BLESSIE JANE PAZ B. ANTONIO
JANICE
D. RASAY
Divine Word College of Laoag, Ilocos Norte,
Philippines
Abstract
The hiring
process and promotions involving politics is a critical component of governance
that has an effect on public trust and the integrity of the organization. This
paper explores the ethical issues in the political hiring process and
promotions of individuals. It discusses hiring processes like nepotism and
political patronage systems and the effects of these on both individuals and
the organization. It also discusses the importance of transparency and
accountability measures in the hiring process and promotion. The paper
concludes that it is important to prioritize transparency and accountability so
that the vacant positions are filled with qualified individuals who will have a
better contribution to the efficiency of the organization.
Keywords:
Nepotism, favouritism, political
hiring, Political patronage, ethical, transparency, accountability
Introduction
Every
organization is striving to have effective recruitment and selection practices
to retain well-qualified, experienced, and skilled employees for a specific
position, but then again in a competitive job market, applicants are struggling
to find a suitable job for their career. (Santos et. al., 2020).
Human Resources is responsible for maintaining a productive and harmonious work
environment and supporting the organization’s overall goals by effectively
managing its human capital. Thus, hiring the wrong candidate
or failing to hire suitable candidates would result in low performance and
workplace failure. (Santos et. al., 2020). While merit and qualifications are
important, there are factors like personal connections and political alliances
that affect the hiring and selection process of human resources. To
protect public sector jobs from becoming instruments of political patronage,
employment decisions must be governed by impartial, meritocratic hiring practices.
But in many civil service systems, politicians retain broad discretion in
personnel decisions. (Prem et.al., 2019). Discretion, this
argument goes, allows politicians to hire and promote candidates whose
competence and motivation are not easily measured in formal examinations. (Prem
et.al., 2019). This political hiring process often reflects societal issues like
biases, poor governance, corruption and diminishing public trust. The integrity
and fairness of the hiring process are also affected. The key factors of
employee performance are integrity, reliability, and honesty in discharging their
job responsibilities. Therefore, it is vital to conduct a staffing process
without any pressure or political influence (Santos et. al.,2020).
Nepotism
in Political Hiring or Political Connections
Nepotism
can be defined as favouritism towards relatives, usually in the form of offering
them jobs. (Ragauskas et.al, 2020). In the public sector,
it is considered a particularly toxic phenomenon as it goes against the public interest:
citizens generally expect that public employees should deserve their jobs,
hired according to merit-based criteria (Fisman and Golden 2017). Often,
candidates with strong political ties or networks may receive preferential
treatment during the hiring, process. These are situations
where less qualified individuals are hired over more competent candidates
simply due to their connections. For example, in a certain department in a
government unit, they hire an applicant based on the discretion of the
political individuals regardless of their qualifications. This can both affect
the applicants and the organization. Applicants hired based on discretion may
feel less valued and less committed to their roles. They may feel like they
were not chosen for their skills and abilities, but rather for other reasons,
which can lead to lower job satisfaction and a higher turnover rate. Also, when
they are hired based on political connections, they may not have the same level
of training and development opportunities as those who are seen as more
"deserving." This can limit their career growth potential. For the
organization, it could lower productivity. This can lead to a workforce that is
not as skilled or competent as it could be., So, this will result to reduced
efficiency and a decline in the overall performance of the organization.
Political
Patronage Systems
Political
patronage is the appointment or hiring of a person to a government post on the
basis of partisan loyalty. Elected officials at the national, state, and local
levels of government use such appointments to reward the people who help them
win and maintain office. This practice led to the saying, “To the victor belong
the spoils.” (Baracskay, 2009). The term was by New
York Senator William L. Marcy, referring to the victory of Andrew Jackson in
the election of 1828, with the term spoils meaning goods or benefits taken from
the loser in a competition, election or military victory. The saying simply
explains “The winner gets the rewards”. An example of this is when an
individual shows loyalty during the campaign work, financial contributions, or
other forms of assistance during elections to a political individual in return
for favours like giving them a job or promoting them to a higher position.
Basically, they are hired based on their loyalty not on merit and
qualifications. This practice can result in inefficiency and corruption within
governmental agencies as loyalty replaces competence.
The
Importance of Transparency
Transparency
lays the foundation for building trust between candidates and organizations. By
openly sharing information about the company culture, values and expectations,
companies create an environment of honesty and authenticity. This, in turn,
instils confidence in candidates, fostering stronger employer-candidate
relationships. (Sequeira, 2024). We often
consider the behaviour of the job applicants and their honesty in presenting
their credentials when conducting recruitment and selection processes. But transparency
also applies to the organization or the employer. Employers have the
responsibility to run a transparent hiring process for their potential
applicants. A transparent recruiting process is characterized by clarity,
integrity, and fairness from the hiring organization. Every applicant should be
treated equally and fairly. A transparent hiring process also makes the
applicant feel respected which in return it develops a positive employee
relationship. This positivity will be carried into their work life. his
increases the chances that they will become loyal workers significantly
reducing employee turnover rates.
Conclusion
The hiring process and promotion of individuals need careful consideration to prevent ethical issues like nepotism, corruption, political connections and even poor governance. These issues can affect the public trust as well as the integrity of the organization. To prevent these issues, it is important to prioritize transparency and accountability in the hiring process and promotion. An organization known for being transparent will make a good reputation to the public. We can also ensure that the qualified individuals who are committed to serving the public should be hired based on merit, not on political influences. Thus, everything that an organization do affects its reputation. If you are viewed as a reliable and transparent employer/organization even in standard yet critical processes like recruitment and hiring process, it shows your capacity for reliability in the way you treat your employees, do business, and handle challenges.
References
Santos,
A., Armano, A., Setiawan, M., Rofiq, A. (2020) Effect of recruitment,
selection and culture of organizations on state personnel performance. Management Science Letters. DOI:10.5267/j.msl.2019.11.042
Prem,
M.,Teso, E., Collonnellie, E.,(2019). The role of political
connections in public employment dynamics.
Ragauskas
R., Valeskaite, I.(2020). Nepotism, political competition
and overemployment. https://doi.org/10.1080/2474736X.2020.1781542
Baracskay,
D.(2009).Political Patronage. Free Speech Center. https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/political-patronage/
Sequeira,
C.(2024). why is transparency crucial in the recruitment
process?.hi!re. https://www.hiire.me/post/the-power-of-transparency-in-the-recruitment-process