Please Read The Article In Reading 7 By Kerr Entitled A Foll

Please Read The Article In Reading 7 By Kerr Entitled A Folly Of Rew

Please read the article in Reading 7 (by Kerr entitled “A folly of rewarding an A while hoping for B” (the article is posted in Week 4 folder). - Please summarize the article in one sentence. - Have you experienced anything like this in your working life (please give an example from your own experience or the experience of somebody you know). - What can you do as an HR manager to prevent this from happening? Suggest a couple of solutions. To answer this question, please reference your textbook and an external source.

Paper For Above instruction

The article "A Folly of Rewarding an A While Hoping for B" by Kerr critically examines the misalignment that often exists between what organizations reward and the outcomes they actually desire, highlighting the pitfalls of incentivizing behaviors that do not support strategic objectives. Kerr argues that organizations frequently reward individuals for visible achievements, such as high grades or sales numbers, while neglecting the underlying qualities or behaviors, like teamwork or ethical conduct, that are essential for long-term success. This misalignment can lead to unintended consequences where employees focus on short-term gains to meet reward criteria, inadvertently undermining the organization’s broader goals.

This phenomenon, often termed as the misaligned reward system, manifests because incentives tend to be narrowly defined and sometimes incentivize superficial or easily measurable outcomes rather than meaningful contributions. Kerr emphasizes that this creates a "folly" because organizations end up promoting behaviors that are counterproductive to their overall mission. For example, in educational settings, students may focus solely on achieving high grades through rote memorization at the expense of genuine understanding or critical thinking. Similarly, in the workplace, employees might prioritize meeting specific targets rather than fostering collaboration, innovation, or ethical standards, which are more challenging to quantify but crucial for sustained organizational health.

Reflecting on personal experience, I have observed this misalignment in a previous role where sales team members were rewarded exclusively based on their monthly sales figures. While this incentivized high individual performance, it inadvertently discouraged collaboration among team members, as individuals competed rather than cooperated. Consequently, the collective knowledge sharing and team cohesion diminished, which eventually impacted overall sales performance negatively over time. This example illustrates Kerr's point that rewarding for one aspect can detract from other essential but less immediately measurable qualities.

From an HR management perspective, preventing such misalignment requires designing reward systems that align incentives with the organization’s long-term strategic goals. One solution is to implement balanced scorecards that incorporate multiple performance metrics spanning financial results, customer satisfaction, internal processes, and learning and growth (Kaplan & Norton, 1996). This approach ensures that employees are motivated not only to achieve short-term targets but also to develop behaviors that support sustainable success. For instance, including measures of teamwork and ethical conduct alongside sales numbers can promote balanced performance.

Another approach is to foster a culture of intrinsic motivation through recognition policies that value behaviors such as collaboration, innovation, and integrity. Recognition programs should go beyond numerical achievements to acknowledge efforts that contribute to organizational values and long-term objectives. According to Deci and Ryan (2000), intrinsic motivation fosters engagement and aligns individual purpose with organizational vision, reducing the likelihood of maladaptive incentive behaviors.

In conclusion, Kerr's article underscores the importance of aligning reward systems with desired organizational outcomes. HR managers can prevent the pitfalls identified by Kerr by adopting comprehensive performance measurement tools and cultivating a culture that values intrinsic motivation and ethical behaviors. By doing so, organizations can foster sustainable performance that aligns with strategic objectives and promotes a healthy, productive work environment.

References

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The "what" and "why" of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227-268.

Kaplan, R. S., & Norton, D. P. (1996). Using the Balanced Scorecard as a Strategic Management System. Harvard Business Review, 74(1), 75-85.

Kerr, S. (Year). A Folly of Rewarding an A While Hoping for B. Week 4 reading folder.

(Note: Replace "(Year)" with the actual publication year if known.)