Peter-principle


noun
1.
any of several satirical “laws” concerning organizational structure, especially one that holds that people tend to be promoted until they reach their level of incompetence.
noun
1.
the Peter Principle, the theory, usually taken facetiously, that all members in a hierarchy rise to their own level of incompetence

1968, “in a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence,” named for (and by) Laurence Johnston Peter (1919-1990) Canadian-born U.S. educationalist and author, who described it in his book of the same name (1969).

A rule of organizations that states, “In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.” Formulated by Laurence J. Peter, this rule is supposed to explain occupational incompetence.

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