Nepotism Meaning
It refers to the act of using power or influence by someone to hire or giving extra advantages to his or her family members. For example, a film producer offered a lead role to his family member who has no previous acting background. Some words that can be associated with nepotism are favoritism, partiality and unevenness, etc.
We commonly hear about nepotism in our day to day from people such as;
- He was considered a product of nepotism because his dad was a well-known personality.
- She denied being part of a company that was full of nepotism.
- When he took an oath as a minister, he promised that he would work to end nepotism and corruption, but in the end, he failed.
So, in our daily life, nepotism is a word that we hear a lot like evil or a bad term as it is a common reason behind so many ruined careers. In this topic, we are going to discuss what nepotism is and how it is influencing our lives and careers and how badly it is spread in our society.
What do we mean by nepotism?
We can describe nepotism as favoritism. Someone uses its power or position to appoint their relatives or family members for work without focusing on their qualification or abilities over the qualified one. The word “nepotism” is taken from the Latin word ‘Nepos’ which means nephew. In society, nepotism is one of the intense issues.
It is always criticized by the public and accepted evil or selfish act. Many great philosophers like Aristotle, Valluvar, Confucius, etc., censured this term and called it an unwise act.
How did it start?
This act was originated by some catholic popes and bishops in the 17th century, who appointed their nephews to the position which must be given to their sons, but as they had taken vows to purity, they had no child. Nepotism was the mischief act, which came to an end when the papal bull banned popes forever from granting domain, workplace, or any position to their relatives until their relative was very qualified or perfect for the position.
Places or positions where nepotism is spread most
Politics:
Politics always gave a hike to nepotism. Many politicians pass their position or seat to their family members without even knowing their ability to manage or take care of the public’s welfare, which leads to lots of issues and inconvenience for the public. Also, these people do not work for the country’s economic advantages, which creates a hurdle in the development of a country. Since ancient times, this malpractice is going on from generation to generation. Simultaneously, the king and royal members pass their authority to their unqualified family members over the qualified ones. The British and English Governments and empowerments are prominent examples of nepotism in politics.
In organizations:
This sector is badly affected by nepotism and leads to a bad effect on the economy because it increases unemployment in the country. When a well-known person recommends her relative to a company or a member of authority hires their family member or relative without even testing their abilities or proving their capabilities over the qualified and perfect candidate who worked hard for that position, it leads to many wrong decisions. It discourages the capable people who lose their careers and sometimes their lives too. But also sometimes nepotism acts as a profit in this sector as it increases job opportunity in family businesses or occupations, so in the organization, nepotism works like a pro and con both. A significant number of management authorities or employers believes that nepotism is also having a cheerful face as a friend or relative already know how to handle a job, what are the ways and rules of their company and how to promote their business and also save time and the extra money they have to spend over the training of any outsider. Also, the people who are born and grown up in such as atmosphere have a good idea of how to behave with their consumers and clients.
In entertainment:
When we talk about nepotism in the field of entertainment or film industry, we found a great number of star kids or nepotism items working there without having any amazing or special talent. Many talented actors and artists committed suicide because of nepotism. At the same time, the talented outsider actors or artists are just getting small roles or not even getting work because of the booking of roles for star kids. “Hindi film industry” is one of the most influenced industries, but Hollywood and other industries are also greatly affected by nepotism.
The biggest con of nepotism in the film industry is that the work of most talented actors, filmmakers, scriptwriters, editors, cinematographers, lyricists, singers, musicians, choreographers do not get recognition. Sadly, they don’t even get a chance to act or show themselves in front of the public or audience because they don’t have any contact with a powerful personality or well-known godfather to help them. But still, as the power of giving them identity is only in the hand of the public, there is the number of stars who do not belong to any well-known family and still got gratitude for their talent.
Countries where nepotism is high and least:
Countries like China, Spain, Finland, India, United States, etc., may be less corrupt countries but have a good quantity of nepotism. In these countries, getting a job with a recommendation from someone or based on the family you belong to is easier than getting a job based on your skills and eligibility. But counties like Australia, Italy, and many other consider nepotism illegal and takes action against the people who use it as a weapon.