The gospel according to merit: from Virtue To Rationality To Production

Abstract

The meaning of merit is complex and ambiguous. Originally defined as personal virtue, merit has evolved through scientific rationality into a measure of production, all the while retaining the nuance of moral virtue. The result of this “gospel of merit” is a framework where the value of a human being is derived from organizational performance rather than individual character.

Citation

Anderson, J.F. (2013), "The gospel according to merit: from Virtue To Rationality To Production", International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 449-464. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOTB-16-04-2013-B001