Introduction: As emphasized throughout this chapter, people have a wide array of needs, and organizations may attempt to help meet these needs with numerous kinds of rewards. This exercise will help you better understand the kinds of rewards and other incentives that might be available for use by an organization.
Internet Assignment: Using a search engine, locate web sites on the Internet for words and phrases such as: incentives, rewards, bonuses, and employee incentives. From among the sites you find, pick out a small number (i.e., 3-5) that appear to be for firms that are trying to sell or otherwise promote rewards and incentives that they will supply. You might also search for information on the Incentive Federation, which represents incentive providers.
Follow-up: Using the web site information you have found, make a list of the five most unusual or unique incentives that you identified. Finally, respond to the following instructions and questions:
- Relate each incentive to one or more employee needs.
- Evaluate the likely effectiveness of each incentive.
- What are the relative strengths and weaknesses of each of the incentives?
- Did learning about any of these incentives trigger ideas for other incentives that you had not thought of before?
