Tag Archives: demotivate

When Performance-related Pay Backfires

Posted on August 3, 2009 by John Hunter

When Economic Incentives Backfire by Samuel Bowles, Sante Fe Institute Dozens of recent experiments show that rewarding self-interest with Economic incentives can backfire when they undermine what Adam Smith called “the moral sentiments.” Punished by Rewards, by Alfie Kohn, is a great book on this topic. The area of “motivating” employees is one it is often hard for managers to learn. Even managers that have been studying Deming, Ackoff, Ohno… for years still have trouble with the idea that trying … Continue reading →

Posted in Competition, Data, Deming, Economics, Management, Performance Appraisal, Psychology, quote, Statistics, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Motivate or Eliminate De-Motivation

Posted on October 7, 2008 by John Hunter

A huge failure I still see is managers thinking in a theory x way, 50 years after McGregor’s The Human Side of Enterprise. Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Psychology, Respect | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Problems with Bonuses

Posted on April 3, 2006 by John Hunter

What sort of bonuses should we pay? by Seth Godin: Money, it’s been shown time and time again, is a demotivator. I’m not talking about a fair or even generous salary. Being a cheapskate is no way to find a great employee. But once people have joined your team, incremental money–bonuses and the like–usually demotivate people. He is right. Why salary bonus and other incentives fail to meet their objectives by Dale Asberry. Lean Manufacturing Visionary Jim Womack On Frontiers … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Performance Appraisal, Psychology, Systems thinking | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Dilbert and Deming

Posted on June 5, 2005 by John Hunter

5 June 2005 Dilbert Strip on motivational posters – [update – well the pointy haired bosses running the site removed the page so we removed the link] New update the phb has been overthrown. Here is the strip: The point of that poster is your spirit should soar like an eagle while you continue to do mundane work Dilbert can show the silliness that is common place in many workplaces, as just that – silly. Point 10 of Deming’s 14 … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Psychology | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments