When an organizational climate rates low on the element of recognition, it indicates that the company is one in which the employees feel they are criticized and punished when they do something wrong, rather than praised and rewarded when they do something right. In many companies, this is a prevalent feeling among employees.
The basic premise behind a program of positive reinforcement is that people perform in a way that is most rewarding to them. Management can improve employees' performance by providing appropriate rewards.
The theory is based on learning principles that Edward Lee Thorndike and BF Skinner described. Thorndike's Law of Effect states that behavior that appears to lead to a positive consequence tends to be repeated, while behavior that appears to lead to a neutral or negative consequence tends not to be repeated. Skinner feels that by the time employees enter the workplace, they have been conditioned by parents and society to understand what is right and wrong. The only tool needed for employee motivation, he argues, is the presence or absence of positive reinforcement; punishment is not needed to control behavior. Most managers will find this hard to accept.
Research does seem to show clearly, however, that positive reinforcement works better than negative reinforcement in producing and maintaining behavior.
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