NAME: ABUKARI ABDUL- MALIK COURSE: MSC. MANAGEMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCE STRATEGY-IDL STUDENT ID: 20844950 INDEX NO: PG9166821

NAME: ABUKARI ABDUL- MALIK COURSE: MSC. MANAGEMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCE STRATEGY-IDL STUDENT ID : 20844950 INDEX NO : PG9166821.

INTRODUCTION. ‘ Nepotism’ and ‘ favoritism ’ are widely observed in modern business. One may observe the manifestations of both phenomena in different government organizations and different sectors of the economy. Nepotism and favoritism are analyzed as the forms of expression of internal corruption in non-governmental sector organizations when decision-making is guided not by the objective criteria outlining the expertise of the employee, but by family relations (nepotism) or patronizing employees for subjectively felt amiability ( favoritism )..

INTRODUCTION. According to the Wikipedia encyclopedia, the word “nepotism” comes from the Latin word “ nepos ” meaning “nephew” and it should be appreciated that nepotism may be acceptable in some countries or societies because of socio-cultural factors . In every organization , individuals and groups behave in diverse ways . Such behavior s are influenced by a wide range of factors which in turn influences the functioning of the organi z ation . Employees’ behavior determines the climate in every organization. Organizational climate is named as one of the most important aspects of the organizational environment, which is directly related to employee behavior ( Berberoglu , 2018). From the standpoint o f Glisson and James (2002), organizational culture or climate are perceptions of individuals, describing the work environment, which can be generalized . In other words, these perceptions reflect a common attitude to the organizational policy and procedures . This research will examine the relationship between favoritism and organizational climate and its impact on organizational performance..

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES. The main objective of this research is to determine how nepotism can affect employee behavior at work and its impact on the performance of the organization The Specific objectives are: To determine the impact of nepotism on employee work culture To examine the impact employee work culture has on organizational performance To examine the effect of nepotism on organizational performance To understand the cause of nepotism and how it can be minimized in an organization.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS. What is the effect of nepotism on employees' work culture? What is the impact of employees' work culture on an organization’s performance? What is the impact of nepotism on the performance of an organization ? How can nepotism be minimized in the workplace.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY. The current study will attempt to contribute new knowledge to the literature on issues and concepts related to nepotism in Ghana . In the Ghanaian context, there has been a serious lack of research in this subject area and the study will also provide the basis for further research into issues related to nepotism and favoritism in the public sector. The findings from this study will help create awareness of the challenges and highlight the plight of workers in the public sector to shape the public discourse on the need for fairness in Ghanaian institutions..

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY. Although there is extensive coverage of ethics and transparency issues in the local newspapers and the issue is a subject of conversation across Ghana, there is relatively little scientific and systematic research about the extent of the problem and its effects. Findings from this study will provide a credible scientific basis for tackling this problem..

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY. This research will employ a qualitative research method in this study. Qualitative researchers are mainly concerned with meaning in how individuals make sense of the world, how they experience events, and what meaning they attribute to phenomena (Pietkiewicz, Smith, Pietkiewicz, & Smith, 2014 )..

SCOPE OF THE STUDY. This study is conducted to assess the effect of nepotism on employee behavior and its impact on the organizational climate in Ghana. The study was confined to public institutions in the northern region and the Ghana Health Service was used as a case study. The research will also focus on both line employees and management from these institutions. This study should have incorporated all public sectors in Ghana, as well as government agencies. However , considering the time, financial , and other resources constraints, the study is limited to the Ghana Health Service ..

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE. 2.2.1. Theories on nepotism NEGATIVISTS Nepotism and favoritism have become central issues in all countries and societies. Wong & Kleiner (1994), and William & Laker (2003 assert that Nepotism is a part of corruption, and can be found in all societies and countries.) . They define nepotism as the preferential conduct of employing and developing a lower or no n- qualified candidate for a job because of their closeness with those who have some administrative or shareholding authority.

NEGATIVISTS THEORY. Similarly, Bloom and Reenen, (2007); Cialdini and Vries, 1996, cited in Jaskiewicz et al., (2013) , asserted that nepotism does not only dampen the morale of workers but can also damage the output and performance of an organization. Arasli et al (2006) concluded that irrespective of any size, type, and form of organization, nepotism generally negatively affects people ..

POSITIVISTS. Nepotism generally conveys negative meaning but may have some positive influence as well in some special cases such as family-owned businesses and entrepreneurial efforts. Also , in family-owned businesses, constant family proprietorship can enhance the organization’s output of productivity (Anderson & Reeb , 2003; Miller & Le Breton-Miller, 2005). Spranger et al. (2012) claim that some organizations can function successfully at a certain level of nepotism which does not harm the organization’s understanding of justice, while Jones and Stout (2015) think that “social connections in some crony relationships and nepotic ones may add considerable value to organizations” ..

.3.1. Theories on organizational climate. Ruchi and Monica (2017), describe organizational climate as the set of unique characteristics and features that are perceived by the employees of their organizations which serves as a major force in influencing their behavior . Madhukar and Sharma (2017), also assert that organizational climate is a function of a person and their interaction with the organi z ational environment. Orga niz ational climate describes the set of attributes specific to a particular organization that may be induced by the way that the organization deals with its members and its environment..

Theories on organizational climate. On these premises, Organizational climate can thus be described as the social setting of the organization depending upon the organizational behavior system. Therefore, organizational climate represents the goals and philosophies of those who join together to create the organization..

HYPOTHESIS. Hypothesis 1: Nepotism has a significant negative e ffect on an organization’s climate. Hypothesis 2: Nepotism has no negative effect on an organization’s climate.

NEPOTISM IN GHANA. There is evidence from the work of local authors and local newspaper editors that corruption and nepotism in Ghana, especially in the form of “Whom you know”, is continuing to grow ( Laary , 2014; Osam , 2014; Kwawukume , 2014; Benson, 2013). Sule (2012, p.59) has observed that “if you don’t “know someone” or “someone doesn’t know” you through family, religious, tribal or political ties, you are likely not to be recommended for employment, no matter how competent or qualified you are” ( Sule , 2012, p. 59). Speaking to Citi News, Brigadier-General Joseph Nunoo -Mensah (retd), the leader of the Human Security Department of the National Security Secretariat, has articulated concerns regarding the vast corruption cases prevailing in Ghana and indicates that the situation has attained an epidemic status. “What is happening in Ghana and the last few days tells me that there is complete rot in our society and we need to do something about it..

RESEARCH GAP. Previous research has extensively covered these three variables about the effect of some of these variables and others. It is worth noting that some of these researches concerning the factors of nepotism were undertaken within the Ghanaian context. Remy Nyukorong (201 4 ) in his study focused on corruption and nepotism in Ghana Banking System. There is evidence to support the suggestion that there is a lack of research that investigated the impact of Nepotism and organizational climate . The current research attempts to narrow this research to the Ghana Health Service.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY. 3.2. Research Design MacMillan and Schumacher (2001:166) define research design as a plan for selecting subjects, research sites, and data collection procedures to answer the research question(s). This study employed a mixed type of methods. The first part of the study consisted of a series of well-structured questionnaires ( for management) and semi-structured interviews ( for line staff). The other design used is an interview of employees to know how they feel about the ir workplace..

Target Population. . Target population refers to all the members who meet a specified criterion for a research investigation (Zaidi, Thomas, & Quinones-Hinojosa, 2009) The target population is the unit of study for which inferences from the data from the study will be made. This means that the outcome of the research will be generalized to this unit. For this study , the population is the employees who have work ed within Ghana Health Service for not less than five (5) years in the northern region. It includes both Management and line staff..

3.5. Sampling Size. A sample can be defined as a group of a relatively smaller number of people selected from a population for investigation purposes (Zaidi et al., 2009). The sample size of research takes into consideration the number of respondents to be included in the sample. It is generally accepted that the larger the sample size, the better the results though larger sample sizes have their challenge. For this study, the “rule of 5” approach by Hair et al. (2011) was adopted . This rule proposes that the sample size be equal to the number of items on the questionnaire (49 items for this study) multiplied by 5. Therefore, for this study, the sample size of 245 (49 * 5) was used to be able to provide more accurate mean values ..

Data Collection Methods. A key component of every research is how to elicit rich and detailed information from respondents . Semi-structured, in-depth, one-to-one interviews were employed to achieve that. For the researcher to accomplish the earlier stated objectives, semi-structured interviews allow the researcher and the participant to engage in a dialogue in real-time (Pietkiewicz et al., 2014)..

Data Analysis. The researcher categori zed the responses into two groups based on the research questions. The first group was related to ordinary line employees, the second group was management. All data collected were transcribed and organized using the research objectives. The data was coded into easily understandable concepts for a more efficient data analysis process. Coding in qualitative analysis simply involves categorizing data into concepts, properties, and patterns ..

Coding. With the assurance given to all participants that the research is solely for academic purposes, all information provided was treated as confidential. The organization in which they came from was 55 generalized as public sector institutions. Participant’s confidentiality is preserved in the transcripts by coding all names in the alpha-numeric system to ensure and preserve anonymity as in the table below:.

coding. SN CODES GENDER POSITION 1 FN1 FEMALE WARD NURSE 2 MN2 MALE MEDICAL ASSISTANT 3 MN3 MALE MEDICAL ASSISTANT 4 FN3 FEMALE LAB TECHNICIAN 5 FM3 FEMALE FINANCIAL MANAGERESS 6 MM4 MALE EMERGENCY WARD 7 MN5 MALE PHARMACY.

Validity and Reliability. The data collected was considered valid and reliable as it was conducted through unofficial channels, as the official channels turned out to be impossible. That the researcher had to collect unofficial information in this way means that he can rely more on the validity of the results. The evidence gathered has been more varied and from people in a wider range of banks. To increase the confirmability of the research, a bracketing exercise was utilized. Previous to the interview process, the researcher made a deliberate attempt to identify any biases and personal worldview concerning the subject matter. In the course of the data gathering and analysis process, the researcher made an effort to keep conscious attentiveness to arrive at objectivity (Lincoln & Guba, 1985)..

Ethical Consideration. R ese a rch involves collecting data and views about people and institutions . As such, researchers need to protect their participants, develop trust, guard against misconduct and impropriety, and preserve the integrity of the research (Israel & Hay, 2006). Creswell (ibid) suggests that ethical issues apply in the different types of research and to every stage of the work. All the participants who took part in the research in providing relevant information for this study were recruited voluntarily with the assurance that there were no negative outcomes should they participate as it was meant solely for academic purposes. They were also informed about their rights to withdraw which was further articulated in the consent.

Conclusion. This section of the study justifies why the qualitative approach was employed by giving an in-depth description of the research design used in this study, the target population, sample size, and sampling technique. The chapter also discussed the data analysis ..

Kwame Nkrumah university of science and technology NAME: ABUKARI ABDUL- MALIK COURSE: MSC. MANAGEMENT AND HUMAN RESOURCE STRATEGY-IDL STUDENT ID : 20844950 INDEX NO : PG9166821.