Positive Reinforcement, Organizational Values, and Leadership
The term positive reinforcement has acquired some complex connotations over the past 30 years.In one sense the advocation and practice of positive reinforcement has ethical implications—it seems to embody humanism.The diligent delivery of duly earned recognition when an employee does something that adds value to an organization’s objectives feels like the right thing to do.The act seems to be an affirmation of the employee’s worth and value.
Organizational leaders are flooded with articles and advisors who proclaim the importance of creating a “Total Rewards,” company culture, and of having a “reward and recognition” strategy in place.Positive reinforcement, rewards, and recognition are given the status of “values,” and subsequently promote a patina of ethics—of goodness and good will to the business entity that supports these practices.