A manager treats an employee with a free lunch to encourage the employee to continue to do well. Which kind of reward is provided?

Rewards in organizational behavior are broadly classified as intrinsic or extrinsic. Intrinsic rewards are psychological rewards that are self-generated from the work itself, such as feelings of accomplishment, autonomy, and personal growth. Extrinsic rewards are tangible rewards that are controlled and distributed by an external agent, such as a manager or the organization. A free lunch is a tangible, physical reward given by a manager to an employee, making it a classic example of an extrinsic reward.

A. While a form of compensation, "extrinsic reward" is the broader and more precise classification for a non-monetary perk.

B. "Personality reward" is not a recognized term or concept in motivation or compensation theories.

C. An intrinsic reward is an internal, psychological feeling derived from the task, not a tangible item from a manager.

1. Deci, E. L., Koestner, R., & Ryan, R. M. (1999). A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 125(6), 627–668. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.125.6.627. This paper extensively discusses the distinction and interaction between intrinsic and extrinsic rewards.

2. MIT OpenCourseWare. (2004). 15.311 Organizational Processes, Lecture Notes, Lecture 6: Motivation and Rewards. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved from https://ocw.mit.edu. The course materials distinguish between intrinsic rewards (from the task) and extrinsic rewards (from the organization).