A Comparative Study of the Effeect of Promotion on Employee Career Progression in Academics
Promotion is the progression of a worker in the ladder of an organization from a lower position to a higher position at the workplace with greater tasks and better working conditions at the workplace. This study sought to compare and analyze the effects of promotion requirements on career progression in two institutions of higher learning (KNUST and KTU). The mixed method was used as research design and the data was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Questionnaires were used in this study to collect primary data from 92 respondents from the various institutions of higher learning institutions. Interview guide was also used to collect data from both staff. The analysis of the data revealed that before an academic staff are promoted, they are required to; conduct research work, supervise project works, engage in community services, and teach in fulfilling these requirements they turn to face some challenges; not enough resources to conduct research, stringent promotion criteria and lack of opportunities to serve on committees. The findings also revealed the effects of promotion requirements on career progression of academic staff, and one was that conference participation, teaching and project work supervision broadens knowledge of academic staff. Also, failure to publish the right quality of papers affects career progression. The analysis also goes on to prove if the requirements for non-academic staff promotion and these are knowledge of the university administration system, number of years worked, level of education, memo/report writing and in fulfilling these requirements they face these challenges; workload burden and staff feel pressured to meet promotion requirement. The data also revealed the effects of promotion requirements on career progression of non-academic staff which are level of education leads to career progression and career progression motivates staff to work harder. It is therefore recommended that the management of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and Kumasi Technical University (KTU) should reduce the level of strictness in their promotion criteria and management should organize workshops for staff to expose them to current trends in their various fields of work.
