Nepotism in American Business

Today nepotism can be defined as “a favoritism based on kinship” and from a business aspect many see it as hiring a relative who is incredibly inept and unskilled. Many see hiring a relative – qualified or not - as nepotism, while in reality there are many practices today that can technically fall under the category as nepotism. Like most areas of life, some see these practices as acceptable and ordinary while others view them as full-blown nepotism in practice. Critics see nepotism as a way to promote and hire family members or close friends over more qualified applicants.

These actions betray our innate sense of justice and seem to provoke strong feelings of disdain for the acts of nepotism and those who seem to be benefiting from it. Nepotism is often seen in family businesses and these practices are generally accepted as “the way things are” by the other employees involved. These opportunities are a large problem if the person is highly under qualified. Many economists see nepotism as an obstruction to change in business firms while others see it as “networking”.

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These views reflect the negative view of old nepotism. New nepotism has become more competitive and the world has become an international marketplace – if you are hired with connections you still have to prove your value and gain merit or consequences will follow. It is much less blatantly offensive to others around the beneficiary. Many seem to have the viewpoint that there really is no problem with hiring a close friend or relative as long as they have the qualifications that are necessary to fill the position that is available.

This is an incredibly inconsistent way to judge if nepotism is really okay – if performance is high then nepotism is justifiably okay. There is a difference between old and new nepotism and culture has helped shape the positive and negative views of nepotism. The encouragement of governmental corruption in Asia, Africa and Latin America has Nepotism has had both positive and negative affects on the world and society as a whole and has helped shape our view of these practices.