It is impossible to run any business without application of reward & punishment. However, the management itself has to be just & non-selective. All the employees must be subjected to the same standards. In real life, this is NOT executed in many places. There is bias & affiliations and this problem has to be overcome.

Thank yo Dr. Matar. I too agree with you that the implementation should be unbiassed and the yardstick should be the same for everyone.

I would like to refer you to the following links,you may find useful information there. Good Luck

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/reward-vs-punishment-which-one-is-more-effective.html

http://www.inc.com/magazine/201304/issie-lapowsky/get-more-done-dont-reward-failure.html

(क) उद्देश-लक्षण:-

पशु-चेतना (लक्षण):- आहार, निद्रा, मैथुन, भय, (मूल प्रकृति पर आरूढ़)

मनुष्य-चेतना (लक्षण):- पशु-चेतना + मननशीलता (मनुष्यत्व) = आहार, निद्रा , मैथुन, भय, मननशीलता

(ख) सिद्धान्त:- मनुष्यों में जितना मनुष्यत्व(मननशीलता) होगी उतनी दूरदर्शिता (दीर्घकालिक परिणाम देखने की क्षमता) होगी और जितनी दूरदर्शिता, उन पर पुरूस्कार (साम,दाम) या दंड (दंड, भेद) का उतना ही प्रभाव पड़ेगा।

(ग) उपसंहार:- मनुष्य की मूल-आत्यंतिक प्रवृत्ति मनन कर दीर्घकालिक परिणाम आंकलन कर कार्य करने की है। अब कितना दीर्घ या दूरदृष्टि, वह उसमें कितना मनुष्यत्व है उसपर निर्भर है ।

(घ) व्यवहारिक पक्ष:-

ऐसे में प्रबंधन शासक (संस्था) के सामने निम्न उपाय हैं :-

१) पुरूस्कार (साम,दाम) और दंड (दंड, भेद) ऐसे दे जिनके दीर्घकालिक परिणाम कर्मचारी अपनी मननशीलता अनुकूल देख पाएँ। इससे वह बिना किसी और बाह्य कारण के अपनी प्रवृत्ति अनुकूल कार्य के प्रति प्रेरित रहेगा।

या २) यदि कर्मचारी की मननशीलता अधिक है और शासक उतना दीर्घकालिक परिणाम वाले पुरूस्कार (साम,दाम) और दंड (दंड, भेद) न दे सकें, तो कर्मचारी की मननशीलता को कम करने के उपाय बाहुल्य में उपलब्ध हैं। निम्न लेख के दिए गए जाल (matrix) को बिछा कर:- http://bit.ly/1nIZkaS

Dear Puneet Bindlish,

I'd want to use this opportunity to express my opinion but not on the subject itself.

I saw your answer in non-English, but in Hindi. Nonetheless, I have understood you well enough using Google Translator on the link https://translate.google.com/ . I was very glad to see that your answer was not deleted (at least during these two days) from the ResearchGate board . Before all answers presented in non-English were removed once.

Before I raised a question about using any language to express opinions in ResearchGate discussions in native language. Please have a look on the links

https://www.researchgate.net/post/How_to_improve_the_content_of_the_manuscript_Proofreading_and_English_native_speaker

https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_are_the_near_universal_components_of_metaheuristics_and_what_are_the_key_transcendant_strategies_to_improve_them

As to me, I more interested to read high-quality thoughts in any languages (in million times more) than high-quality English texts. I always understand any non-English text using Google-Translator.

Now, I want to say the following:

"Dear ResearchGate,

Please allow researchers to express their thoughts in native languages and you will get the number of participants 100 times more than now. Thank you in advance".

Dear Dr. Akbarnataj,

I really found your links quite interesting. Thank you for clarifying the doubt that which of these two (reward and punishment) is more effective.

DearDr.Kurhekar

I totally agree with your opinion. Here I feel what Dr. Akbarnataj has mentioned - "your employees will work harder to avoid a loss than to seek a gain, according to research." is quite mentionworthy and thought provoking.

Dear Dr. Fedulov,

I feel you areabsolutely right. If researchers are allowed to express their thoughts in their native languages, undoubtedly the number of participants will increase 100 times more than that now.

Reward and punishments are in response to some actions. Rewarding is a form of appreciation by the higher authorities while punishment is an action taken against defaulters. Both are necessary as they keep a check on further activities of personnel in an institute. Rewards motivate and punishments help in keeping people on a right track.

Both are important as per situation. I wish to suggest that before taking any action we must aware of the reality,  other wise new "situation" wii be created.

I would invite you to recall that management is a mix of arts and sciences. So, even at the same level of management (operational, tactical or strategic) not all people behave the same. This is why a good manager has to place him/herself in the situation ie. boss-collaborator, even the mood of any of them would require a special set of actions. Sorry, there is not a general rule that could ensure success.

Take it as it comes mate.

Staff management includes whole lot of activities starting from job profiling, job evaluation, performance appraisal, identification of training needs (if any), career growth and development planning, job rotation, job enrichment etc. Further, all these are required to be in consonance with strategic plan of the organization. Reward and punishment is old method of motivation. This carrot and stick approach is not going to work in today's context, when employees are more qualified, more creative and have high expectation from the job. Hence the motivational approach should be fulfillment of their personal aspirations through attainment of corporate objectives. Therefore, more challenging and more fulfilling job environment need to be provided rather than motivation through reward and punishment.

I do not think that an organization will work well without reward & punishment. With motivation , some persons are induced to perform more & more efficiently  but  it is unrealistic to assume that only a reward straightens out the human.Sometimes, you need to hit with a stick to straighten out some types of humans. If the reward is more applied, I agree BUT we cannot eliminate punishment completely.

Advising my colleagues does entail a considerable responsibility. I could only venture any suggestion by having all the facts and a real possibility for following up on the outcome. In my experience, it is possible and effective to use a stick-carrot approach with one employee and then switch change to a challenge-acknowledgement fashion with another employee, with the same degree of success. A lot has been written about this subject but, actual managerial practice poses endless situations impossible to cover with all reported publications.     Good analysis but, each case case should be treated on its merits and cirsumstances.

Reward and punishment  is a well established strategy. It works nicely.

From my own opinion i think reward and punishment both are the part of the was of motivation. Reward is positive motivation and Punishment is negative motivation. I think both are effective for staff management according to the nature of organization's staff situation.

Thanks

Can somebody explain, what a negative motivation is? If you use punishment and the result is a demotivation, the result will be a worse result in the future. Why should that occur?

It´s better to relinguish the punishment and to find even small reasons for upvoting and rewards. That could help!

@Hanno Krieger

While running an organization often situation occurs where you need your staff to face the consequences of their deeds. Particularly in an educational institution, staff members are supposed to be mature and responsible enough to perform their duties properly. I personally feel that if there is negligence to the duties from the part of any staff member, thhey should be compelled to pay for it. After all, negligence to the duties is the most serious offence for any employee in any organization.

To find small reasons to appreciatte them verbally is fine, but they are not mere kids that they should be given rewards for every small reason.

Reward and punishment, carrot and stick, whatever you want to call it, is passe in a professional environment, in my opinion.  Perhaps in other environments it is effective.  Would you consider the premise that people are more attuned to intrinsic self motivators than extrinsic?  So, anything that divorces a participant from intrinsic motivation becomes a demotivator.  As a staff leader, I have a problem using the carrot and stick approach, largely because it is not effective for me, perhaps because of my beliefs and views.  Therefore, it is helpful to identify staff with congruent beliefs, knowledge, skills and attitudes, which allow them to embrace their purpose and passion as the source of their motivation.  It is important to lead the individual to a place of recognition -- transformational learning -- of these intrinsic motivators (See: Mezirows adult learning theory, for example), where the staffer can realize their own internal compass, and how the role they play in the organization allows them to exercise those agentic qualities.  Thereafter, it is left to manage the elements of process which are only a framework in the equation, and create designed plans to achieve outcomes.  Passionate, committed people motivate themselves and others.  Of course, the problem rests on willing followers.  When a staffer becomes unwilling to live in a highly chargedenvironment, they generally, self select an exit.  If they do not, the only carrot and stick necessary is the corrective action process that leads to repair or termination. 

@Jaharkanti Duttagupta, Jon Butler

I agree that intrinsic motivation is the best possible option. But what I feel that it could be implemented in case of willing learners.As far as fulfilling the job aspirations of an employee is concerned, the organization will obviously expect dedication and responsibility from the employee. No employer is there to do charity. It is a bipolar relationship. If you have to get the work done with the available staff (a major part of which just forget that they too need to give something to the institution) what is to be done? Moreover when recruitment is done, terms and conditions are mutually discussed and finalized. In such case the employee is supposed to perform at least his/her scheduled duties religiously. A casual attitude and reluctance to offer his/her best will definitely not expected. In the present scenario, particularly in the semi-urban and rural areas of India (even urban areas), people who are taking up teaching is not because they love it and passionate about it but just as a last refuge. Self motivation is an importtant attribute for any enyployee to excel himself and there should be the willingness to learn. I will be eager to know how to implement the motivational approach here where the employees are concerned with the fulfilment of their personal aspirations being least bothered about the corporate objectives. I may be wrong, but I personally feel, you can wake up a person who is sleeping, but what wat about the person who is awake and still behaves as if he is in soundsleep?

Regards.

Dr. Gautam Bhattacharyya 

I agree with you Dr. Gautam Bhattacharyya. In an ideal case, reward is a must & punishment has to be excluded. But we are talking about an actual real case in which reward alone may not work at all. Although the thread is about staff, but I'll give my own experience about my work as school teacher in (1975-1978). In my first year of teaching, I never used a stick (because I was idealistic) but I did not like the outcome. In the second year, I sometimes used the stick & sometimes not . In the 3rd year, I held the stick all the time & the outcome was fantastic. Students of that period are now old & the most successful of  them were those exposed to punishment.

After that period, using a stick at schools was banned here & the sole carrot "reward" has proved and is proving that it is ineffective in respect to education, discipline, and moral values.

Dr. Matar

Thanks for your reply. As far as teaching is concerned we are facing the same situation over here in India. From my own experience as a teacher and now as a Principal, I am seeing that as the students have come to know that the teachers have no right to give them any serious punishment, a complete detorioration ia taking place in the academic results, discipline and moral values.

Instinctively very few people are there who wants to work. If a check as a fear factor is there, the employee performance increases. If we take the example of public sector, where there is service security, employees hardly use more than 25% of their potential. In contrast in the corporate sectors where 'hire or fire' policy is followed, employees try to give more than their 100%. This is definitely not due to the 'intrinsic motivation' or 'fulfilling personal aspirations' of the employee.

Look forward for further views from my learned friends over here.

Regards.

Typical Reward and Punishment methods that treat staff as 'predictable resources' makes the relation between staff and management purely transactional. When the staff know that penalising for a mistake completes the transaction, slowly it becomes a norm. At the same time, when the rewards are standardised, it triggers a healthy competition in the beginning, however creates isolated workers/small teams who work to excel in their personal task acheivement in the long run.

So, a conventional 'reward and punishment' method certainly help in short term, however hampers the organization culture in long term where staff is working 'alone' for attainment of 'personal tasks', thus 'resisting' an inclusive culture. 

Both reward and punishment are neccessary for extracting the best from any human. if reward alone is put foward as a driving instrument, what happens to those who are not interested in receiving any extra reward outside the original bargain; but when purnishemnt is also an alternative, those who do not desire rewards would unlikely desire punishment. so to effectively direct humans, carrot must be put forward and big stick behind; the actions of the staff determine how and when  each can be applied  

Performance appraisal suggests that those who have performed above average will be rewarded while others will be helped to perform better, queried, or be shown the way out. I serve on a board where the issue of performances was discussed and some members warned that you cannot just fire an individual for non-performance until you have exhausted all possibilities. But some organizations have devised a way around the problem: They give a letter that simply says ‘your services are no more required.’ The reward system must differentiate between those who doing well and the others. The carrot will mean nothing to the top performers, if the worst performers do not receive the stick.

The concept of leadership has transformed so much that even talking about reward and punishment is almost like blasphemy. There are many models. Servant leadership, transformational leadership, collaborative leadership, collegial leadership, transcendent leadership, moral leadership and authentic leadership are some powerful models with which can leaders could use to lead their organizations effectively. These leaderships create an environment in which employees feel empowered, enjoy their work, and accountable to their work.  I am an educator and administrator in K-12 system in US and give presentations in Indian schools every year encouraging educators and leaders to change their leadership approach. Unfortunately, the India got used to the culture in which everyone likes to  exercise her/his power on others. India has a rich heritage of teaching wonderful leadership lessons to the whole world. Gandhi demonstrated most of the leaderships mentioned above. Employees must be treated with respect. They must feel that they are valued. In corrupted society like India, even if you give a carrot with chocolate coating will not work. Do you think you can get the work done punishment? I don't think so. It takes lot of hard work to change the culture. As a doctoral candidate in educational leadership I would never support the reward and punishment style. There are numerous organizations which produce tremendous results without this method, but bu following one or more leadership models mentioned above.  Time for change in India!!!

Dear all,

Thanks for your valuable opinions. Empowerment is definitely essential for all staff members, be the person is a high performer or otherwise. But unless some disciplinary action is taken against the unwilling horses, it is not possible to get output from them. It is human psycology that everyone likes to get appreciation for even the smallest bit of good work he has done. If the staff lying at the other extremity are not punished, whatever reward you give, will be of no value to the high performers. Gradually, his performance will also come down just to ordinary level and the person won't devote his extra effort to become an achiever.

Mind friends, by punishment I don't mean to issue pink slip immediately. rather the employee should be given the chance and opportunities to improve. Firing should always be the last option, though the employees should at least know that they are under constant surveillance. This at least keeps the employee alert.

Dear Mr. Srinivas,

I appreciate you knowledge. It is also good to know that you give presentations to Indian schools on leadership approach.

It is for sure that the Indian schools you are visiting are all branded ones who can hire you from US to encourage their administrators here. I am sorry to say that you have got the chance to visit only a couple of reputed schools while the harsh reality, especially in rural India has remained unknown to you. Rather this is not only about rural India but in many parts of the world. The comments of many of the fellow researchers have made this evident.

As you have proclaimed that you are a doctoral candidate in educational leadership, you are expected to have an open mind. " Unfortunately, the India got used to the culture in which everyone likes to exercise her/his power on others. " - this comment is nothing but a biasses irrational statement as real India has probably never came across you.

Punishment is not exercising power on others. I request you that try to see the reality, perceive the problems that most of the schools face here, then throw your comment.  It is quite derogatory for the educational administrators who are working in several parts of the Indian subcontinent.

As an educationist since more than last two decades, it is my humble request to you on behalf of the major fraternity of academic leaders in India, kindly take yourself out from the glasshouse, keep away your coloured glasses and walk on the rough roads. Then only you will be able to feel the genuine scenario.

Regards.

Dr. G. Bhattacharyya

Dear Mr. Bhattacharay,

Thanks for your opinion. I want you to know that I worked in tribal schools in India for several years before I moved to US. Most of my presentations are in rural schools only. I do not go to elite schools in cities. I support rural schools with materials, scholarships, and other needs. I volunteer for couple of non-profit organizations which supports poor, orphan and visually challenged children in India. I along with many good people raise 6 figure $$$ to support several causes including medical needed.

I guess this gives you an idea that I am not sitting in the glass cage or wearing colored glasses when I expressed my views. I truly love India and all good things that are happening, but unless we reflect on our weaknesses, we will never progress. Indians have a bad habits of boasting little things brushing bad things under the carpet. As much as I admire wonderful people who are doing great things, like you, my comments are toward those who use bad practices. Good work of ten people could be damaged by the bad practices of one or even two people.

As a student of leadership, the first and foremost practices of great leaders is to "Challenge the Process" (Kouzes & Posner, 2005). That's what I do. Additionally, I try my best to practice other four principles proposed by these scholars - "Inspire the Vision, Encourage the Heart, Enable Others to Act, and Model the Way" (Kouzes & Posner, 2005). I don't know you and you don't know me. So, I would suggest that we do not judge each other, but take good points from each other's comments and learn. I assume that you are doing some wonderful things out there. Good luck with your work!

Good day!

Srinivas Khedam

Do check this out:

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation?language=en

Reward and punishment are still very effective in dealing with employees. both cannot go together because it is either an employee is rewarded or punished based on the outcome of performance appraisal. the middle ground is "no reward-no punishment". when reward and punishment are properly discharged, employee feel a sense of justice in the system, and when otherwise, employees also feel a sense of injustice. perceiving justice may influence  employees to engage in positive behaviours, but when injustice is perceived, employees may also engage in counter productive work behaviours. 

In my view, management is the combination of science and art for achieveing objectives.

As we, people, keep adapting our objectives and resources to keep up with a changing environment, those who manage us are bound to proceed in a similar way in their managerial roles. However, the punishment-reward strategy should be resorted to only in extreme situations.

There are more civilized strategies to be deployed with conscientiuous well behaved individuals.

Foolowing.

Be ware of how punishment backfires in the long term, starting by eroding precious trust and discretionary effort!