We, are a part of the society. Each one of us contributes something of value to the society. And this is the reason why we are called resources; human resources. We are productive beings capable of achieving a lot of things. That’s why we have made it this far already!



But human behaviour is a peculiar thing. It can be quite difficult to understand or influence. As each of us play different roles in our lives, like parents, employers, teachers, managers, coaches, etc. we have a vital responsibility to get the most out of our subordinates, children, students and people all around us.

Carrot VS Stick

People are productive by nature with everyone having something of value to offer. But it is also the human nature to frequently feel lazy, unenthusiastic and just unmotivated at times. This might cause a problem for the society as a whole if one of the most important resources is not being utilised properly.



Many studies have been conducted to find out just what it takes to motivate people. Many different psychologists have proposed their own ways. And while there are a wide range of them, the most interesting, seems to be the Rewards vs Punishment one; also known as carrot vs stick.



Basically these are two opposite ways to motivate people. One, rewards people for their work/achievements while the other instills fear by punishing mistakes. Let’s study these in a bit of detail.

Motivation Through Rewards

Rewards. Sweet, sweet rewards. The very word makes you feel curiously happy. Everybody loves them and that is why it is widely used in every field to motivate people. 

Rewards may be big or small, monetary or non-monetary, and can be given out for any type of achievements regardless of how big they are or how small.

PROS:

* Rewarding children can serve as a way to teach them right from wrong. It ensures development of proper behaviour which is important as personalities are developed right from the childhood.

* It creates healthy competition within any group of people who then try to perform to the best of their abilities.

* Rewarding people can help you build positive relations with them and can strengthen your position within the group.

* A person who is rewarded, feels the need to continually keep up the good work out of fear of losing the respect already earned or motivation to keep getting better to repeat the rewards. Either way, he becomes a more productive person.

* A reward system can be very helpful in recruiting more people to the group, thus increasing productive strength. 

* Rewards also help increase the self-esteem of a person. It helps develop personality. It is basically like upgrading your existing resources into better versions.

CONS:

* Sometimes, rewards can have the opposite effect. It can de-motivate certain people as they don’t feel the need to “prove themselves again” as it has already been done.

* Too much reward can lead to people being over confident which is harmful for productivity.

* People could get greedy overtime leading to them using whatever means necessary to get the rewards which may include nefarious, unprofessional behaviour.

* Dissatisfaction among others who don’t tend to receive rewards as they might feel that they are not good enough leading to a demoralising situation.

* A reward system might result in increase costs for the rewarder be it an organisation or an individual.

* It may hamper team work as everyone could be focusing on their own work and personal accomplishments which can be detrimental to the whole group.

Motivation Through Punishments

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Believe it or not punishments can be used to motivate people as well. It is a very effective method of influencing proper behaviour. As humans, we are hard wired to stay away from anything we deem negative and that motivates us to not do something that would bring about the said negativity in life.

PROS:

* Punishments are effective in reducing significantly, the unwanted or undesirable behaviour in any group.

* It motivates people to be more thorough and in avoiding making mistakes due to the fear of punishments.

* Helps people in charge maintain control and strengthens their positions as superiors.

CONS:

* Punishments may leave some people may feeling emotionally vulnerable. This may take focus off from work.

* Punishments are based on fear which is not a healthy emotion to have in any setting. 

* The focus is on not making mistakes rather than increasing productivity/performance. It hampers creativity.

* It may induce ill-will towards the superior or the person in charge. In some cases this might lead to unfavourable consequences for both parties involved.

* It may result in a high turnover rate in organisations which can increase it's costs and decrease it's goodwill.

* It is also considered as a short-term motivational strategy that doesn't really focus on personality building and growth which are vital for the long run.

Final Thoughts

If you ask me, I would say that both are important. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. I would use the best of both worlds. Rewards can be given for certain achievements and behaviours so as to push the individual to a particular direction and punishments can be given for mistakes so that they don’t repeat it.

The intensity of both can be decided by the people involved and the situation. At the end of the day, we just have to ensure that all systems work with synergy so that all resources are utilised both efficiently and effectively. This will lead to a better society and a better world for all of us living in it.

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