On 28th February, the Indian Hockey Team started it’s “FIH World Cup 2010” campaign in spectacular fashion by decimating arch-rivals Pakistan 4-1. As is the wont when these two nations take on each other in any sporting event, the hundreds of millions of fans on either side of the simmering border consider a victory over the neighbour to be bigger than winning the tournament itself, be it a World Cup or a school-level competition. This time was no different – infact, the win was sweeter than what the Indians have tasted in a long, long time because it was not only our first win in a World Cup match over Pakistan in 35 years, but the margin of victory was also our biggest over Pakistan in World Cup competition!
A billion people erupted in celebration and accolades poured in from all quarters for the “champion” team. This was followed by announcements of cash incentives for the team by Hockey India and various state governments and corporate houses. The money showered on the players was more than welcome considering that these guys who represent India in its “national game” are grossly underpaid. However, there was one thing about the incentives which was jarring – apart from a fixed amount for the entire team, most government and corporate bodies also offered additional cash bonuses for individual goal scorers!
Now this, I thought, was a classic case of “Kerr’s Folly” where “…the types of behavior rewarded are those which the rewarder is trying to discourage”. In this case, individual efforts were being rewarded in a team sport! The incentive scheme encouraged players to be selfish and retain the ball with themselves and attempt to score goals individually rather than pass it on to team mates and further the team’s cause. So was this not a flawed and counter-productive reward system?
Well, after the win against Pakistan, India lost their third straight game of the tournament last evening… and slipped out of contention for a semi-final berth. Was this the effect of the “Kerr’s Folly” committed by our sporting, political, and corporate leaders, or was the team simply beaten by better opponents? I guess, we will never know…
P.S.: Here is an earlier post of mine on “Reward Systems – Is Kerr’s Folly Alive?“
