ABSTRACT: Over the past two decades, substantial progress has been made in describing
how frontline staff, such as nurses and military commanders, make rapid tactical decisions.
Managerial decisions, by contrast, are often made relatively slowly. One
important class of managerial decisions relates to staffing. Managers often make
decisions regarding the hiring and promotion of staff that have significant
consequences for both the company and staff. Relatively little is known about how
people make decisions in these contexts. In this study, the authors examine how
managers make employee promotion decisions. The participants in the study were
16 senior managers from a multinational beverage company. The critical decision
method was used to elicit knowledge from the participants. The analyses examined the
role of decision strategy, situation assessment, and decision evaluation. The findings
suggest that senior managers make promotion decisions in a manner consistent with
recognition-primed decision-making theory. Implications for training, design, and
decision support are discussed.