Hard Facts: Incentives
More wisdom from Hard Facts:
We … [did] research to discover if courteous clerks fueled sales. … We ultimately found little if any evidence that courtesy increased store sales. …The main finding … was that clerks in stores with more sales were actually less courteous. Apparently, the crowding and long lines in busy stores make clerks and customers grouchy. (p.39)
A survey of more than 200 human resource professionals from companies employing more than 2500 people … found that even though more than half of the companies used forced rankings, the respondents reported that forced ranking resulted in lower productivity, inequity and skepticism, negative effects on employee engagement, reduced collaboration, and damage to morale and mistrust in leadership. (p.107)
Individuals believe that others are motivated by money, even as they know that they are much less so. … A survey … of almost 500 prospective lawyers … revealed that 64 percent … said they were pursuing a legal career because it was intellectually appealing or because they were interested in the law, but only 12 percent thought their peers were similarly motivated. Instead 62 percent thought that others were pursuing a legal career for the financial rewards. (p.115)
A survey of 205 executives from diverse industries found that 68 percent reported their companies had executive bonus plans because senior management believed tthat such plans would motivate executives. These same executives reported, however, that they did not make daily business decisions based on how such decisions would affect either their bonus or those of other people. (p.116)
Students who are in school or who have chosen a major for instrumental reasons – in order to get a better job or to make more money – are much more likely to cheat than students who have chosen a course of study because of their interest in in the subject matter. (p.124)
"clerks in stores with more sales were actually less courteous"
I'm not surprised One of the things that has always mystified me about the retail industry is why they ignore basic realities of human behavior and intentionally drive half of their potential customers out the door in the name of customer service. Specifically, is there anybody on this planet who is unaware that unsolicited "assistance" is one of the most corrosively annoying things a man can experience? A store that orders their salespeople to relentlessly harrass male customers with offers of unwanted help is going to suffer; ask Circuit City.
So the majority of law students profess idealistic motives for pursuing that profession, while imputing base motives to their peers.
One wonders which perception is accurate, or honest.
As for executive bonuses: it's presumed that the executive, in making a decision, always pursues the best interests of the company. That's his job, bonus or no bonus. Where the bonus comes in is getting him to work harder at getting that decision right (or making more decisions): it's a reward for extraordinary performance.