Addressing nepotism through performance management and job description clarity

HRM

The Problems and a Potential Resolution in a Case of Nepotism

Problems Caused by Mary

Mary Smith, the daughter of a founder of the firm has been hired despite a lack of skills needed to perform the basic duties for her position. This is a case of nepotism and has lead to some problems in the company. The problem may be seen as both practical and in terms of the psychological impact on employee relations.

At the practical level Mary has not been performing tasks which are likely to increase work loads for others, create delays and general increase levels of inefficiency. The delays in delivering initial assignments may delay other tasks and misfiled documents may be lost, so the problem requires the firm to invest more resources in rectifying the mistakes. These types of issue can be associated not only with inefficiency, but increasing costs that will negatively impact on the firms' bottom line (Williams and Laker, 2010). The fraternizing with specific employees may also cause practical problems, with increased wasted workplace time, as well as the direct and indirect impact this will have on other employees.

The presence of Mary, hired due to her fathers has had a negative impact on the existing employees, the employees were irate which will reduce their trust for the employer and may have a long-term impact on the way they perform their jobs (as seen in question 4).

Question 3 - Rectifying the Situation

Rectifying the situation can be difficult, as nepotism can be seen as political and the resolution has to overcome the political pressures which may be exerted by those involved (Williams and Laker, 2010). If it assumed that the firm has not enacted any anti-nepotism rules and the recruitment was not in breach of any policies the issues ahs to be dealt with in the department.

The first stage of the resolution is to examine the situation objectivity and gather the relevant data regarding Mary's performance (Aguinis and Pierce, 2008). This will include assessing the number of late assignments and the degree to which they were late as well as quantifying the extent of the misfiling and the problems that it has caused. This is necessary so that an objective assessment of Mary can take place, where employees feel that they are being treated unfairly as a result of Mary's presence it is possible that misdeeds and problems caused by Mary may be exaggerated. Objective assessment will provide the foundation for the next stage.

The next stage will be to call Mary into a meeting and review her performance with her with a positive approach and the view to rectifying the issues, a positive approach is most likely to resolve the situation (Aguinis and Pierce, 2008). Mary will be told of the purpose of the meeting with an emphasis on the view to resolving the issues. The review will start by looking at the under performance in a logical manner, starting in a no blame approach, so that Mary can appreciate the scope and scale of the problem. The discussion will then look identifying how and why the under performance has occurred. The root problem needs to be identified in order to resolve the issue. For example, the misfiling may be a training issue, due to no one in the office showing her the system which is used. All of the causes need to be identified and a plan agreed between Mary and her supervisor in the way to resolve these problems. The agreed plan will include goals, specification of the time over which it is to occur and the responsibilities of the employee and the supervisor in enacting the plan, and a date when progress will be reviewed. The meeting will also have to make clear the consequences of failing to meet targets and what the employee should do if facing difficulties before the next meeting. The entire process should be fully documented.

The father should not be involved directly, as they have an emotional attachment and may have an initial reaction seeking to protect their daughter. However the father should be approached, along with the rest of the senior management, with the suggestion of implement procedures to avoid nepotism in the future, and the problems it has caused.

Question 4 - Negative and Positive Results of Hiring Relations

Nepotism has a number of negative associations. Where nepotism occurs, or is perceived as occurring; employees are likely to feel that there is unfair favoritism indicates that discriminates and undermines assessment on merit. This will reduce their trust and commitment to the employer and lowers job satisfaction, leading to reduced motivation which will impact negativity on their overall performance (Kele?, 2011). The feelings of the employees may also be considered in the context of Adams equity theory, which predicts a reduction in motivation where employees feel unfairly treated. This can have a long-term impact on the motivation and culture of the employees in the department and the associated negative manifestation of lower motivation levels, such as increased attrition and lower productivity. Arasli and Turner (2008) fin that there is a correlation between the practice of nepotism and increased suffering of job related stress by employees,

However, there are also some potentially positive outcomes associated with hiring relatives. The relations that are hired may provide a higher level of commitment to the business, and while they may lack skills which may be learned they may have a greater loyalty and attachment to the firm that benefits the longevity (Laker and Williams, 2003). Therefore, if relations are hired in a manner that is seen as fair there may be major benefits to be gained. However, this was not the case for Mary, but if the issue can be resolved and polices put into place that are seen as fair by the employees potential future problems may be prevented.