Meritocracy Paradox: Where Talent Management Strategies Go Wrong and How to Fix Them [Kietas viršelis]

"For decades the principle of advancing and rewarding individuals on the basis of their talents and initiative-on their merit-has been widely accepted as fair and legitimate in private and public sector institutions. Merit is an especially popular concept among the most selective of these institutions-elite universities and professions like law and banking-as a system that is objective and focused on measurable work, eschewing class background and wealth. Yet merit-driven systems have been recognized forparadoxically contributing to inequality and sustaining systemic biases based on implicit demographic traits and personal characteristics. How did meritocracy, once seen as a progressive solution to inherited privilege, gain a reputation for promoting inequality rather than equality? What goes wrong when organizations adopt merit as their guiding principle and how can the shortcomings of meritocracy be addressed? In The Meritocracy Paradox Emilio J. Castilla draws on decades of research to analyze the structure and culture of meritocracy and the many related management processes and decisions made inside organizations. In settings ranging from merit-based bonus systems in large companies to admissions decisions at prestigious universities, Castilla showshow even though most organizational leaders want to attract and retain the best people, personal biases often affect hiring, promotion, and compensation decisions within organizations that distort attempts to build high performing meritocracy. Then, building on tested interventions and collaborations with companies, he offers organizational strategies that will enable leaders who are serious about promoting fairness, diversity, opportunity, and inclusion to improve their organization's hiring, evaluation, and compensation processes"-- Provided by publisher.

Meritocracy—the idea that individuals should be rewarded based on their talent and hard work—is one of the most widely celebrated ideals in education, business, and government. It shapes how organizations recruit, evaluate, and promote, promising a fair system where the best rise to the top. But meritocracy has increasingly come under criticism for deepening inequality and reinforcing bias. How did a once-progressive ideal meant to level the playing field end up contributing to unfairness and privilege? What happens when organizations treat merit as their guiding principle without questioning how it’s defined or applied? Most importantly, how can today’s leaders recognize and fix what’s gone wrong?

In The Meritocracy Paradox, Emilio J. Castilla offers timely new answers to these fundamental questions. He analyzes the structure and culture of meritocracy inside organizations, providing real-world examples—from hiring and merit-based bonuses in companies to admissions decisions at elite universities—to show how personal biases and social barriers can undermine the values and outcomes these systems are meant to uphold. Castilla provides practical, research-backed frameworks to help organizations achieve true fairness and opportunity for all. Drawing on successful data-based interventions, he presents concrete strategies for improving recruitment, selection, evaluation, promotion, and compensation processes—revealing how motivated leaders can identify and correct shortcomings with cost-effective, targeted solutions that deliver proven results.

The Meritocracy Paradox is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand and improve the intersection of merit, fairness, and equal opportunity in organizations.

Emilio J. Castilla analyzes the structure and culture of meritocracy inside organizations, providing a practical, research-backed framework to help achieve true fairness and opportunity for all.