Nepotism is defined (Webster's New World Dictionary) as:
"....grandson, NEPHEW: from favoritism shown to nephews by medieval
prelates]] favoritism shown to relatives, esp. in appointment to desirable
positions....""Official" Government postulations on this subject can be found
at the above links under "Personnel Management." The link on
"Prohibited Personnel Practices in US Gov Employment" contains:
SECTION
2302, TITLE 5, UNITED STATES CODE
Title 5 includes the following:
(b) Any employee who has authority to take, direct others
to take, recommend, or approve any personnel action, shall not, with respect to
such authority--
(1) discriminate for or against
any employee or applicant for employment--
(A) on the basis of race, color,
religion, sex, or national origin, as prohibited under section 717 of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e-16);
(B) on the basis of age, as
prohibited under sections 12 and 15 of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act
of 1967 (29 U.S.C. 631, 633a);
(C) on the basis of sex, as
prohibited under section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.
206(d));
(D) on the basis of handicapping
condition, as prohibited under section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29
U.S.C. 791); or
(E) on the basis of marital status
or political affiliation, as prohibited under any law, rule, or regulation;
(2) solicit or consider any
recommendation or statement, oral or written, with respect to any individual who
requests or is under consideration for any personnel action except as provided
under section 3303(f);
(3) coerce the political activity
of any person (including the providing of any political contribution or
service), or take any action against any employee of applicant for employment as
a reprisal for the refusal of any person to engage in such political activity;
(4) deceive or willfully obstruct
any person with respect to such person’s right to compete for employment;
(5) influence any person to withdraw from competition for any position for the
purpose of improving or injuring the prospects of any other person for
employment;
(6) grant any preference or advantage not authorized by law, rule, or regulation
to any employee or applicant for employment (including defining the scope or
manner of competition or the requirements for any position) for the purpose of
improving or injuring the prospects of any particular person for employment;
(7) appoint, employ, promote,
advance, or advocate for appointment,
employment, promotion, or advancement, in or to a civilian position any
individual who is a relative (as defined in section 3110(a)(3) of this
title) of such employee if such position is in the agency in which such employee
is serving as a public official (as defined in section 3110(a)(2) of this title)
or over which such employee exercises jurisdiction or control as such an
official;
The
principles illustrated above should also apply in private sector
employment. However, the reality of the situation, in both Government and
the private sectors, often does not measure up. Management can be very liberal and self serving in their interpretation and application of the
principles.
Reciprocal,
self-serving application of the authorities vested in management is one tool
that may be used within the organization's management culture to obtain the desired ends for
its management members.
If management
is prone to use of these practices, it is very likely that other issues such as
allocation of pay and other discretionary benefits will be subject to abuse to
the detriment of other employees in the organization. Morale and
performance will also very likely suffer. Each new beneficiary of these
unethical practices most likely becomes a convert and perpetuates the practices.
The American
Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, New College Edition, 1976, includes
the following definitions for "corrupt":
To destroy
or subvert the honesty or integrity of.
To ruin
morally; to pervert.
To taint;
contaminate; infect.
The above
dictionary provides the following definition for "corruptionist":
One who
defends or practices corruption.
Each time someone is the beneficiary of this practice they likely deprive
someone who believes in, and is dependent on, "the merit system" of
the position. Even if they are under no illusions about the reality of the
system, defense against the practice is very difficult, especially for the
"outsider" that may be unaware of the disposition of the position.
This organizational cultural lapse in attention to stated mandatory
personnel practices also includes promotions and other personnel issues.
The recognition of this reality is affirmed by recent publicity about abuses in
the public sector. However, I believe this is a case where the principal
of "the squeaking wheel gets the grease" applies, and the real problem
will, again, not be addressed. The highly vocal parties, I believe,
pervert the issues. "Management" adapts. Management
adopts.
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