Humans are an enigma.
We take pride in our triumphs. But what happens when we fail? The immediate move after a moment of despair is to look for another person to blame. Believe it or not, we accuse others of our failures just to keep our egos boosted.
Do you know what our favourite blame game is? Sorry Kanye, it's not you anymore (but you can still enjoy the song though).
It's nepotism.
"Ma'am didn't give me a mark because I missed the word "kinetic" but Susan didn't even write energy and she still got full !! favoritism knows no bounds"
"He elected her as a chair but not me and I've won two best delegates, what about her? bet she hasn't received a single honorable mention, can you believe nepotism"
"She got him an internship but not me, even though he's half as qualified as I am - ugh bias."
Nepotism is the practice among those with authority or influence of favoring relatives or friends. Funny story - the word nepotism comes from Catholic bishops who left their wealth to their "nephews", or less commonly known as their illegitimate offspring. This was to guarantee that the church clergy retained both power and property.
Nepotism is like climate change, it exists but its deniable. The real question is - unlike climate change can we survive in a world without nepotism? Without nepotism, dictators like Saddam Hussein and Hitler wouldn't have built their regime. Without nepotism, building a legacy would be impossible. Without nepotism, every business would be subject to criticism and would not nurture into an empire. Most importantly, without nepotism, the "internship/job experience" section is most likely to be empty. Without contacts and "recommendations", its almost impossible to get anywhere. Unless of course, you're talking about McDonald's - but I don't know if Cambridge counts scooping
While individuals might regard favoritism to result from nepotism, this is not necessarily the case. Family members' shared values may offer a more cohesive and supportive system. Children exposed to the family business might eventually join a business with advanced knowledge and background that an outsider simply cannot deliver.
Nepotism isn't an easy thing to collect data on, and therefore most of my arguments rely on pragmatic rationalizations rather than heavy empirical substantiation. When you hire someone you know, you trust that person. You are well aware of that person's inclinations and aptitudes. You know that person's strengths and weaknesses and thus, as an employer, you hire him for a job that he is capable and fitted for. Consequently, nepotism may result in high productivity, an argument that is often used against nepotism. Moreover, hiring relatives is easy and can lead to greater trust through a phenomenon called swift trust provided the relations get along and share a common purpose. Nepotism essentially wipes out all opposition. To think about it, when you can hire people who are compelled to think the same way as you, why would you summon people that would openly dispute you and lead your firm to a road that you never paved for it? Where nepotism becomes problematic is when non-relative employees feel that there is unfair favoritism, and when relatives are hired over more competent non-relatives.
Nepotism in many Asian and Middle Eastern countries is a way of life, and even holds an expectancy of placement within a family run business as each generation reaches the working age. An heir is expected to take over the family's business. It's a matter of prestige. Believe it or not - 70% of Bollywood movies that depict the life of a rich depressed man are about sons who involuntarily carry on their father's dream (Jab We Met to Dil Dhadakne Do). This has positive and negative side effects for larger businesses who also have Senior and Middle Management from outside the family realms, especially if the others are ex-pats, and it often makes a very difficult and even hostile work environment. It is a fine art dealing with younger members of the family who have joined businesses through entitlement, rather than through work and experience.
If you run your business in such a manner as to take good care of the people that work for you, it should be the kind of place that people would want to encourage their family and friends to work at. They should also have enough respect for the people they work for that they wouldn’t recommend someone who would be a poor job candidate, to begin with, and even if they do, your screening process should be sufficient to catch them before they get a job. Nepotism doesn't mean you get a cosmetologist to be your interior design. It means you look out for your loved ones, and your loved ones look up to you :)
Is nepotism a match made in heaven or a diabolical dabble with the devil? But whatever it is, we need it. Sugar is bad for you, but it keeps your mouth sweet. How else will we get those internships for colleges? (P.S if you're a medicine student, you know what I'm talking about) Nepotism makes me guilty, but I'd rather have it and I know you would too.