The study reveals a marginal preference for intrinsic rewards, such as accomplishment and recognition, over extrinsic rewards like job promotion and salary increase. However, the direct impact of reward systems on motivation varies significantly across the research sites although higher motivation is generally associated with higher performance. The variety can be explained by the convergence of target attainments, performance measure accuracy, resulting in extrinsic rewards actually being given. The implications of the study for reward system designers, middle level managers and top management are tentative but offer initial avenues for future research.