ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR OF NEPOTISM

Organizational Behavior of Nepotism

Organizational Behavior of Nepotism

Introduction

Nepotism is generally defined as preference given to a relative by a person in a position of power in an organization. Nepotistic preferences are most often defined in terms of hiring decisions but may also be manifest in evaluations, pay decisions, and other personnel decisions. Anthropological theory and historical evidence suggest that hiring decisions are heavily influenced by preferences given to one's relations. When compared with a standard of merit, this form of nepotism is typically viewed as unfair and unethical and is often prohibited by organizational rules and governmental laws.

From a psychological perspective, this traditional definition of nepotism is framed first as a hiring decision on the part of a manager or supervisor and then as an acceptance or rejection decision on the part of the person presumably receiving the unfair benefit of nepotistic hiring. No published measures have been developed for nepotism; however, it may be that the usual indicators of nepotism (generations of family working in the same workplace or occupation, family ties in business and government, married people in the chain of command within an organization) are not always the result of such a top-down decision. There are also arguments that ant nepotism laws may have a disproportionate negative impact on women, who are less likely to be in positions of power and therefore more likely to be excluded from jobs than their male counterparts. Research to date has not supported this argument, but the paucity of research and theory in this area leaves this and other questions open.

Significance of the Study

Recent research suggests that career choices based on off- spring or spousal preferences for occupations may lead to the appearance of nepotism, even though the offspring or spouse may in fact be a meritorious candidate. Moreover, the choice to enter an occupation may be opportunistic from the career choice perspective. Researchers have referred to this career choice and opportunistic nepotism as “new” nepotism.

Hypothesis

Hypothesis for the study is that is nepotism ethically justified, is nepotism a favorable practice or a perception problem family relationships and the influence on the workplace.

Discussion Analysis

Family businesses are seen as important sources of economic development and growth (Olson et al., 2003). If one examines the studies on family businesses, it is seen that they are generally for-profit social organizations created by individuals having kinship and business relationships with each other who come together to produce a product or service. One or more family members are in effective positions in the management of family businesses. The commitment of the family-member work force to the organization and strong family ties are suggested as an important competitive advantage of the majority of these businesses. Also, rules and regulations necessary for the internal control system and set by the management are prepared

In addition to the internal control system as required by the management will be prepared within the framework of these family ties. Employees are seen not as persons having individual autonomy based on their knowledge ...