Meritocracia e gestão de pessoas: uma análise teórica sobre eficiência e desigualdade organizacional.

Abstract

Abstract

This study analyzes meritocratic management in companies, seeking to understand whether this model promotes organizational efficiency or contributes to processes of exclusion and structural inequalities. Meritocracy is frequently used as a justification for promotions and rewards, under the premise that individual merit should be the sole criterion for professional advancement. The objective of this research is to investigate, through a theoretical and bibliographic analysis, how meritocratic practices are discussed in the literature of people management and the limits of their application in contexts of social inequality. The methodology adopted is qualitative and descriptive, based on a bibliographic review of contemporary authors and the analysis of related academic studies. The data are examined through content analysis, confronting views that defend meritocracy as a driver of productivity with criticisms that point to the interference of variables such as social capital and socioeconomic history. It is concluded that, although meritocracy seeks the valuation of talent, its implementation without equity mechanisms risks becoming an instrument for the reproduction of privileges, demanding more transparent management criteria that are conscious of structural barriers.