by Bikram Sinha

Created on: May 07, 2009

Motivation is always a positive factor to energize an employee.It's the best possible way to get the best output from an employee.Now there are several ways to motivate an employee. The two main aspects are money and recognition. These two elements are corporate arms to inject positive spirit in the employees. Now the question is which is more appreciated ? Obviously this is a very tricky question. But if we think practical , I will vouch for money.

Today's world is driven by money. People first look for monetary stability than any other things. Once someone attains a basic monetary need , then he or she can think of other perspective of life. Therefore monetary gain is appreciated mostly all the time. In corporate world , an employee first looks for better salary to lead a good and healthy life and that continues till an optimal level is reached. But also prople need recognition.An employee can't leave recognition behind and only run for money. Recognition is also an highly appreciated motivation to enlighten and please an employee. But certainly if there is less monetary gain , recognition is incomplete or irrelevant.

Now recognition and money both are somehow interrelated. A recognition can come in different forms such as salary increase , promotion , letter of appreciation , reward or offering stock option etc. In some cases recognition is tightly coupled with money. So no matter what the way company tries to motivate an employee , money comes first. There may be different level of satisfaction among employees based on their position , role and designation. A manager might want to get more recognition than simple monetary reward. Since he or she has already attained a certain level , they are more prone towards self recognition and standing high among peers. But on the other hand , the mass employees which constitute the larger part of the corporate world , are still yet to attain that monetary level. Therefore they are more motivated and satisfied by money such as salary increase or incentive etc.

So , we can come to the conclusion that it is life which is more important than the limelight for common people. Money fulfills the basic need to deal with life and recognition puts people on focus among others. Both are highly required for a successful employee and key factors for motivation.But its money which wins the race and brings a great deal of satisfaction and mental peace for an employee.

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