72.
“Companies should not try to improve employees’ performance by giving incentives—for example, awards or gifts. These incentives encourage negative kinds of behavior instead of encouraging a genuine interest in doing the work well.”

Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your views with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.
Should companies not try to improve their employees´ performance by awarding incentives, on the grounds that incentives encourage negative behavior? From my personal experience and education, I strongly disagree with such point of view. Incentives have proved to be one of the best ways of maintaining sustained increased performance.

First of all, incentives send the inequivocate signal to the employee that the management of the company acknowledge her efforts and dedication, that they pay attention to her and not only regard her as one more employee but also as a valuable human being for whom recognition at work is an important component of life. Some years ago an interesting program of incentives based on money and prizes was started in the company for which I worked. After a few months, not only the number of proposals for improvements in varied aspects of the company´s operations were presented to the directors, but also the prizes, the public recognizition helped to improve the morale of the winners and encourage them to continue with their initiatives and proposals.

Second of all, incentives instill a deeper sense of compromise with the company. A person who sees that her efforts entail a premium gain, apart from her mere paycheck, is more likely to feel gratitude and allegiance towards the company. In these days of high job turnover and nearly zero loyalty to the workplace, such result is very much desirable. The best workforces are, among other qualities, the most united, a trait that a sound program of incentives is likely to foster.

Admittedly, the success of an incentives program, like that of any other sort of program, will depend on how intelligently it has been devised, whether it really distinguishes cleary superior effort, and whether the right people are identified as the direct responsibles for the performance improvement. Nevertheless, with fairness and diligence, a sound incentives program can certainly be devised and enforced, with the positive expected results in improved company performance and morale.

In sum, I do disagree with the statement. Incentives are a valuable and powerful means to achieve the company´s objectives while fostering positive kinds of behavior in its personnel.