Published by:
Harvard Business Publishing
Length: 9 pages
Abstract
It is difficult to overstate the extent to which most managers and the people who advise them believe in the redemptive power of rewards, argues Alfie Kohn in "Why Incentive Plans Cannot Work," reprint #93506. The assumption that people will do a better job if they are promised an incentive is pervasive, but a growing collection of evidence supports an opposing view. In fact, research suggests that, by and large, rewards succeed at securing one thing only: temporary compliance. According to Kohn, incentives (or bribes) simply can''t work. Kohn''s views elicited a lively debate on the role of incentives in the workplace. In this Perspectives column, nine experts consider Kohn''s argument. Kohn then offers a general response.
About
Abstract
It is difficult to overstate the extent to which most managers and the people who advise them believe in the redemptive power of rewards, argues Alfie Kohn in "Why Incentive Plans Cannot Work," reprint #93506. The assumption that people will do a better job if they are promised an incentive is pervasive, but a growing collection of evidence supports an opposing view. In fact, research suggests that, by and large, rewards succeed at securing one thing only: temporary compliance. According to Kohn, incentives (or bribes) simply can''t work. Kohn''s views elicited a lively debate on the role of incentives in the workplace. In this Perspectives column, nine experts consider Kohn''s argument. Kohn then offers a general response.