A Critique of the Incentive Awards Program in the Veterans Health Administration Central Region Office

Abstract

This project will compare the VHA's incentive award program with recent theory. Alfie Kohn asserts in his theory that rewards punish. The manipulation of behavior is not a good thing and more specifically, those based on performance appraisals produce an even greater negative effect. This study has been completed over a three month period, while the author was doing an internship at the VHA, Central Region, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.