Post MBA exam results, Group Discussion will be crucial for MBA admission so it is advised to read and practice with variety of topics. In following GD topic, you will be getting some points with divergent views which you can pick up and develop. Today, you will read GD topic:
Achievements must be recognized @ Meritocracy
In an age where everyone is fighting very hard to have Andy Warhol’s predicted “15 minutes of fame” and even more, new theories are emerging every day and are being propagated as the mantra of success.
The theory of Meritocracy is yet another effort by some of the intellectual Americans who believe that a person is solely responsible for everything that he gets or achieves in his professional or personal life.
Widely accepted as an acclaimed and helping theory, the theory of Meritocracy has many flaws. But before the flaws can be brought into light, it is important to understand in clear terms, what does the phrase “achieve @ meritocracy” means?
Meritocracy refers to the process where a person is selected for his job on the basis of his talent, knowledge and his dedication towards his work. His appropriateness for the job concerned and in some work organizations, the chances of his progress, depends solely on the merits of the person and nothing else.
Thus, the theory of meritocracy states that if a person is suitable for the job and he proves his worth through his work, nothing can stop him from getting promoted and achieving success in his life.
The truth is that a person’s own abilities, talents and his dedication and many other personal factors play an extremely important role in the success of a person.
However, to say that an individual’s effort and qualities is the only thing responsible for success and promotions would be entirely wrong as in an organization, there are a hundred other factors that are counted as well.
Meritocracy is right in saying that the individuals are responsible for their success. However, to say that solely the individual is responsible for all the good that might come would be undermining the bare truth.
If the truth be faced, people will realize that the corporate world isn’t the fairest of all. It is engulfed by a competitive environment where every individual aims to get high and ahead and in the race to win, will do anything possible to push others back.
In such a case, the individual qualities will prove to be quite less to get ahead. This does not mean that one has to play dirty to get ahead.
It just means that one needs to be cautious and on the lookout because in the real world, meritocracy has only one part to play out of the many.
Also, a business organization is a place where hundreds and thousands of individuals work together. In such a crowded place, it is impossible to judge each of the employees. The employees are only judged on hierarchical levels.
Unfortunately, sometimes due to the hierarchy, some of the most talented and distinguished employees do not reach their right place. They often either skip the eye of the top rank officers or they are intently kept away from them by their bosses who take inspiration from the old adage, “everything is fair in love and war”.
The fight to success is no less that a war thesedays. The theory of Meritocracy also completely undermines the fact that since every employee working in an organization, comes from a different background, judging them solely on merit would not serve them right.
For instance, whereas one employee may have come from a line of business officials who were well versed with the art of corporate business and could afford an expensive university education for their child, the other may have come from a humble background with only a humble education.
In such a case, comparing the merits of the two would be like doing an extra favor to the former and injustice to the latter. Thus, if a business organization needs to prosper, it is mandatory that instead of judging its employees, it should make efforts to teach them and equip them to do better first. The judgment of their skills and talent can only come on a later stage.
Achieve at Meritocracy may be used as a theory or a way of inspiring the employees to work harder and do better. If used in the right ways, it can be used to motivate people within an organization to put in their best efforts.
However, in reality, this theory puts only half of the picture in perspective while hiding the rest half of it deceptively. Meritocracy is the not the big solution to a person’s desire for achieving and getting ahead in life though it is definitely a step forward in the right direction.