Re: Recognizing employees

If a manager is to motivate, he should use methods that cause those he
motivates to want to do the work.  He should not use methods that
force those under him to comply with rewards and threats that
temporarily modify behavior.

Motive may be critical from some viewpoint, but it has a rather random
relationship with results.  You say the old man's motive was to stop
the pestering.  What if his motive was to increase the pestering? 
Didn't he have some success initially?  Didn't the number of boys
increase?  Didn't they come up with many more insults?  Yes they did. 
Just like what happens when a reward and punishment motivation scheme
is laid on in the workplace.  Sometimes it can show some results
initially.  Long term, though, the desire to do the work (as opposed
to chasing the rewards or avoiding the punishment) withers away.

I don't know where you get your ideas.  It certainly can't be from
research.  Why don't you look into this matter a bit.  Start off with
the new edition of Kohn's "Punished by Rewards."  You'll be surprised
as I was.


"Keith" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> The great lengths a manager takes to create that ideal environment will
> eventually be referred to as a scheme of manipulation by subjective people.
> Whether I am naive or not, I have learned that 'better' methods are relative
> to the objective.  Not everything must be done with 'new' technologies,
> methods, strategies, etc.  Motive is critical.  The old man succeeded in
> achieving the objective - no more pestering by the kids.  Of course that is
> success - from the old man's perspective.
>