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If We Do Our Job Correctly, Nobody Gets Hurt by Nepotism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 April 2015

Ronald E. Riggio  and
Karan Saggi
Ronald E. Riggio*
Affiliation:
Kravis Leadership Institute, Claremont McKenna College
Karan Saggi*
Affiliation:
Kravis Leadership Institute, Claremont McKenna College
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ronald E. Riggio, Kravis Leadership Institute, Claremont McKenna College, 850 Columbia Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711, or to Karan Saggi, Kravis Leadership Institute, Claremont McKenna College, 850 Columbia Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711. E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected].
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ronald E. Riggio, Kravis Leadership Institute, Claremont McKenna College, 850 Columbia Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711, or to Karan Saggi, Kravis Leadership Institute, Claremont McKenna College, 850 Columbia Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711. E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected].
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Extract

The term nepotism (and even worse, cronyism) carries a negative connotation: favoring a relative (or friend) in an employment situation without considering the individual's suitability for the job. Although there can be obvious benefits associated with hiring kin (e.g., a sense of trust, swift learning of job-relevant content, loyalty, etc.; Bellow, 2003; Jones & Stout, 2015), the term itself implies that nepotism is a bad thing, and organizations often take steps to keep bad things from happening. Jones and Stout (2015) have argued that sweeping antinepotism policies in organizations eliminate the positives associated with hiring via a social connection preference, and such policies can lead to unfair discrimination. As industrial and organizational (I-O) psychologists, however, if we do our job—and by that I mean exemplary and objective screening, hiring, and performance assessment—and if we adequately manage the negative impressions that may reside in the minds of employees regarding nepotism, nobody gets hurt.

Type
Commentaries
Information
Industrial and Organizational Psychology , Volume 8 , Issue 1 , March 2015 , pp. 19 - 21
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology 2015 

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References

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