ピーターの法則とは、人は能力の限界まで出世をしても、その後の成長は見込めず無能な社員となってしまうという労働に関する社会学の法則です。ピーターの法則を回避するための対策と防止策について考えてみましょう。
Have you ever met a manager who wasn't good at their job? There's a good chance that that person was a very good team member before they got promoted. But, the skills required in lower-level jobs don't always translate to upper-level jobs.
This is the Peter principle—a business concept that "managers rise to the level of their incompetence," meaning workers in a company get promoted until they can no longer do their job effectively.
Promotions are generally based on current ability, rather than future ability. If you are very good at your current job, you will be promoted to a higher-level job. However, at that higher-level job, you may find tasks that you have no training for. You may actually not perform well in your new position.
One of the underlying problems leading to the Peter principal may be a lack of options. For instance, if a sales person is very good at their job, they may become a sales manager, which is actually more about managing than sales. There is no option of being a higher-level sales person.
When discussing large companies, especially if you are in an interview test like the G.B.C., then mentioning an idea like the Peter principal can be quite impressive. For example:
When I think about companies in Japan, I think of the Peter principle: workers rise to the level of their incompetence. A lot of staff continue at one company for their whole life, and as they get older, they continue to get promoted until they can no longer do well at their job. That means a lot of mid-level managers are not effective. I think it hurts the company overall.
The Peter principal was created by Laurence J. Peter. More information can be found in the Wikipedia article about it.
In your next lesson or G.B.C. test, try to mention the Peter Principal.
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The Peter Principal [n] - workers who are good at their job will continue to be promoted until they are bad at their job
