At 01:05 PM 11/19/98 -0600, you wrote:
>Gene said:
>
>> All forms of pay for individual performance cause behavior. The question
>> which managers must ask is what performance is it causing?
>
>Pay may or may not cause behavior. Some of us perform at a high level
>despite the pay. "Is the pay adequte and not a de-motivator," may be
>another question. I would be interested in any evidence to support the
>assertion that, "All forms of pay for individual performance cause
>behavior."
Pay causes behavior. Not necessarily better performance. It depends on
what the higher pay or reward is for. People use the reward system to
decide what is best for themselves and what the company believes is good
for the company. Usually people believe the behavior the company rewards
is good for the company. Sometimes when managers see who gets raises they
decide they do not or cannot behave that way do not try to get a promotion
or even become rebels.
Alfie Kahn's book points out that most of the time rewards or pay are for
behavior that is not in the best interest of the company. He also
presented some studies by a Jensen(?)where simple direct cash profit
sharing did cause behavior in the best interest of the company.
Management has historically assumed bigger pay would cause actions in the
best interest f the company but it only cause behavior that will improve
the pay check. Some times it does not do that it cause group resistance
and decisiveness.
I agree with you money does not motivate or cause higher performance, but
is this the primary way management communicates the behavior wanted.
Unfortunately management does not always know the behavior they are
causing or the behavior that is best for the company. That is a big
problems with so many of the clever reward systems --- not enough
understudying of the behavior that is best for the company.
I think we agree we are just on slightly different wave lengths Behavior
is not necessarily work harder or better. Sorry for the delay but
sometimes one must work.
Gene
>I'm not so mixed concerning merit pay or commissions. I think that merit
>pay may motivate negative behaviors (cutthroat, backstabbing behavior for
>example).
Absolutely
>> People use the reward system to decide what kind of behavior will fill
>> their personal needs and that is way it cause behavior. It has nothing to
>> do with motivation.
>
>hmm. What is "motivation" then?
>
>George -jorge- Bartow
Eugene Taurman
interLinx ilx@execpc.com http://www.execpc.com/~ilx
What you are is determined by the thoughts that dominate your mind.
Paraphrase of Proverbs Ch 23 vs 7 KJV
--Eugene Taurman <ilx@execpc.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>