The debate over what is the best way to improve performance has been raging for a long time, and undoubtedly will continue far into the future.

Fred Luthans, Professor of Management at the University of Nebraska and Alexander D. Stajikovic, Assistant Professor of Management at the University of California, Irvine, offer a new perspective on this essential question.

They indicate that rewards and reinforcement behaviors are not necessarily the same. They define rewards as something "that is perceived as valuable by the reward giver." Reinforcers, according to their definition, increase the strength and frequency of the desired behavior. They conclude, "Thus, not every reward is a reinforcer, but every reinforcer is a reward."

The key is to find out what you are reinforcing, and thereby rewarding, and thereby likely getting. Instead of adding more rewards, these management experts seem to suggest it might be a better idea to find out what is being reinforced, rather than just adding more rewards.

For example, if an organization has customer service problems, it is reinforcing in a particular way that results in those customer service problems. If it has quality problems, it is reinforcing poor quality. 

Attempting to fix a reinforcement problem with more rewards is probably not going to fix too much. Rewards are from the perspective of the reward giver. Reinforcers, by definition, are from the perspective of the person who is performing.

What about financial rewards? Luthans and Stajikovic conclude that "feedback and social reinforcers have as strong an impact on performance as pay." This conclusion is not a surprise. It's been said many times over in management literature. 

Performance for pay is very much in the realm of a "reward" for performance. That's quite different than day-to-day reinforcers that could have a cumulative long-term impact on performance.
 
 
 

Janelle Barlow, President
TMI, US
 
 
 

Please submit your questions to Time Manager Questions and Answers. If you have questions, undoubtedly someone else has the same question. By asking a question, you'll help a fellow Time Manager user become more effective.
 
 

Previous "Time Manager Q & A Corner" pages: 
 

#1	Key Areas and Interruptions
#2	Daily Plans and Home Offices
#3	Result Statements
#4	Reading and Responding to E-Mail
#5	Sending E-Mail
#6	Filing According to Key Areas
#7	Setting up Files for the Whole Office
#8	Controlling Loose Pieces of Paper
#9	The Value of Time
#10	More on Results Statements
#11	Managing Time on the Road
#12	How to Get Time with Someone
#13	The Downside of Goals
#14	Thinking Types and Time
#15	Feeling Types and Time
#16	Intuitive Types and Time
#17	Sensate Types and Time
#18	What's Real about Strategic Planning?
#19	What Does Being Strategic Really Mean?
#20	How Perception of Time Influences Goal Choices
#21	The Four Immutable Laws of Controlling Your Desk
#22	Decision Making and Cultural Groups
#23	Paperless Office: Fact or Fiction?
#24	Exit Planning
#25	Speed: Does It Free Up More Time?
#26	Time in the 21st Century
#27	Open Office Plans
#28	The Costs of E-Mail
#29	How Do Senior Level People Manage Their Time?
#30	On Saving Time
#31	Paying the Ultimate Price with Time By Not Getting Enough Sleep
#32	Telecommuting and Productivity
#33	How Much Is Your Time Worth?
#34	Goal Setting and Change
#35	Making Career Decisions
#36	Controlling the Volume of Paper
#37	The Soul Catcher and Time Management
#38	Goals and Team Work
#39	Negotiate Better Goals for Yourself!
#40	Efficiency: A Plague or a Blessing?
#41	Computers and Time
#42	Culture and Time

Please submit your questions to Time Manager Questions and Answers by fax or e-mail . If you have questions, undoubtedly someone else has the same question. By asking a question, you'll help a fellow Time Manager user become more effective.

Link to Time Manager 

tel: 702 939-1800
800 541-3800
fax: 415 499-5512
toll free fax (orders only):
email: 

Website designed by 
©1997 TMI USA