Networking, Corruption, and Subversion

Abstract

This paper explores the ethics of networking as a means of competition, specifically networking to improve one’s prospects of prevailing in formal competitive processes for jobs or university placements. There are broadly two ways that networking might be used to influence the outcome of some such process: through the “exchange of affect” between networker and selector, and through the demonstration of merit by networker to selector. Both raise ethical problems that have been overlooked but need to be addressed.

Keywords: Cronyism, Favouritism, Meritocracy, Networking, Personnel selection, Unstructured interviews, corruption, earwigging