Sirajuddin Aziz

The immediate reaction to the caption could be, “So what’s new?” Since the recording of human history, nepotism has prevailed in some form or the other.
Monarchies are classic examples of the best and which actually is the worst type of nepotism. One incompetent monarch passes the baton to another equally, if not more, incompetent heir. In history, rarely have the progeny brought any good name to the ancestors. They mostly have despoiled any good name the ancestor may have achieved. Each successor has been worse than the predecessor.
Nepotism, the word, is Latin and means “nephew”….. no other word could best describe the explicit meaning than this …. unfair and biased practices to favour relationships is the criteria. The methodology for the institution and promotion of nepotism involves the hiring of the less qualified or by making amendments to the hiring criteria for a particular position.
Monarchies prevail because people (read masses) succumb to either fear or favour. Those who resist the system that promotes and encourages nepotism are handed down severe punishments, including social isolation. Those who are not beneficiaries of the leader’s acceptance, society reacts to them by distancing themselves from those who are looked at as outcasts of the system.
Those few handful upon whom the leader/monarch bestows wealth, power, pelf and fame, enjoy the status of being sought by society. The leader/monarch then expects of these “elites” to unleash themselves with terror and fear upon the weak, poor and oppressed. This is done with method, exactitude and objectives.
Nepotism prevalent is justified by a million alibis for its evil nature. Men bribe themselves with loyalties and fealties.
The oppressed do not have the spine to stand up to the vicious terror that is brought upon them should any dare to raise their voice. The ‘elite’ then proceed to create a creed of followers, who by the nature of this crooked process of selection are either incompetent at best or have the wherewithal to turn into ruthless pawns who would undertake the ‘unthinkable’ against the masses. The entire edifice of society is then built around some form or manifestation of nepotism.
The gullibility of such leadership (monarchs, nobles and elite clubbed together) is so damning that they ‘trust’ first the family members (mostly incompetent) and then the members from the families of the elite, who are equally devious or more incompetent. A cobweb of relationships is created by design through intermarriages between these strata of society.
Although monarchies are on the wane, if not in the run towards extinction, nepotism thrives because all the principles relating to monarchical nepotism have been adopted and adapted by the political world, followed very closely by the corporate world.
Many politicians believe that they too are indeed wearing a royal crown that can be passed by virtue of it being considered a hereditary right to an heir apparent or a ‘talented cousin/brother’. The existence of political dynasties across the world is a living testimony to accepted practices of nepotism.
Nepotism is not a little fault or a mere judgement of error. It is a deep sting upon the conscience of society or organisation. Fairness must remain a sublime convention. Treat similar people with the same treatment. Everyone should be given equal opportunity to use, hone and develop unique skills and talents. It is the creation of inequality in judgement that triggers and prompts acts of favouritism and nepotism.
Even private enterprises, whether partnerships or limited companies, indulge in and face nepotism inflicted by the principal shareholders who nominate either their own progeny or members from the extended family upon the board of the organisations, regardless of their skills or abilities. The children of the entrepreneurs are no less than heirs apparent. They feel they are entitled to parachute into the organisation at the senior-most levels without having to go through the mill. They enter organisations and assume positions of authority and this is done with impunity at the expense of quality. The prevalence of the culture of nepotism and favouritism leads to disparity, despondency and significantly declining productivity. The perpetration of nepotism conveniently ignores the negative impact it has upon the trust and reputation of the entity.
Nepotism at the workplace involves therefore giving undue and unjustified favours, by the powers that be, to family, relatives, friends and acquaintances. It also includes giving out-of-turn promotions, increments, perks and bonuses. The objective standards that are in place are thoroughly violated with the grant of exceptions to either the policy or the standard operating procedures.
Nepotism can be avoided through the establishment of strict policies covering clearly defined hiring and recruitment processes; fair treatment of counterparties; institution of policies and processes that create awareness amongst the rank and file of the organisation about the concept of ‘conflict of interest’.
Some nepotism is conducted through the ingenuity of designing job advertisements to suit the available family members’ quality of education and experience. This is nepotism achieved by elimination of hiring quality resources.
The benefits of nepotism, if any, are a few only. These get substantially outweighed by the existence of criminality or favouritism. Nepotism destroys the very fabric of judicious management of the organisation. Malpractices, inclusive of nepotism, erode and destroy the trust and hard work of the many other siblings or cousins—leading to low productivity.
At the altar, many a talent is sacrificed owing to favouritism and nepotism. The attitude of those who indulge in such unhealthy and unfair practices is prompted by a deep-seated sense of creating a clique of their own. This cliquish attitude can stem from biases relating to colour, creed, language, parochial biases and religious sentiments.
Generally, management gurus look at nepotism in two different spheres: reciprocal nepotism and entitlement nepotism. The reciprocity arises when two individuals collude to hire each other’s relatives. The entitlement of nepotism is not restricted to gaining only employment; it can include activities involving grant of permissions, nomination and selection of vendors or in the award of contracts for various types of assignments.
The adverse results of nepotism can include low employee morale, low productivity, high staff turnover and the reputational damage it suffers when seen in the marketplace as being an organisation that promotes a culture of favouritism and nepotism. However, legally and technically there is no bar to practising nepotism, but in the unwritten law of social structure and responsibility it is a practice that necessarily is looked down upon. Nepotism is an ailment, a disease and a malaise that over a period of time, through gnawing continuously at the roots of the organisation, fells many an oak tree.

The writer is a Senior Banker & Freelance Columnist.