Polastri Massimiliano, Truisi Maria Cristina
Medical Department of Continuity of Care and Disability, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University Hospital St. Orsola-Malpighi, Bologna, Italy.
Private Practice, Bologna, Italy.
J Intensive Care Soc. 2017 Nov;18(4):276-278. doi: 10.1177/1751143717714679. Epub 2017 Oct 26.
Meritocracy refers to a governmental or other administrative system wherein appointments and responsibilities are assigned to individuals based on their merits, which are determined through objective evaluations or examinations. Merit can be earned by either intellectual or manual labour, as each person has his or her own talents. Nevertheless, there is no absolute definition of merit because both intelligence and skill are relative. In our current society, individuals can, theoretically, reach any goal in a meritocratic system. Indeed, merit should be the basis on which resources are allocated. This said, personal beliefs, bureaucratic complications, national regulations, and other human characteristics obscure the obvious superiority of this approach. Members of groups, including societies, often support and follow an individual who adheres to the group's norms rather than one who may be more deserving of such loyalty but who does not adhere to the shared rules. Individuals in a meritocratic system feel valued, believe their abilities are recognised, and have incentives to improve their professional performance. In such a context, individuals experience their environment as fair and feel more confident about themselves, others, and their work. Individuals working under such conditions are very likely to have higher levels of motivation, engage in more collaborative behaviour, show greater flexibility and experience enhanced well being compared with those operating in a system that is perceived as not based on merit. This paper presents an integrated discussion of meritocracy and poses seven questions that may improve our understanding of this concept.
精英管理指的是一种政府或其他行政系统，在这种系统中，任命和职责是根据个人的功绩来分配的，而功绩是通过客观评估或考试来确定的。功绩既可以通过脑力劳动获得，也可以通过体力劳动获得，因为每个人都有自己的才能。然而，由于智力和技能都是相对的，所以对于功绩并没有绝对的定义。在我们当前的社会中，从理论上讲，个人可以通过精英管理系统实现任何目标。事实上，功绩应该是资源分配的基础。话虽如此，个人信仰、官僚主义的复杂性、国家法规以及其他人类特性掩盖了这种方法明显的优越性。包括社会在内的群体成员往往支持并追随那些遵守群体规范的个人，而不是那些可能更值得这种忠诚但不遵守共同规则的人。在精英管理系统中的个人会感到被重视，相信自己的能力得到认可，并有动力提高自己的职业表现。在这样的环境中，个人会觉得环境是公平的，对自己、他人和工作更有信心。与在一个被认为不是基于功绩的系统中工作的人相比，在这种条件下工作的个人很可能有更高的积极性，更愿意进行合作行为，表现出更大的灵活性，并体验到更高的幸福感。本文对精英管理进行了综合讨论，并提出了七个问题，这些问题可能会增进我们对这一概念的理解。
