An incentive is a reward given to a person to stimulate his or her actions to a desired direction. Incentives have motivational powers and are widely utilized by individuals and large organizations to motivate employees. They can either be monetary or non–monetary.
Monetary Incentives are financial incentives used mostly by employers to motivate employees towards meeting their targets. Money, being a symbol of power, status and respect plays a big role in satisfying the social–security and physiological needs of a person. Money however, seizes to be a motivator when the psychological and security needs are satisfied. At that point it becomes a maintenance factor; as per Herzberg.