Jan
One of the downsides of punishment is that it makes people resentful and instills fear. While using positive reinforcement makes a person feel better and want to please you by DOING better.
Unfortunately, with some folks, punishment becomes the only way to get their attention. We are all different. Some people respond better to positive reinforcement and others only change behaviors when punished.
I recall as a child that my brother usually got a spanking and I got a lecture. I used to beg for a spanking. My Dad had discovered that my brothers worst punishment was a spanking and mine was a lecture. So, he did the things that got the best results based on our individual personalities.
Overall, I would say that positive reinforcement is best until it no longer works with that individual.
Answer:
positive reinforcement works much better as employees want to do a good job for a good boss. positive reinforcement will boost moral and employees will feel a part of a team, wanting to put their best foot forward. Book Mark it-> del.icio.us | Reddit | Slashdot | Digg | Facebook | Technorati | Google | StumbleUpon | Window Live | Tailrank | Furl | Netscape | Yahoo | BlinkList