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Abstract

How do personnel decision-makers interact within a context of procedural rules and various evaluation techniques to finally decide on an internal promotion? In an analysis of interviews with human resources experts and senior engineering managers in French and German automotive firms, this research finds that different modalities of evaluating qualification coexist and enter into conflict. One evaluation regime centers on formal techniques and allows for generalized and legitimate judgments, while the other regime—that preferred by managers—relies heavily on informal means. Additional results are related to how national institutional contexts influence the modalities of evaluation. This chapter shows how qualification is constructed in organizational evaluation practices and how legitimate staffing decisions are produced when those involved try to rid their judgments of subjectivity and apply meritocratic standards.