Exercise 1. Should Organisations Pay for Performance?
The Theorists and their Theories
Frederick Herzberg – Motivation Hygiene Theory
Employee Motivation in Practice
Financial Motivation
Motivating Executives
A long-held assumption among many managers is that rewards and incentives motivate employees to do their jobs better. Some managers, however, are starting to question whether this theory is valid. Read the articles presented at the URLs listed, and in light of them consider the pros and cons of pay for performance. Do you believe that making an employee’s compensation contingent on their performance will motivate them to excel? What are the arguments supporting this position? What are the arguments against? What types of jobs would benefit from a pay-for-performance system? Which might suffer? If you were a manager, would you implement a pay-for-performance system? How would you design such a system?
Exercise 2. Motivational Tactics
Human Resources Consulting, HR and Pay Strategy, Remuneration and Benefits, and more...
A key element of successful motivational strategies is understanding that different things motivate different people at different times. Visit the website at the URL listed and consider the various suggestions for motivating different categories of employees. Identify and explain any common themes that you find in the various approaches suggested. Do these suggestions support or contradict the theories discussed in Chapter 7?
Exercise 3. Informal Reward Systems
The Use of Informal Rewards in Recognizing Performance
Formal reward systems form the backbone of many compensation packages. Some companies are looking to informal reward systems as traditional reward systems loose effectiveness in motivating employees to achieve superior performance. Based on the information in the article at the URL listed above, what is responsible for this trend? What are the benefits associated with using informal reward systems? What types of informal reward systems are being used? Can you see any potential problems with using informal rewards? What are the greatest challenges companies may face in implementing these reward systems?
Exercise 4. Performance Management
Performance Management through Behavior Modification
The goal of many performance management systems is to encourage employees to behave in a desired manner. The article listed at the above URL discusses the role of rewards in managing performance through behaviour modification. From the information contained in this article, discuss the role of reward systems in encouraging desired behaviour in the workplace. What are the different ways rewards can be used to reinforce desired behaviour? What types of rewards are most effective in modifying behaviour? Why?
