الأجور و الحوافز في الإسلام : قضايا منهجية

Abstract EN

The paper is an attempt to explore the wage and incentive theorry in Islam.

It begins with defining the terms wages, incentives and inno- vation along a wide spectrum of academic perspectives including differ- ent schools of management thought.

Then important methodological questions are raized like why do people differ in their response to the same stimulus? What motivates a person to perform in a given manner? An Islamic interpretation is highlighted putting the questions under fo- cus.

The first sura in Quran "Proclaim Read”, the 6th and 7th versa say”(6) But man doth Transgress all bounds (7) In that he looketh upon himself as a self-sufficient’' The Islamic methodology in building a wage and incentive theory is underlined.

The main premises of this theory are spelled out.

The most important of these premises are that: (a) The strong linkages between faith and knowledge (b) The close association of fact and value as opposed to fact - value dichotomy characterizing modern western theory.

(c)The realization of faith, experiment and rational interpretation of events m a way unprecedented in contemporary management theory.

(d) Wholistic approach to the interpretation of human behavior as op- posed to the reductionist approach of the modem behavioral theory which incapsulates the human behavior in the lab's., incubators-along with rats, mices and pigeons.

These premises are used to answer the main question.What moti- vates man? Is it the material incentive..hunger for instance or fear? What happens to him after gratification of these needs? This leads the discus-sion to other aspects which Skinner lab, overran or eluded.

That is the moral, the spritual and the value laden aspects, that the lab.

was not equipped to withstand.

Based on this arguement.

given the limitations of the behavioral lab, outlined above, we arc left with few options.

One of the options is to gel out of the Lab’s shell to explore the non material aspects of man's behavior: that is the spritual and the moral.

This is the Pant that is linked with man essence.

It gives meaning to his life as a human being, the ideal Pant of his existence.

Neither physiological needs or security needs or self-actualization needs (Maslow) or achievement, recognition, growth, responsibility,(Herzeberg) or wage and material incentives (Taylor) or human relation (Mayo) suffice as adequate incentives moving human behavior to all or a given direction.

There is something missing relating to the essence of man that is “agida" or faith.

The facts pertaining to “agida” do not emanate from the Lab corri- dors: so we have to look elsewhere for delivery.

It is important lo note here that the two fields, the spiritual and the material, are not seen as mutually exclusive, but they are viewed as mu- tually reinforcing.

With this perspective in mind, a need for a new para- digm, a new way of thinking, emerging from a different epistemological ground is in order.