Managing requires the creation and maintenance of an environment in which individuals work together in-groups toward the accomplishment of common objectives. And that's where the role of corporate incentives comes in. It includes the building of motivating factors into organizational roles, the staffing of these roles, and the entire process of leading people must be built on knowledge of motivation.

It does not mean managers should become amateur psychiatrists. It is worth mentioning that the manager's job is not to manipulate people but, rather, to recognize what motivates people. The basic element of all human behavior is some kind of activity, whether physical or mental. Thus, human behavior can be seen as a series of activities. The question arises as to which activities human beings will undertake at any given time, and why. Activities are goal-oriented; that is, people do things that lead them to accomplish something. But individual goals can be baffling. Sometimes people know exactly why they do things; often, however, individual drives lie buried in the subconscious.

The primary task of managers is to get people to contribute activities that help achieve the mission and goals of an enterprise or of any department or other organized unit within it. Clearly, guiding people's activities in desired directions requires knowing, to the best of any manager's ability, what leads people to do things, what motivates them. On the basis of these factors, manager all round the world devised corporate incentives for their employees. It varies from organization to organization.

Human motives are based on needs, whether consciously or subconsciously felt. Some are primary needs, such as the physiological requirements for water, air, food and shelter. Other needs may be regarded as secondary, such as self-esteem, status, affiliation with others, affection, giving, accomplishment and self-assertion. Naturally, these needs vary in intensity and over time among different individuals.