Cash for the flash, medals for the glory

With the Olympics on our screens at the moment, it's interesting to see how much winning a shiny gold disc means to people.

Tennis player Raphael Nadal, for instance, has little to prove in the world of tennis, already having established his dominance this season, and earned a small fortune to boot. But winning an Olympics medal brings a special recognition that a mountain of cash cannot replace.

The same is true of incentives. Cash is a poor incentive because it becomes a form of compensation. It goes straight into the bank account, and thus there is little recognition of the recipients acheivements and acknowledgement of their efforts.

A more tangible reward, whether it is an honour such as a medal or trophy, or a prize product, carries with it a kudos that can be proudly used and displayed. For a product reward, say a watch or an iPod, it becomes a prized possession, and a constant reminder to everyone of the acheivement.

Meanwhile, some countries do actually reward cash for athletes receiving Olympics medals. It's a policy that has been adopted at Beijing by Canada, with $20,000 for gold medal winners, and proven a runaway success judging by their massive haul of 2 golds so far. Far better is the Belarus approach - spurring weightlifter Andrei Aramnau to break three world records in his quest for Olympic gold and the promise of free meat sausages for life. And the Mayor or Mansfield has promised UK double gold medal swimmer Rebecca Adlington a pair of Jimmy Choos on her return to Britain.