Money is the grease to any modern economic machine. It allows reduced transaction costs over barter-based trade systems, thus enabling much of the modern world to function in a quicker and smoother fashion than civilizations without money. However, as Amy Mickel and Lisa Barron argue in their essay titled "Getting 'More Bang for the Buck': Symbolic Value of Monetary Rewards in Organizations," money serves as more than an economic tool of trade. When organizations try to reward members with money, Mickel and Barron argue that who gets the money and how it is distributed creates important symbolic meaning that can affect the motivation of individuals both positively and negatively. As such, the symbolic aspect of monetary rewards in organizations needs the attention of both scholars and practicing managers. Researchers need to look beyond the economic value of monetary rewards and look at issues about how money's distribution may symbolically reflect the power structure within organizations.
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