Friday, June 19, 2009

Week 3 - Blog 3: Reward Power (Ch. 6)

One of the five types of social power is "reward power" (p. 168). It is my favorite one and is effectively used in my work. As an ESL teaching staff at a community college, I lead some workshops for the students. One of the workshops is Accent Reduction through Singing. Unlike regular classes where students pay tuition and are required to attend specific days and times, the one-time-only and 50-minute workshops are elective and free, so the students can participate whenever they want, which means that the students are not required to attend the workshop mandatorily. Therefore, I utilize "reward power" to promote the workshop. For example, on my own initiative, I count how many times the students attend every quarter, and if any student attends more than 10 times, I give them an "Attendance Award" with a special CD (my jazz singing) at the end of the quarter. I take their photo and design a certificate for them, and post it on the wall. This system definitely motivates my students, so I have more "repeaters," and the grand total of the participants has become over 1200 within seven years. I think the "reward power" can be used not only in the workplace, but also in schools.

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