Supervisor's Survival Kit: Your First Step into Management, Ninth Edition

MRT DISCUSSIONS AND THE NONDIRECTIVE TECHNIQUE

The mutual reward theory (chapter 5) functions well when the rewards are sufficient and well balanced between supervisor and employee because both parties come out ahead. The employee gains rewards from the supervisor, and the supervisor receives high productivity and subsequent recognition from superiors. When such rewards are insufficient or out of balance, or the wrong rewards have been provided, MRT counseling may be the answer. When a supervisor takes time to sit down with an employee and work out a sound, reasonable reward exchange, improved motivation is almost predictable. This kind of resolution can happen best under the nondirective approach because the employee is more apt to state openly ...