Cronyism

Cronyism is awarding positions, jobs, contracts, loans, privileges, or advantages to friends or colleagues. It is used especially in politics, when referring to partiality between politicians and businesses.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A person who supports or partakes in cronyism is referred to as a crony, cronie, or cronyist.

Cronyism occurs when appointing "cronies" to positions of authority regardless of their qualifications.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This is in contrast to a meritocracy, in which appointments are made based on merit. Politically, "cronyism" is derogatorily used to imply buying and selling favors, such as votes in legislative bodies, doing favors to organizations, or giving desirable ambassadorships to exotic places.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Etymology

The word crony first appeared in 17th-century London, according to the Oxford English Dictionary; it is believed to be derived from the Greek word Template:Lang (Template:Transliteration), meaning Template:Gloss.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Concept

Template:See also Government officials are particularly susceptible to accusations of cronyism, as they spend taxpayers' money. Many democratic governments are encouraged to practice administrative transparency in accounting and contracting, but there often is no clear delineation of when an appointment to government office is "cronyism".<ref name= ced>Template:Cite web</ref>

In the private sector, cronyism exists in organizations, often termed "the old boys' club" or "the golden circle"; again, the boundary between cronyism and "networking" is difficult to delineate.<ref name="Staff 2010">Template:Cite web</ref>

Cronyism describes relationships existing among mutual acquaintances in private organizations where business, business information, and social interaction are exchanged among influential personnel. This is termed crony capitalism,<ref name= ced /> and is an ethical breach of the principles of the market economy; in advanced economies, crony capitalism is a breach of market regulations.

The economic and social costs of cronyism are paid by society. Those costs are in the form of reduced business opportunity for the majority of the population, reduced competition in the marketplace, inflated consumer goods prices, decreased economic performance, inefficient business investment cycles, reduced motivation in affected organizations, and the diminution of economically productive activity.<ref name="Staff 2010"/>

Further reading

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  [Also in T. G. Andrews and R. Mead (Eds.), Cross Cultural Management, Volume 2 -The Impact of Culture 1: 126–150. Routledge, UK.]
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External links

• "Favoritism, Cronyism, and Nepotism". Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University.
• SuperNews: Hurricane Katrina - A political flash cartoon about the cronyism surrounding Michael D. Brown and Hurricane Katrina.