Business Ethics 44

Reward systems are probably the single most important formal influence on people’s behavior at work. Think about one of your educational learnings focused on “motivation and reinforcement theory.” People are more likely to behave in ways that are rewarded and they are less likely to do what is punished. Most of us fail to recognize the power of this concept. People in work organizations are constantly on the lookout for information about rewards and punishments, especially if this information isn’t explicit. The more ambiguous the situation, the more that people search for clues. We have concluded that to be successful at work, we need to determine what’s rewarded and do those things, while avoiding behaviors that are punished. Does this apply to ethical behavior is business relationships?