essential element of organizations is the willingness of persons to contribute their individual efforts •to the cooperative system. The power of cooperation, which is often spectacularly great when contrasted
with that even of large numbers of individuals Unorganized, is nevertheless dependent upon the willingness of individuals to cooperate and to contribute their efforts to the cooperative system. The contributions
of personal efforts which constitute the energies of organizations are yielded by individuals because of incentives.
The egotistical motives of self- preservation and of self- satisfaction are dominating forces, on the whole, organizations can exist only when consistent with the satisfaction of these motives, unless, alternatively, they can change these 'motives. The individual is always the basic strategic factor in organization. Regardless of his history or his obligations he must be induced to cooperate, or there can be no cooperation.
It needs no further introduction to suggest that the subject of incentives is fundamental in formal organizations and in conscious efforts to organize. Inadequate incentives mean dissolution, or changes of organization purpose, or failure of cooperation. Hence, in all sorts of organizations the affording of adequate incentives becomes the most definitely emphasized task in their existence. It is probably in this aspect of executive work that failure is most pronounced, though the causes may be due either to inadequate understanding or to the breakdown of the effectiveness of organization.