Commonly practised business value killer in Sri Lanka:

Favouritism not based on performance

In organisations there are situations where one employee is given preference over another, usually by someone at a higher level, not based on work performance but other considerations. Such favouritism leads to very complex organisational issues with huge opportunity costs.

As humans we tend to look at links to get closer to people we like for various benefits. Factors like from the same village or town, school, religion and personal interests such as sports or music bring people together naturally.

In certain circumstances favoritism can be in relation to sexism and racism too.

Employees coming together on such grounds end up in sub cultures being formed with different attitudes and beliefs. I'm sure you have your own real life examples either as a victim, beneficiary or seen things happening around you as a neutral person.

Favouritism is mainly used as a leader's survival strategy. Sadly in most Sri Lankan organisations, be it private or public favouritism does exist in varying degrees. Favouritism in public organisations largely exists based on political affiliations.

Some managers whose behaviour does not align with company policy and accepted practices or performance and not being up to the mark, favours direct reports to harness support for survival.

A leader whose discipline is below expectation cannot create a culture of high discipline in an organisation or within that business unit for optimum productivity. Look at a simple example; a leader who is late to work cannot pull up a team member for been late to work.

Is it hard to understand the resultant loss of value to the organisation? Commonly practised in Sri Lankan organisations, favouritism includes bigger salary increases and perks, promotions, beneficial transfers, easier work and selective lenient policy compliance.

These cost the organisations money, affect business performance and creates an undesired culture impeding long-term progress.

There's no question that favouritism is a bad management practice. It breeds resentment, mistrust, destroys employee morale, and creates disincentives for good performance.

Once employees see that more benefits flow from being on the manager's good books, rather than from good job performance, it creates a notion that there's no or very little point in working hard.

Favouritism leads to poor productivity, as employees who aren't getting the plum assignments spend more and more time gossiping and griping about how unfair the system is rather than doing their work.

The Law cannot prevent favouritism

Is favoritism illegal? Not always. It depends on why employees are being favoured or disfavoured. No law prevents companies from having lousy managers or running a workplace like a schoolyard.

If favouritism is rooted in discrimination, harassment, or retaliation, however, it crosses the line from poor management to illegal behaviour. Favouritism is usually a sure sign that policies and procedures are not what they should be.

Favouritism not based on performance can lead to serious negative business implications. It's up to leaders to identify, understand and put in place policies, processes and systems in place to curb this issue but more importantly, lead by example to create