MEANING

Promotion is advancement of an employee to a better job better in terms of greater responsibility, more prestige or status, greater skill and especially increased rate of pay or salary. - Paul Pigors and Charles A. Myers The upward assignment of an individual in an organizations hierarchy, accompanied by increased responsibilities, enhances status and usually with increased income though not always so. - Arun Monappa & Mirza S. Saiyadain

CONDITIONS OF PROMOTIONS
Reassignment of higher level job to an employee than what he is presently performing. The employee will naturally be delegated with greater responsibility and authority than what he has had earlier. Promotion normally companies higher pay.

PURPOSES OF PROMOTION
To utilize the employees skill, knowledge at the appropriate level resulting in organizational effectiveness and employee satisfaction. To develop competitive spirit and inculcate the zeal in the employees to acquire the skill, knowledge etc. required by higher level job. To develop competent employees inside who can adapt to changing environments. To promote employees self development. It reduces employee turn over.

PURPOSES OF PROMOTION (contd..)

To promote feeling of contentment with the exist conditions and also sense of belongingness. To promote interest in training, development programmes and team development. To build loyalty and to boost morale. To reward committed and loyal employees. To get rid of problems created by leaders of unions by promoting them to officer levels.

TYPES OF PROMOTION
Vertical Promotion Employee is moved to the next higher level, in the organizational hierarchy with greater responsibility, authority, pay and status. Upgradation The job is upgraded in the organizational hierarchy. Consequently, the employee gets more salary, higher authority and responsibility. Dry Promotion The employee is moved to the next higher level in the organizational hierarchy with greater responsibility, authority and status without any increase in salary.

BASES OF PROMOTION
SECURITY cum MERIT

MERIT BASED

SENIORITY BASED

FAVORITISM

MERIT BASED PROMOTION

Merit is taken to denote an employees skill, knowledge, ability, efficiency and aptitude as measured from educational, training and past employment record.

Merits :
The resources of higher order of an employee can be better utilized at higher level. It results in maximum utilization of Human Resources in the organization. Competent employees are motivated to exert all their resources and contribute them to the organizational efficiency and effectiveness. It works as golden hand-cuffs regarding employee turnover. It continuously encourages employees to acquire new skills, knowledge etc.

Demerits :
Measurement or judging of merit is highly difficult. Many people distrust the management integrity in judging merit.

Techniques of merit measurement are subjective.

Mostly based on past achievement, efficiency but not about the future success.

SENIORITY BASED PROMOTION

Seniority refers to relative length of service in the same job and in the same organization. By considering seniority as basis of promotion, there is a positive correlation between length of service and amount of knowledge and level of skill acquired.
Also, it supports the custom of first come first serve.

Merits :
Relatively easy to measure the length of service and judge the seniority. There will be full support from trade union.

Everybody trusts management action as there is no scope for favoritism and discrimination and judgment. Gives a sense of certainty of getting promotion to every employee and of their turn of promotion.

Merits (contd..) :
Senior employees will have a sense of satisfaction to this system as the older employees are respected and their inefficiency cannot be pointed out.

It minimizes the scope of grievances and conflicts regarding promotion.

It seems to serve the purpose in the sense that employees may learn more with increase in length of service.

Demerits :
It demotivates young and more competent employees and results in employee turnover among dynamic force. It kills the zeal and interest to develop as everybody will be promoted with or without improvement. Organizational effectiveness may be diminished through deceleration of the human resources.

Demerits (contd..)
Employees only learns upto a certain age and after that the learning ability diminishes. Judging seniority may seems easy but involves problem areas job seniority, service in different organizations, experience as apprentice, researcher, length of service even in terms of hour.

SENIORITY-CUM-MERIT BASED PROMOTION

Seniority-cum-merit based promotion satisfies the management for organizational effectiveness and the employees and trade unions for respecting the length of service.

A balance can be struck between the two basis by some ways as below:

Minimum length of service and merit A minimum length of service is kept as basic eligibility and then merit is made the sole criteria.
Measurements of seniority and merit through a common factor

Minimum merit and seniority Certain merit is kept as eligibility criteria and then seniority is considered.

BENEFITS OF PROMOTION
Promotion places the employees in a position where an employees skills and knowledge can be better utilized. It creates and increases the interest of other employees in the company as they believe that they will also get their turn. It creates among employees a feeling of content with the existing conditions of work and employment.

BENEFITS OF PROMOTION (contd..)

It increases interest in acquiring higher qualifications, in training and in self development with a view to meet the requirements of promotion.

Promotion improves employee morale and job satisfaction.

It improves organizational health.

PROBLEMS WITH PROMOTION

Disappoints Some Employees If some employees dont get promoted, then they develop negative attitude and reduce their contribution to the organization.

Employees Refuse Promotion Like promotion with transfer, promotion to a level of incompetency, delegation of unwanted responsibilities etc. Superiors does not relieve their subordinates.