1987 provided the parameters on the rule of nepotism. Thus, it states that:  “All appointments in the national, provincial, city and municipal governments or any branch or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations, made in favor of a relative of the appointing or recommending authority or the chief of the bureau or office, or of the persons exercising immediate supervision over him, are hereby prohibited.” In family business, nepotism is not that harmful in the organization the reason is they can help each other to make their business successful and they can manage it well. So, the big question is whether nepotism in business is a good or a bad thing? Here are the advantages and disadvantages of nepotism in a workplace.

Advantages of Nepotism in the Workplace
 ·         In hiring friends or relative in an organization can create a friendly and pleasant working environment. Friends and family may bring many useful skills to your business.
 ·         You already know the capabilities of your relatives and close friends. This will let you assign just the right tasks to each person, based on their individual strengths and weaknesses. However, only hire friends or relatives that you are sure are qualified for the position. So that it cannot lead problems in the workplace. 
·         Friends and family may already be familiar with your company and how it works. You wouldn't need to spend as much time training new employees with the aims of your company. 
·         Hiring your children can also bring special advantages. Your company will have another capable employee, while your family will be earning extra money. There may also be tax advantages to hiring your children.
 ·         Family members and close friends enter a business agreement with you already possessing a strong commitment to you as an individual, and, most likely, to your company. Because of this, they may be more willing to work longer hours (such as evenings or weekends) when necessary.
 ·         Family members are usually very dedicated resulting in lower turnover. There is a higher level of commitment since relatives want to see the company succeed. Loyalty, morale and trust are also high. 
·         In treating employees between relatives and ordinary employees you should treat them fairly to avoid complication with other employees. Also, to implement professionalism in workplace and to perform their respective jobs well.Promote an employee solely based on how qualified he is to perform the job, not because of a personal relationship. Otherwise, his promotion will appear unfair to other employees who are more qualified to perform the job. 

Disadvantages of Nepotism in the Workplace
 ·         It may also negatively affect your business if you didn’t use it right. Hiring friends and family may allow for familial disputes and interactions to negatively affect the way your business runs. 
 ·         A friend or family member may take advantage of their status, knowing that it is more difficult to fire someone who is close to you. 
·         Other employees may feel jealous when you hire a friend or family member, thinking it is favoritism. This may especially be the case when a family member or friend is given a promotion over a non-relative/friend.   
·         Personal family problems or disagreements between friends may be brought to the workplace. This may make it uncomfortable for other employees and difficult for work to get done. 
 ·         Problems in the work place may be brought home to the family. They may also influence your relationship with your friends. It may be more difficult to create a necessary change in the workplace when it might negatively affect your friend or relative that works for you. 
 ·         Mistreating your employees by favoring your relatives, undeserved promotions and benefits it lead to problem to the workplace, the employees who work well to their jobs may disappoint and  they discourage to perform their jobs complete. 

Nepotism is a harmful practice in the organization or workplace if it used and interpret it in negative way.However, these may avoid in few possible solutions: 
·         Only hire friends or relatives that you are sure are qualified for the position. 
·         Hire friends or family on a 3-month trial basis. Then, if you like they way they work hire them on a permanent basis. 
·         Make it very clear to friends and family that they will be treated the same as any other employee. Meaning that they could be fired just the same as other employees. 
·         Have a written contract with each friend or relative that explains their duties and responsibilities to the company, as well as their compensation. Having a written contract in place can ease tension and make their job less personal and more professional. 

Nepotism in the workplace, Is it a Moral Issue? 
Nepotism is often left out of ethics codes because it does not seem all that unethical. Another reason for leaving nepotism out is that it is so common, especially in the local government officials. When nepotism rules do appear, they often provide for grandfathering in current nepotism, and for waivers, even if waivers are not available for other ethics code violations.In the business organization and political industry some people may say it is really unethical and unfair practices. They identify nepotism as immoral issue in the organization because of the negative practices like for instance, they prioritized on hiring their relatives and friends, even sometimes they’re not qualified or capable for the position and this is automatically well-defined as discrimination.

More on the political or government services, this practice is prohibited in the government officials to avoid ethics issues such as conflict of interest, misuse of office, preferential treatment, and patronage.It damages public trusts by making government look like a family business run, not for the community, but for the families in power and it causes negative in the society and community. It may cause corruption because of the power that they hold. Other people who want to apply the position in the local government may feel anxious because of nepotism practices. Nepotism is not acceptable within the local government organization because it goes far beyond hiring applicant and it remains a problem every time raises, more on promotions occur. This may be risky to the employees or applicants who don’t have any relation to the persons who has power in the local government.  In the government, nepotism is already considered as negative practices because some bad issues about government officials in the country connected to nepotism. Like for instance the issue about Illegal Drugs in the Philippines until now lots of high government officials are declared as part of the said issues in our country and most of them are family ties and has a high position in local government. Another issue that connects to nepotism and one the biggest issue that Philippines are facing right now is Corruption. Having nepotism also exacerbates problems because they have the power to pin

However not all the time nepotism is giving negative effect in our life or within the workplace, sometimes it take positive that can cause successful and helpful. In business industry nepotism is not new in the organization, they hired relatives and friends to manage the business. As it stated in the advantage of nepotism having relatives or friends in the workplace is not that bad depend on how you treat them. Treating employees should be equally and fair even if you have connected to that employee. The management should be fair enough to make it professionally work together and to make the employees more effective with their responsibilities. The right thing to do is select a task to each person, based on their individual strengths and weaknesses. However, you need to hire friends or relatives that you are sure are qualified for the position. So that it cannot lead problems in the workplace. Having family members in the organization has a higher level of commitment since relatives want to see the company succeed. Loyalty, morale and trust are also high because they know how to value their work and cherished the positions that they have.

The question, is nepotism a moral issue? Yes, because it may affect the behavior of other employees, the satisfaction of their works, it can cause unprofessionalism, and it can also decrease motivation with the hard working employees. But always remember nepotism is not that bad or immoral, it depends on how to used or handle this kind of practices. 

Conclusion 
Nepotism itself is automatically defined as immoral, negative and unethical. This kind of practices at work can be very frustrating more on the local government services and officials. It is important that the organization in the government should avoid the practices of nepotism. Based on my research conducted, nepotism could be very detrimental to the local government and could also tarnish the reputation of the organizations. Also, the other companies that used nepotism can also ruined their reputation in the business industry and it can cause unhealthy relationship with the employees if they used it in negative ways. Having nepotism can be good or bad depends on how you handle this practices. If you used it well by treating your relative or friends and other employees equally and fair then nepotism will be good and it can result good relationship and successful business. 

References 
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