A company enforces its ethical codes and policies by rewarding ethical behavior and punishing misconduct. Each month, the most ethical employee receives a bonus. On the other hand, any employee who is found to be behaving unethically is fired immediately. What effect do these rewards and punishments have on employees?

The rewards and punishment serve the purpose of motivating the employees.

Explanation: First of all, we must establish that companies should have set guidelines or principles on which they operate, especially when it comes to ethics and acceptable workplace behavior.

Secondly, we must acknowledge the fact that there is always a reward or consequence for our actions. Especially in the workplace where employees are constantly monitored.

Now, based on the Theory X of management that was developed by Douglas McGregor, which basically states that employees are unmotivated and unwilling to work, and as a result of this, they need to be constantly prompted, rewarded or punished to make sure that they complete their tasks.

So to answer the question, the rewards and punishments serve the purpose of motivating the employees to be of good conduct in the workplace, because if this is not done, bad behavior might spread throughout the company and this will cause further problems.