MA71,it depends on the employer sometimes. At the time of my "promotion" I had the previous several years of annual review ratings:
2001 Exceeds Expectations
2002 Meets Expectations
2003 Exceeds Expectations
2004 Exceeds Expectations
2005 Exceeds Expectations
You can't blame poor performance for my joke of a promotion, and I had let my direct chain of command know that I was overdue it. It came down to nothing more than a national manager I had met one time and who lived on the West Coast trying to meet his budget and promoting me only because others were pressuring him to do so. He was a prick, he knew it, and he didn't care. He's moved to Europe so life and opportunities are better now, and I am pushing hard for a new position which should land me a nice new salary... Fingers are crossed!
Sometimes your best efforts are unappreciated by a dick in charge, so I can say that I have sympathy for Starscream.