Workplace Favoritism and Leadership Development

Nepotism and Favoritism

Akca, M. (2020). An investigation of the relationship between favoritism and workplace deviance. Advances In Human Resources Management and Organizational Development, 114-138. Web.

In this article, the author addresses a very important concept related to management and leadership in organizations. patronage has been associated with issues of favoritism, nepotism, and cronyism which translate into workplace deviance. According to Akca (2020) discrimination in the workplace is common in the line of blood and friend relationships. This type of discrimination alters how employees perceive justice at the workplace thereby influencing workplace deviance. Job performance and desired outcomes in the organization are highly dependent on employees’ motivation.

This calls for an understanding of the role of negative emotions on employees’ performance and overall job outcomes. In this article, the significance of positive attitudes on organizational justice, climate. Environment, trust, and culture are demonstrated. The author shows that for organizations to thrive in the 21^st century, leaders have to cultivate positive attitudes among their employees because they are the ones to drive forward innovations. The research methodology included a statistical analysis of workplace deviance whereby favoritism measured workplace patronage.

The results showed that many employees exposed to favoritism were willing to damage or harm other employees and the organization. The study concludes that favoritism on the basis of blood or friendship ruins the employees’ attitudes towards justice and limits their workplace dedication which leads to deviance and ruins organizations’ growth. This article is essential in the study on favoritism and nepotism in relation to leadership development. It shows the importance of eliminating favoritism in an effort to limit workplace deviance.

Ignatowski, G., Sułkowski, Ł., & Stopczyński, B. (2021). Risk of increased acceptance for organizational nepotism and cronyism during the covid-19 pandemic. Risks, 9(4), 59. Web.

Some organizational behaviors have been accepted over time in different organizations, diverting couture and introducing changes that negatively influence ethics. In this article, Ignatowski et al. (2021) address organizational favoritism and evaluate the risk of its increased acceptance as demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sometimes, leaders and managers tend to overlook the importance of skills in hiring and employee motivation and appraisal. When leaders favor those related to them by blood or their allies, they influence how nepotism is viewed in the entire workplace. In this article, the COVID-19 pandemic is taken as one of the events that revealed the depth of nepotism and cronyism in the workplace. The research entailed both qualitative and quantitative study involving e=interviews on the assessment of favoritism during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The results showed that workplace favoritism was taken less seriously during the pandemic than other times. According to Ignatowski et al. (2021), favoritism increased during the COVID-19 whereby managers employed those close to them. This was a time when many economies were crushed and many people were rendered jobless. During the pandemic, perceptions of workplace nepotism and cronyism changed and people no longer considered it unethical. This contributed to its increase; an issue that may raise issues in future workplace development.

To help their friends and families, managers favored those close to them while ignoring the long-term effects of such actions at the workplace. This article is crucial in the study ion leadership development and workplace favoritism.it shows that actions taken during threats have long-term effects on the workplace and may alter employees’ perception of ethical issues.

Mishra, A. P. (2021). The effects of nepotism and favoritism on employee behaviors in the private and government organization in the period. Himalayan Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies, 2(1). Web.

Employee behavior is closely linked to workplace ethics as shown in the article by Mishra (2021). The human department is one of the essential departments that determine an organization’s growth. This article analyzes the effects of nepotism and favoritism in the human resource departments focusing on employee behavior and workplace motivation. Since employees are expected to work together to achieve the organization’s goals, favoritism limits cooperation. As shown in the article, workplace nepotism and cronyism limits job satisfaction. Mishra (2021) compares workplace favoritism in developed and developing countries and argues that although it is highly condemned in developed countries, developing countries continue experiencing this challenge. This article is crucial in the study on leadership development as it clearly outlines the crucial sectors affected by workplace favoritism.

According to Mishra (2021), favoritism affects the recruitment, selection, training, and development of employees, severely limiting their job performance. The research methodology entailed questionnaires administered to government employees and those in the private sector concerning their attitudes about favoritism at the workplace. The results showed that the majority of employees had negative attitudes toward the workplace when encountering favoritism. This knowledge is important because leaders can use it to check the effectiveness of their human resources department functions and determine whether there are elements of favoritism. Eliminating nepotism and favoritism from the recruitment process will ensure that the organization hires competent personnel. This article adds to the discussion by demonstrating how workplace favoritism enters an organization and the various ways it can be eliminated.

Pros and Cons of The Research

The literature research above has revealed some crucial points regarding leadership development with a focus on workplace favoritism. The first benefit of this research is that it shows the root causes of workplace favoritism. The study by Mishra (2021) has shown how the recruitment process can be the entry point of favoritism. The second advantage of this research is the relation between favoritism and job performance. It is crucial to understand that favoritism limits employees’ performance, thereby hindering organizational growth. The third benefit entails the use of both qualitative and quantitative analysis, which gives tangible proof of the research.

This makes it easy to replicate the studies in various situations and enhance their application. The main disadvantage of this research is that none of the studies referenced above links favoritism to global economies. It is crucial to understand how favoritism in one organization affects the performance of other economic systems. Although it may seem like favoritism mainly affects an individual organization’s performance, employees interact with each other from different organizations and may influence their peers’ attitudes. Besides, employees subjected to favoritism may quit and seek employment in other organizations. Having a bad attitude about workplace behavior will impact every organization they work in.

Recommendations

From the research conducted, it is clear that workplace favoritism, whether nepotism or cronyism has a negative effect on employees’ attitudes and performance. In this case, it is important to understand steps that a leader can take to limit favoritism and eliminate its associated effects. The first step entails realigning an organization’s goals to its culture. Every function in the organization should promote a culture of fairness and equality. Every employee and leader should understand that the organization’s goals should be prioritized above their own. The second step is streamlining the human resources department to ensure that recruitment, training, and development are free from favoritism. The last step entails ensuring that any employee perpetrating favoritism faces disciplinary action. If necessary, such employees can be fired to ensure they do not tarnish the organization’s image and culture.