The Promotion Pathology: A Study of British Police Inspectors Available to Purchase

One of the most perplexing problems in human resource management is how to satisfy and motivate employees who originally joined an organisation with hopes of becoming “stars”, but who discover with time that their aspirations are unlikely to be matched by opportunities. The conventional pyramidal organisational structure guarantees that these opportunities will diminish as employees ascend the hierarchy and that therefore “stuckness” is a problem increasingly to be found the longer is employees' tenure or the higher their level. Faulkner's case studies of an ice hockey team and a symphony orchestra provide vivid examples of this process and its problematic consequences. They also serve as a useful analogue of what may be found in many business organisations.