The carrot and stick method is often used in various areas of life. Personnel management, education, relationships - all these are areas where it is relevant to apply methods of encouragement and punishment. However, if we talk about a carrot and a stick, then everything is somewhat more complicated than just encouraging and punishing. What is this complexity and how to correctly apply this method in practice, we will consider in the publication.
History tour
The carrot and stick method (more common as a method of praise and punishment) is a special technique that helps to achieve the desired actions from others through exposure. This method is often used in teacher education, politics and personnel management.
The phrase "carrot and stick" exists even in foreign vocabulary, albeit in a modified form. In Russian journalistic publications, this expression appeared at the end of the 19th century, and its first formulation sounded like “whip and carrot”. That is, it was a literal translation of the proverb from German.
In the English version, the expression will sound like "carrot and stick." They are associated with the only ways that affect a stubborn donkey and make it move.
This method of motivation is the oldest, you only need to remember the period of slavery, when the whip (in its most direct manifestation) was the driving force that made a person work. Much later, Frederick Taylor, the founder of the scientific organization of labor, put forward a proposal to increase efficiency through rewards. Although now this method is not so effective.
Why does the method not work?
The carrot and stick method has been studied in various fields. He gained particular importance in the eyes of sociologists and social psychologists. The impact of this method could not be called stable and reliable. In some conditions, “carrot and stick” give the expected results, while in others they are directly opposite.
The psychologist and sociologist Douglas McGregor explained this by the fact that when a person is not provided with food and safety, which are basic needs, the carrot and stick method is excellent. But in the case when basic needs are fully provided, desires of a higher level begin to appear, which is completely incompatible with this method of motivation. As a result, it becomes ineffective.
In each sphere, the carrot and stick method works and manifests itself in different ways, and to understand how it should be used and how not to use it, we will consider separately each of the spheres of human activity.
Relations
The carrot and stick method in relationships is often manifested in the form of manipulations, especially if one of the partners is not confident enough. It quite often looks like a game of feelings. Inadequate conduct of such a “game” often threatens a break. If you constantly “give the carrot”, then the partner will be too sweet, and this monotony will destroy him. And when, apart from the whip, the partner sees nothing, then it is simply unbearable.
And before applying this method, you need to think again, for what purposes it will be used and whether such behavior is acceptable.
Relationship Manipulation Methods
The carrot and stick method with a man basically consists in approaching and moving away from him. Since men are hunters and conquerors by nature, they are much more interested in being in a state of easy intrigue. From this thesis, it is worth starting with the use of carrots and sticks in relationships:
- Everything should be a little bit, and the ratio of carrot and stick should be 1: 7. That is, from time to time a young man needs to do a little shake-up in a relationship.
- The punishment may be the lack of habitual encouragement.
- Good behavior or positive change is encouraged constantly and systematically.
But the main thing is to remember: before throwing yourself at a partner with a whip, you need to think about the situation and try to build a dialogue, and it is best to start with yourself.
Work in a company
This method of motivation is simple and complex at the same time. It is especially difficult to use in a work team, where each employee should have his own approach. Now a person is more focused on self-realization and self-development, so if something is not right, then no gingerbread can hold it. Basically, employees are divided into 4 main types:
- Money lovers. Employees get a job only because the company pays salaries “transparently”.
- Enthusiast. A person goes to work simply because he likes a certain job.
- Ideological patron. Such an employee prefers to work in a harmonious, friendly team and “for the idea”. And if they also pay for it, then he is generally in seventh heaven from happiness (such people also meet).
- Everyman. They do only what is written in the contract of employment: no more and no less. Work for them is comparable to serving a duty.
Gingerbread for every employee
In connection with these features, the leader’s carrot and stick method should be different for everyone. For example, representatives of the first group will leave the company with a light heart on the same day when they delay their salaries or payouts are not transparent enough. Enthusiasts will do the job 100%, they are professionals in their field, they are important not only salary, but respect and acceptance of them properly. They do not tolerate authoritarian leadership in any way; the “stick” in relation to such employees should hang in a distant and dark closet.
Ideological patrons go to work. For the sake of work, it will not be difficult for them to borrow money if they delay their salaries, and continue to work without slowing down. But in order not to lose such valuable workers, they need to be praised as often as possible, then they will work harder. The "common people" are mainly people who know the business process from the inside, so these employees are negotiating with the main management, and if they manage to come to an agreement, they become good employees, and if not, the company may have a serious competitor.
The carrot and stick method in parenting
And the most difficult thing is to use such a method in the educational process. A person is not a computer program that must perform a certain action under the indicated conditions. The method of educating a carrot and a stick is unacceptable in modern society, in other words, it is considered not pedagogical. After all, if a child is punished for actions that are inconsistent with the norm, he will cease to trust others, and if too much is encouraged, he will grow up to be an egoist. In addition, the stick and carrot are one of the ways to impose your standards, and if you use it without specific knowledge, it turns into a simple manipulation.
As for education, the method of carrot and stick is used by nature itself in the process of personality development. If a child touches a hot stove, then he will certainly be burned and the next time he will be more careful. And if a parent, trying to prevent a burn, yells at a child (whip), then he just delays the inevitable. In the process of upbringing, it is important to explain why and why a child is praised and what is punished. The carrot and stick method in this segment is based on a reasoned explanation of adults.
conclusions
Thus, we can conclude that the method of carrot and stick will always take place in different areas of human activity. Depending on human needs, new techniques will be created to influence the individual's performance and motivation. The carrot and stick method is not only a focused system of rewards and punishments established by someone, but a technology that needs to be approached wisely and applied according to the current situation. The effectiveness of the carrot and the sweetness of the carrot depend only on this.