Prosperous Living in the Social Environment - Essay Example

Nepotism Introduction If one takes a close look at the society, one can not help noticing that it should be seen as an essential prerequisite for the development of the inner potential of a human being. In addition to that, having a job is inseparably connected with a prosperous living in the social environment. That is why people often compete with each other for a better position. However, sometimes some individuals tend to receive advantage in this race because of their family ties. This paper will analyze the issue of nepotism, examining its nature, broad context, fundamental aspects of it, evaluate the potential solutions and choose the preferred one, articulating some objections and buttals. The nature of nepotism There are several concepts that should be engaged in the analysis while considering the nature of nepotism. To begin with, it would not be an exaggeration to suggest that the notion of integrity is something that is heavily damaged by the issue in question (McNamee, 2004, p. 87). Indeed, granting positions or preferences to family member can hardly be compatible with integrity of an organization. The next concept that is of great important when it comes to a fair examination of it is the idea of competition. As it has already been noted, people have to fight for their success and should be rewarded accordingly. The practice of nepotism grants a person an advantage that ruins the entire system of competition in the society and does not allow people to advance. Finally, the concept of meritocracy is something that should also be engaged while considering the impact that nepotism has on the society. It certainly would be an ideal situation when people are rewarded according to their merits, but it is something that the social environment should be moving forward to; however, the practice of nepotism just makes this state of affairs unrealistic and reinforces the inequality among the people. In other words, the very existence of it does not allow the society evolve properly. That is why nepotism might be seen as a direct result of the inertia that has been guiding the process of development of the society for a considerable time. Nevertheless, it is quite obvious that is this practice is not taken care of, it will lead to a dead end. Keeping in mind that people will never want to stop evolution of their civilization, there is no other way but to deal with nepotism. That is why nepotism might be seen as a direct result of the inertia that has been guiding the process of development of the society for a considerable time. Nevertheless, it is quite obvious that is this practice is not taken care of, it will lead to a dead end. Keeping in mind that people will never want to stop evolution of their civilization, there is no other way but to deal with nepotism. The broader context of the issue As one can clearly see, there are many negative aspects of the practice in question. However, to gain a better understanding of it, one should also take a lot from a broader perspective. Thus, it is rather obvious that the biggest negative consequence that nepotism is able to have is granting a position to a person who is completely incompetent (Machan, 2002, p. 3). It is quite understandable that if a particular job is given to a family member, relevant experience or other abilities are not taken into account. Another point that should be mentioned is that nepotism is an ultimately unfair action: it does not allow people to gain what they should enjoy and it provides others with a reward that they did not deserve (Vliert, 2009, p. 183). One would make no mistake suggesting that the issue of justice is a rather controversial one. Nevertheless, the practice of despotism clearly does not comply with it. Finally, the concept of objectivity is the one that can explain some aspects of the issue in question. Just like any other transaction in the society, acquiring a position is something that should not be prejudiced: the applicant should be judged according to their qualifications as well as relevant experience. Nevertheless, in case of nepotism, it is not objective, but subjective judgment that is responsible for the decision. Moreover, if this practice is generalized, then applying for a job will be determined by one’s lineage, not education or efforts. There is no doubt that the history features many examples when a social environment was organized taking into account the family ties of the people who are in it. What is more important is that this situation was rather usually for societies that existed many centuries ago. However, since that time, the human civilization in general has evolved so much that nepotism is currently viewed as an unwelcomed element of the past. Conflict of interest – the fundamental aspect of nepotism The issue of nepotism is directly linked to the concept of conflict of interest and is largely defined by it. Thus, it should be carefully examined from three perspectives. First of all, every company is striving to increase its performance. That is why it recruits the best people and encourages them to put a considerable amount of effort into work, expecting them to be great employees. However, if a person is granted a job by a relative, the company will not get the best employee on the market. In other words, nepotism might have a significant negative influence on the performance of the company in general. If one takes a look at the issue from a different perspective, namely the position of the person who is granted a job, one will be able to see that his or her interest is securing a good source of income as well as high social status. As one can easily see here, the interests of two parties that are involved conflict with each other. However, if one engages another perspective, namely the customer that will have to deal with the consequences of nepotism, one will be able to see that this conflict worsens. Indeed, it is generally expected that those who hold a particular position are knowledgeable in this topic. Nevertheless, if a person was granted a job as a result of nepotism, one may not be knowledgeable enough which means that this will not satisfy the desire of a customer, for example. It this case it is crucial to evaluate the interests that are engaged in the situation and determine which approach a company is willing to follow. For example, if the latter is in need of finding more customers, there is no doubt that nepotism is not likely to have a positive affect on this. However, there may be companies that do not put a tremendous emphasis on locating new customer, but are satisfied with the clientele they have; so, nepotism might fir this situation. Potential solutions for the issue of nepotism It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that the treatment of the issue in question can be divided into two groups. On the one hand, some argue that nepotism is a phenomenon that should be taken care of, but it should not be banned (Bellow, 2003, p. 1). In other words, there is no point it forbidding a person to acquire a certain position if one has close family ties to a person in charge. Of course, it does not mean that this issue should be praised. However, the negative influence of it should not be exaggerated. On the other hand, there is another solution: it may be logical to legally oppose nepotism by accepting the laws that would prevent people from getting a position in case they are related to other people in an organization (Jones, 2012, p. 75). The proponents of this alternative argue that by doing so, the practice of nepotism will be taken care of once and for all. Indeed, the current discussion about this negative phenomenon is performed exclusively, because the latter is not outlawed. In addition to that, it is located in the grey area of Ethics as well. Nevertheless, if the government takes appropriate steps and makes sure that it is prohibited, the public will not ever experience any negative consequences of nepotism. The preferred solution for the problem of nepotism Of course, one can hardly dismiss the negative impact that appointment of some people because of family ties might have; nevertheless, it would be too rigorous to create legal obstacles on the way of it. There is no doubt that in one form or the other nepotism has been existing for a considerable amount of time and it did not destroy the human civilization. In addition to that, if such laws are accepted, there might be a possibility that some talented people will be deprived of an opportunity to apply their abilities. So, the most rational solution would be to let the practice exist, but guide it with reasonable limitations. In this case the society will be able to achieve several positive outcomes. On the one hand, the tradition that lasted many centuries will not be disrupted. As a result, those who approve of it or at least acknowledge the existence of it will not experience any negative impact. On the other hand, by introducing reasonable limitations the social environment will be able to use all the resources that are available to it without missing anything. Objections to the preferred solution The opponents of the previously articulated solution might point out that through the history many practices existed which were recognized as acceptable ones, but now are condemned. For example the institute of racial segregation guided the social life of the United States for several centuries, but now it is seen as the manifestation of institutionalized racism and is criticized. In addition to that, those in favor of abolishing nepotism would argue that the number of people who do not deserve the job that they were granted usually outweighs the number of people who fit for it. That is why the premise about the talent should be dismissed as the probability of it is relatively small. There is no doubt that the notion of talent should be seen as an exception from the rule than a rule itself. That is why it is quite logical to expect a person who was granted a position because of one’s family ties to have low or moderate skills than high. This an be explained by the fact that people are approve of nepotism are rarely strict with regard to their personal development. Rebuttal of the objections In spite of the fact that the previously mentioned objections are logical and valid, they contain several fallacies. For example, the comparison between nepotism and racial segregation or a similarly negative tradition is not correct as the former practice does not possess such fundamental significance for the society. Indeed, there are may be some instances of it, but they will never prevail over traditional job application. As for the second objection, it is quite understandable that the image of nepotism is often connected with people who are not worthy for the position that they were granted. However, there are many examples when people are connected to a notable figure, but are also talented. For example, Nicolas Cage is a relative of Francis Ford Coppola. Both are recognized for their contribution to the cinema, but no one has ever accused the second in promotion of the former: Nicolas Cage is an extremely talented actor. This means that if nepotism is forbidden in any of its form, the world would not be able to enjoy talents of many people. In spite of the fact that this kind of thinking may not be fully applied to this kind of situation, but one might suggest that it is better to grant a position to nine people without talent and one with extraordinary talent than refuse all ten. It is quite understandable that a true contribution comes from efforts, but sometimes people may benefit from some privileges. Conclusion Having examined all the points which were brought up, one is able to come to the following conclusion: nepotism is a phenomenon that is observed in the social environment and that has several negative consequences. However, it has existed for a considerable time and is not widely spread. That is why by forbidding it the society will cause more harm than good. Therefore, it should not be banned, but rather guided by reasonable provisions. References Bellow, A. (2003). In praise of nepotism: A natural history. New York, NY: Doubleday. Jones, R. (2012). Nepotism in organizations. New York, NY: Routledge. Machan, T., & Chesher, J. (2002). A primer on business ethics. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. McNamee, S., & Miller, R. (2004). The meritocracy myth. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Vliert, E. (2009). Climate, affluence, and culture. 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