The paper presents a theoretical reflection on merit, social reproduction and social stratification, highlighting some current theories on social stratification, the way they stand out (or not) the merit and individual effort, and finally presenting contributions to the debate and to the organizational studies. In detail, we present the initial notions about social stratification, highlighting the prevalence of functionalist approaches and studies on the subject. Then comes the reading that the functionalists done about Weberian approach on social stratification, made by Parsons and followers, which influenced the sociological theory of modernization, and the development of their own meritocratic hypothesis, central to classical studies on social stratification. This assumption is questioned, based on Marxists studies, who see in social stratification, a phenomenon of social reproduction. Below they are presented some considerations about different ways of measuring social stratification, especially those inspired by Weberian and Marxist studies. Finally, the article seeks to show notes and reflections on the contributions of social stratification for organizational studies.
Social Stratification; Organizational Studies; Merit; Social Reproduction