Looking for word: Deliberate hiring of the less qualified

[contacnathan]

Need help in finding a word (if it exists) that means to deliberately hire a less qualified or incompetent candidate for reasons of ensuring new candidates are not a challenge to higher levels. The meaning is similar to that of nepotism in which of course candidates are selected not by qualification but by whether they have family/friend links. These links would normally also guarantee loyalty and ensure the higher levels are not challenged in a similar way.

[mara_ce]

Could it be "cronyism"?

[contacnathan]

Nepotism and cronisym both suggest the applicant chosen was known personally to the employer, although this normally also means the applicant was not the best qualified.

I think the best phrase so far I have come up with is 'mediocracy protectionism'.

Some words that I have investigated which touch on the concept are:
nepotism:
the practice among those with power or influence of favouring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs.
cronyism or croneyism:
the appointment of friends and associates to positions of authority, without proper regard to their qualifications.
The Pitt Principle:
Sabotage:
deliberately destroy, damage, or obstruct (something), especially for political or military advantage.
sycophantocracy, sycophancy:
a person who acts obsequiously towards someone important in order to gain advantage.
mediocracy:
a dominant class consisting of mediocre people, or a system in which mediocrity is rewarded
protectionism:
the theory or practice of shielding a country's domestic industries from foreign competition by taxing imports.

Antonyms (Opposite to):
meritocracy

[Barb_D]

There is no set word or phrase for this. I've worked in corporate Anerica for a number of years and I can't imagine any of the places I've worked doing this. The suggestion above is a good description, but ther is no word/phrase you can use that would have immediate understanding of the concept because the concept itself is so strange.

[Tdol]

This article about the Pitt Principle makes it close to what you're looking for:
The Pitt Principle
And this

The Pitt Principle

[BobK]

There is 'positive discrimination', but I think that usually works in favour of equally well-qualified people in racial (or other) minorities; it's odd that women, in the context of employment-seeking, are sometimes regarded as 'a minority', although I think they outnumber men by a percentage point or two.

There is also the word 'quotas'. In some contexts (often political) there must be a quota (of women candidates, say).

b