Application of the Merit Democratic Strategy for the Management of Human Resources in Artisan Sector

Matarazzo Agata¹, Mazzaglia Agata Giuseppa², Clasadonte Maria Teresa¹, Giuseppe Vaccarella³
(1. Department of Economics and Business, University of Catania, Corso Italia 55, 95129 Catania, Italy; 2. Association Authority of the Merit democratic Justice AGM-XVIII Traversa Via n. 3-95032 Belpasso (CT), Italy;
3. Contrada Cicirata, 96012-Avola (SR), Italy)

Abstract: The current and growing need to ensure and enhance the development of skills, professional abilities and business competitiveness by means of human resources development inside and outside the field of work, gives rise to the so-called “democratic merit” innovative strategy, intended to guarantee the right to the social value of work and its constitutional protection, and based on “merit democratic” criteria. The Merit democratic Working Strategy stands as an instrument for human resources management, which aims to guarantee an adequate evaluation of skills, professionalism and competitiveness, and to allow firms to increase their performance by enhancing of the value of human resources. This paper proposes the application of the Merit democratic Working Strategy in the artisan sector of haute patisserie in Sicilian catering, through the implementation of MCDA (Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis) methods for the selection of personnel, first using an algorithm inspired by the Dominance-Based Rough Sets Approach (DRSA) for an initial skimming of the alternatives, and then the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method to rank the various alternatives considered in terms of the criteria used for their evaluation. In particular, we take into consideration the following selection criteria: creativity, innovation, skills, competencies and other merit democratic criteria concerning work and outside-work merits, social impact and the particular economic sector involved. Also the value is taken as a basic principle of the selection, recruitment and promotion of the individual, while ensuring an efficient and effective management of Human Resources processes and above all a high level of quality of human capital. That, guided by the professional needs of firms, can contribute to the achievement of excellence in labour policy, to support development, competitiveness and employment, in order to undertake innovative strategic choices for the effective development of the artisan sector.

Key words: human resources; merit democratic strategy; multiple criteria decision analysis; artisan sector; voluntary certification

JEL code: I2