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Yes, that is his point. My interpretation:

He is saying that more people on average will respond more directly and immediately to punishment than reinforcement.

The context is that organizations' behavior influence via punishment is a short-term tactic: in the long run, we would like to believe that reinforcement poses a net gain. However cultural influence results in short-term behavior control tactics from organizations prevailing, and little heed paid to the tradeoff.

One might also argue that it is cheaper in the short term to punish than to reward, and this further perpetuates the downward cycle as a staple of organization culture.



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