Roxanne,
You posed four questions for us to address regarding the first chapter. I
wanted to add on a couple of things that really struck me as I read the
chapter. First, I realized how much the notion of rewards had been
ingrained into my thinking about relatio nships between and with people. I
can't tell you how many times I've had discussions with individuals who
have suggested that another's behavior, whether it be a loved one,
significant other or co-worker (peer, boss or "subordinate"), will only be
influenced (i.e. changed) by consequences. And yet I've noticed that
consequences don't even effect a change in behavior in many cases because
people don't WANT to do anything differently. I'm thinking of our system
of progressive discipline. I have seen behavior change only in very few
instances when consequences are applied. My theory is that FEAR overrides
the ability for someone to change and so all sorts of defensive mechanisms
come into play that keep a person doing things the way they always have.
So,
we expect rewards to influence this??
I highlighted a portion of chapter one on page 16 that talks essentially
about the role of good management and that we have substituted "rewards"
for the hard work of management that in my mind includes confrontation,
conflict resolution and coaching. I agree with Kohn that rewards have
become a substitute for management. It seems that all "compensation"
studies I've been involved with seek to find an equitable (translate easy)
way of incentivizing and rewarding people so managers don't have to get
their hands dirty making tough decision.
>>> Roxanne Abbas <rabbas@comp-web.com> 07/15/97 10:29AM >>>
>This posting begins the planned discussion of Alife Kohn s book *Punished
>by Rewards*
>
>Chapter 1:
>
>1. What are the likely implications of Kohn s background on his
>perspective on the topic of rewards?
>
>2. Is pop-behaviorialism as widely accepted in our schools, businesses
>and child-rearing methods as it ever was? What evidence have you seen of
>any trends?
>
>3. Is the United States different from other countries in its faith in
>reward systems?
>
>4. Are there groups or sub-sets of the population that have resisted the
>temptation or recovered from dependency on rewards?
--Deborah T. Broome Assistant City Manager, Plano, Texas P.O. Box 860358 Plano, Texas 75086 Phone: 972-461-7122 Fax: 972-423-9587 e-mail: Debbieb@gwmail.plano.gov
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