The Peter Principle

[dimpy.handa]

The Peter Principle is a theory originated by Dr. Laurence J. Peter which states that employees within a hierarchical organization advance to their highest level of competence, are then promoted to a level where they are incompetent, and then stay in that position.
This follows from the use of promotion as a reward for success. As long as a person is competent in his current position, he will be promoted to the next higher one. By iteration, the only way a person can stop being promoted is to reach a level where he is no longer able to do well, and thus does not appear eligible for promotion.

The theory was set out in a humorous style in the book The Peter Principle, first published in 1969. Peter describes the theme of his book as hierarchiology. The central principle is stated in the book as follows:


In a Hierarchy Every Employee Tends to Rise to His Level of Incompetence.

 

[swatiraohnlu]

A hierarchy is one way a company can be organized. In this type of composition, work is spread out in a pyramid shape, with lots of regular employees doing the largest amount of the work completed. Above them are supervisors, then management and so on until the top of the pyramid is reached in the form of the CEO, chairman, owner or president.

Many companies prefer to promote from within their hierarchy. In theory, employees promoted from within are already familiar with the inner workings of the companies and have a good grasp on the company's goals. But the Peter Principle reveals a problem with internal promotions.

Eventually, the higher level of beaurocracy become inundated with incompetent people.

 

[dimpy.handa]

Peter Duffley (Jim Broadbent) is pompous, self-opinionated, accident prone and absolutely hopeless at his job. He's a bank manager who has to contend with staff who are much more competent than he is.
His assistant, Susan Harvey (Claire Skinner), is convinced, quite justifiably, that she would make a far better manager than Peter does.
Other regular characters include Geoffrey (Stephen Moore), David (Daniel Flynn), Brenda (Tracy Keating), Iris (Janette Legge) and Bradley (David Schneider).
The programme was renamed The Boss in some countries.