Life is like give and take. It is also applicable in life the famous mantra that what comes around goes around. Ethical behavior requires application of proper conduct. This may be hard to do, but the rewards are great. A person that is righteous is most likely the one who is happy and fulfilled. This is because there is always a corresponding reward for good deeds. This idea is applicable in all aspects in life like business, spiritual, political and personal social life. Reward Theory and Honesty The main theories on how to reward include Lawler’s model of reward strategy and Adam’s Equity Theory.
But before that, we need to get acquainted of the basic meaning of a reward. All Words Dictionary mentioned that reward is something of value given in return for an act (“Reward”). The act mentioned in the definition refers to ethical acts that benefited a particular person or organization. Lawler’s model of reward strategy is most applicable in a business organization. According to Lewis (2000) and I quote: “This replica states that business strategy implies people and organizational behaviors which order the substance of reward approach.
Moreover, three serious rudiments of the reward system require being associated for the system to be effectual: the organization’s interior values; the execution progression; and the arrangement. However, the three major complications of this strategy include that fact that it over-simplifies the progression of strategy formulation and substance; it provides identical significance to values, arrangement and progression even”. (1) The strategy basically retains the foundation that in an organization, people are expecting of reward in every positive act.
Essentially, this model provides good influence on values and determines the loyalty of a person or member of an organization. The second theory is Adam’s Equity Theory which is applicable not only on the personal social life of a person but also in business. The basic foundation of this strategy is fairness. Business Balls Website mentioned that a manifestation of fairness is reflected in giving rewards to a person that deserves it in one way or another (“Adam’s Equity Theory”). For example, people who know that they were fairly treated by the people around them, they would feel motivated.
On the other hand, if they feel that the people around are treating them unfairly, they will become hostile. In other words, it takes good behavior that receives positive treatment. It is inequitable to care for a person who has been proven ungrateful to another. There should be no situation that a person may lie, cheat, steal or break a promise. All these behavior are considered unethical in the society. However, no one is perfect and every person commits all these aforementioned unethical behaviors. I dare say that it is not proper to lie, cheat, steal or break a promise even in difficult situations.
The only situation that a person may do these things is when he has limited options within his control to solve a problem. We will take a student as an example wherein they were pessimistic about what it takes to be successful these years, but they do think about equality. In line with that students know that cheating is unfairness and unethical. That is why cheaters in school get rewards they do not ought to have, like scholarships, admission to college or graduate school, internships, and jobs (“The Cheating Culture”).
Cheating Culture Website stated that cheating is the exact opposite of identical chance – the idea that we all should have a fair try at success and that the citizens who get satisfied are the citizens who ought to have those rewards for the reason that they worked the hardest (“The Cheating Culture”). In connection with these, the Adam’s Theory of Equity matched up with the unethical ideas of lying, cheating, stealing and breaking a promise. This is because the basic foundation of Adam’s Theory of Equity is fairness and to avoid doing the aforementioned unethical ideas is fair enough.
Conclusion There are two main theories for reward strategy and these are the Lawler’s model of reward strategy and the Adam’s Theory of Equity. Basically, the Lawler’s model believes in the importance of values such that a person who treated another with respect must also be respected. On the other hand, the Adam’s Theory of Equity provides that fairness is the best foundation of success. In connection with that, a successful person do not usually lie, cheat, steal and break a promise. This is because it is unethical to do all the aforementioned acts.
References
All Words. (2008). Reward. Retrieved August 13, 2008, from http:/www. allwords. com/word-reward. html. Business Balls. (2008). Adam’s Equity Theory. Retrieved August 14, 2008, from http://www. businessballs. com/adamsequitytheory. htm. Cheating Culture. (2008). The Cheating Culture. Retrieved August 14, 2008, from http://www. cheatingculture. com/. Lewis, P. (2000). Exploring Lawler’s new pay theory through the case of Finbank’s reward strategy for managers. Personnel Review Journal, 29, 10-32.