The theory of reinforcement is based on the promotion of desired behavior. The stronger the connection between certain behavior and the reward, the higher the probability of this behavior. However, in the organizational context, it is sometimes difficult to connect a reward with certain behavior, since usually several actions are performed simultaneously. Therefore, the connection between the award and the desired behavior may be uncertain, which reduces the likelihood of this behavior. In extreme cases, the result becomes the opposite: the behavior that the organization is trying to encourage is punished, and the behavior that the organization is trying to punish is encouraged. Kerr describes how this can happen. Shelters are organizations in which children are adopted. Shelters are financed by the state. Since their main goal is to put children in good families, the management of the shelter should be aimed at achieving this particular goal. But in practice, this is not so: the incentive system developed by the leadership of shelters often turns the process in the opposite direction for the following reasons:
The number of children placed in the shelter usually becomes the most important indicator for the shelter to receive funds.
The number of children contained in the shelter affects the size of the personnel composition, which also determines the budget.
The general scale of the organization largely determines the prestige of the head of the shelter at annual meetings and conferences, and t. D.
Thus, since the leadership of the shelters prefers to take care of the size of the state, the general budget and personal prestige, it is beneficial to prevent the adoption of children. The incentive system reinforces behavior, the opposite of the one for which the shelters, in fact, were created – t. e. Premises of children in families.
The results of a number of studies indicate that reinforcement modes can actually stimulate certain patterns of behavior. However, the focus of this behavior does not always correspond to organizational goals.