????你工作非常賣力，業績十分出色，各項條件也完全符合要求，可是到頭來，你一直期待有加到的晉升機會卻落到別人手里，這個人可能是老板的高爾夫球友、大學室友，甚至是老板的妹夫等。

????其實，和你有相同遭遇的大有人在。雖然這種說法并不足以安慰你，但這的確是事實。最近，由咨詢機構Penn Schoen Berland為喬治城大學麥克道諾商學院（Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business）進行的一項調查發現，高達92%的高管都表示，的確存在根據個人偏好（績效之外的其他標準）決定晉升人選的情況，他們親眼見過。

????在接受調查的高管中，盡管有84%的人聲稱他們親眼見過公司內的徇私行為，但僅有23%的人承認，他們自己在決定提拔人選時，考慮的是朋友關系或其他姻親關系，而不是候選者的功勞。

????而且，研究還發現，盡管經理人會走走過場，考察幾位候選者，但大部分人心中早就定好了人選。

????約有三分之一（29%）的受訪者稱，他們只會考慮一個人；56%的受訪者表示，即使有多人競爭（或者至少表面上是如此）也不會改變什么，他們一開始便已確定了提拔的人選。研究表示：“最終幾乎所有人（96%）都提拔了預先確定的人選。”

????即便如此，在被問及最近做出提拔決定的原因時，大部分受訪的高管都提到了一些客觀的標準，比如“在當前的崗位上表現突出”，“具備相關的技能”，以及“擁有優秀的績效評估記錄”等。

????該項研究的負責人喬納森?加德納表示，這意味著，“雖然徇私現象普遍存在”，但如果員工希望獲得提拔，還是應該“繼續將自己可控的因素作為努力的方向”。

????有一點毋庸置疑，跟身居高位的人成為朋友，不會給自己帶來什么損失。有人去打高爾夫嗎？一起去吧！

????翻譯：劉進龍/汪皓

????So you've worked hard, produced great results, and have all the right qualifications. Nevertheless, that bigger job you had your eye on went to your boss's golf buddy, or old college roommate, or brother-in-law instead.

????Scant consolation though it may be, but you've got plenty of company. A whopping 92% of senior executives say they have seen favoritism -- defined as the use of criteria other than performance -- determine who gets promoted, says a new study conducted by consultants Penn Schoen Berland on behalf of Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business.

????While 84% of the executives surveyed reported they had witnessed favoritism at their own companies, only 23% admitted that they themselves have ever relied on friendship or other personal affinity, rather than merit, in their promotion decisions.

????The research also notes how common it is for managers to know in advance who will be promoted, even when they go through the motions of considering several candidates.

????Almost one-third (29%) of those polled said they considered only one person and, when more than one was in the running (or at least appeared to be), 56% said they already knew at the outset whom they wanted to promote. "Of that group, nearly all -- 96% -- reported promoting the pre-selected individual," the study says.

????Even so, when the same survey asked executives to give their reasons for recent promotions, most mentioned objective criteria such as "has excelled in current position," "job-related skills," and "history of strong performance reviews."

????That means, says study author Jonathan Gardner, that "despite widespread favoritism," employees who want to move up should "continue to focus their efforts on these factors that are well within their control."

????What comes through loud and clear, however, is that cultivating friends in high places couldn't hurt either. Golf, anyone?