amarquis is correct and I think I alluded to that up in my original post. Employees, especially those whom Drucker calls "information workers", take a very long time to get "slotted in" to a new position. Just think how long it takes before you're truly proficient with a new codebase. Now, imagine that what you have to get up to speed on is:

• 150 client relationships (salesperson)
• 200 employees and their families (HR rep)
• 20 applications and their user annoyances (support staff)
• 5 applications and all their environments w/bugs (QA)
• 10 market segments and their needs (marketing)

Factory work, such as the auto industry, doesn't require as long of a ramp-up time, so this kind of system is ripe for abuse there.

Personally, I don't like such a system because it means that I don't have faith in my ability to pair up the right person and the right job. It says "I didn't pick you so much as we randomly came together." As an employee, I preferred it when my employer gave me the "I choose YOU, Pikachu!" feeling about the position. I'd like to do the same as an employer.