Before class today, we were asked to think about how large organizations “reward the wrong behavior.” I thought that this could be because the company is not being attentive to details, not evaluating or finding out if a system is working, or not getting feedback from employees. Apparently these are common mistakes found in many organizations, which are discussed in a slideshow presentation I found online entitled How Companies Get Motivation Wrong. When companies reward employees for the wrong reasons, it means that they are not rewarding things that are “in alignment with strategy.” According to them, “rewards have become entitlements and perceived as unchangeable.” This means that they are a right more than a reward, and that people are actually expecting them after doing a certain amount of work. It is true that people like to feel valued and that if they are respected in a working environment, they are respectful of the working environment and strive to do their best. Everyone likes rewards and likes to feel valued. However, it’s important for a company to think about whether or not they are rewarding an individual for the right reason.
