Seniority‐based promotion in Thailand: it’s time to change

Defines and compares the differences in management styles and performance measures in Eastern and Western global business operations. The cultural differences between Thailand and the USA specifically, will be analyzed to determine their impact on the selection of a seniority v. merit promotion system. The methodology used was a questionnaire consisting of 12 questions distributed to 50 Thai companies and 50 US companies. The respondents were asked to identify the promotional structure as seniority or merit based, distinguish the benefits, and/or negative impact of the promotional structure within their respective firms, and define the effects of the structure on promotion, benefits, and corporate decision making. A summary of the findings, inclusive of statistical data comparison, is also included. Conclusions and recommendations are provided based upon the data, which suggest that the seniority‐based promotion system should change for Thailand to remain competitive in a hyper‐intensive, dynamic global marketplace.