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Table of Contents Ethical Issue: Nepotism in the Workplace 1 Reference 2

Ethical Issue: Nepotism in the Workplace

An ethical issue according to business dictionary. com, can be defined as “a problem or situation that requires a person or organization to choose between alternatives that must be evaluated as right (ethical) or wrong (unethical)”. There are many ethical issues facing the workplace today that can be evident. One observed is that of Nepotism, Nepotism is the practice where those with power or influence favor relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs. The word “Nepotism” comes from the Italian word “nipote” which means ‘nephew’. It is referenced to privileges bestowed on the “nephews” of popes, who were in many cases their illegitimate sons.
Nepotism in the workplace is common since it is a practice that does not have any universal law attached to it. It will be difficult to prove that nepotism does in fact occur in any organization; but, based on the link between persons hired and their relations, suspicions of the occurrences can be brought up. Nepotism is seen both in the private and public sector. Based on research, it is more prevalent in the public. Perez-Gonzalez (2006), using data from the chief executive officer (CEO) successions of publicly traded U.S. corporations, calculates that 36.4 percent of these firm’s CEO successions involved nepotism.

Nepotism is the reality of the kind of world we are currently living in. It is no longer a secret; it happens right in front of our faces and the media never fails to expose some of these acts. Here in our country, it can clearly be seen, especially in something that has a little bit of everything in it: Politics. According to The Channel 5 website, in April 2 of last year our very own Prime Minister, Hon. Dean Borrow was brought under heat as he was accused by the opposition of engaging in nepotism. The opposition explained that many of the Prime Minister’s relatives were given high ranked jobs and were receiving handsome amounts of money for their services. The facts are: Yes they are his relatives, and yes they are in the job position as stated by the opposition. Anwar Barrow has been named Chair of the Executive Committee of Telemedia replacing Nestor Vasquez, who remains Chairman of the Board of Directors. It means that the Prime Ministerial son is now officially overseeing the daily operations of the government-controlled telephone company. Barrow also sits and is listed as the number two man in the Board of Directors of B.T.L. However, whether or not he is qualified for the specific position is simply up to the person who hired him. Of course, they should be hired based on their qualifications, experience and skills that pertain to the job specifications.
Some important factors that should be kept in consideration when nepotism is present are: inequity of employees, employees tend to show their dissatisfaction by low production of work which attributes to issues in the workplace in terms of upholding discipline among employees. Discipline is an issue because employees believe that since there is no justice in the organization there is no need to follow any policy or procedure. Another consequence of nepotism is the breach of confidentiality. This will occur because of the lack of loyalty among employees. Another consequence is the opportunity cost of having the wrong person filling the position, because probably there is someone else who is more qualified and specialized on that job that can create higher output. Also employees may see this as an opportune time for them to practice unethical acts, since they believe they were hired by a close friend or relative that any practice will be appreciated in the organization and they may use this to their advantage to get involved in any kind of unethical behaviour.
As a resolution to the Prime Minister Nepotism issue the opposition was seeking the immediate overturn of Barrow’s appointment as Chair of the Executive Committee of Management of B.T.L. Therefore they brought it to the public so that the people are aware of what was taking place and demand a solution.
What might have help in resolving the problem is that the manager of B.TL should have used a justice and fairness approach, and see whether he or she is recognizing the rights of those who will be affected. There is no doubt that each employee should be treated equally; there should be no sign of favouritism in any organization. Therefore it would not be ethical for an employer to grant a job to a family member for some sort of interest instead of promoting an employee that is skilled, competent and filled with experience that can confidently fill the vacant position. It is important to note in this case, there will be a chain reaction involved because another employee may be looking forward for the person above him to be promoted, so he or she will then fill the new vacant position. Therefore when someone on the outside is used to fill the position, there will be a chain reaction of disappointment within the organization.
Reference
* BusinessDictionary.com. Available from: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/ethical-issue.html. [Accessed: 8/3/2015] * Nepotism in the work place making employment decisions. Available from: http://www.ukessays.com/essays/management/nepotism-in-the-work-place-making-employment-decisions-management-essay.php. [Accessed: 8/3/2015]. * Bennedsen, M., Kasper M. Nielsen, Francisco P´erez-Gonz´alez, and Daniel Wolfenzon.
Inside the Family Firm: The Role of Families in Succession Decisions and Performance.
Quarterly Journal of Economics 2007; 122; 2:647-91. * News5. (April 2, 2014). Opposition says appointment of Anwar Barrow as Chairman of Executive Committee at B.T.L is nepotism. Available from: http://edition.channel5belize.com/archives/97322. [Accessed: 8/3/2015].