Award and Reward are confusing terminologies that cannot be used interchangeably as both verbs have different characteristics. However, they seem identical in pronunciation and meaning but have massive differences.
They both give a sense of satisfaction to the person who receives them. They symbolize some positive action completed, but the demarcation line between them is very blurred to separate them.
Key Takeaways
- Awards are formal recognition of achievements or excellence in a particular field, while rewards are incentives for a job well done or for reaching a specific goal.
- Awards can be tangible or intangible, while rewards are tangible items, services, or experiences.
- Awards are public and given at ceremonies, whereas rewards can be private and exchanged informally.
Award vs. Reward
The difference between Award and Reward is that Award is given systematically to a person or an organization, and a Reward is not provided by selecting a person systematically. An award is more impressive as it is given publicly, like Oscar, whereas a Reward is less impressive as it is provided in private.
The award refers to the trophy, Medal, or certificate given publicly to a person or an organization for doing something best. Word Award in English grammar is a noun as well as a verb.
It is given to the person selected from a group of people. Comparatively, that person accomplishes something in the best way.
The term Reward refers to a contingent advantage for an action performed by an Individual. It is also a noun and a verb in English grammar.
The reward has nothing to do with any achievement. It is more about a task done or exchanging good gestures in financial or non-financial terms.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Award | Reward |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Expert Panel decides the the judgment for the Award. | Granted for Achievements, Incredible work, Best performance, etc., |
| Forms | Awards are given in the form of Prizes, medals, certificates, ribbons, etc. | Rewards are given in the Monetary or Non- Monetary Form. |
| Purpose | An Individual decides judgment for Reward. | Granted for Loyalty, Honesty, Merit, Help, etc. |
| Judgment | When a person puts his efforts into completing or achieving something, a Reward is given as an acknowledgment. | For Rewards, there are no nominations. Only a single person is decided in advance. |
| Nomination | For Awards there are Nominations. | Expert Panel decides the judgment for the Award. |
What is Award?
The Award is a token of recognition given to a person or organization when they have accomplished something great by doing an extraordinary performance. It could be in the form of Cash, Car, Medal, Certificate, etc.
When a person breaks a record in a specified area like dance, singing, sports, acting, studies, and more, the award is given to the awardee in those cases.
They are given in front of many people. The award ceremony is organized in some instances to deliver the Award.
For Better understanding, When a student scores the highest marks in the class, he receives an award certificate or medal for outstanding performance in a class by studying well.
This award is given to motivate other students in the school to do great. In the same manner, dance competitions and sports competition activities are held and the best one chosen as per performance to give Award.
The awardee is selected through the decision of the expert panel. Before the decision-making process for Award, the nominations are there who will receive the Award and whose performance was best in action completed.
Filmfare, Grammy, and Oscar are a few examples of Award ceremonies. An Award is a very grandiose thing.
What is Reward?
The reward is recognition for the non-stop efforts an individual makes in their work, service, loyalty, honesty, and hard work. It could be given just by a simple word of praise or in monetary terms in exchange for something great.
The procedure to select a person for receiving a reward is not formal. Even no selection process is held to choose an Individual for Reward. It is given privately, not conferred on a public platform.
The Reward giving process is less impressive since it can be exchanged between two people without impacting others.
For a better understanding of the term, If a person plants 500 plants in a month to support nature, then a Reward can be announced for him to praise his efforts for the environment.
The most common Reward is given in case of a Missing person finding. Everyone must have seen those posters announcing rewards.
A reward is a token of gratitude when employees in big companies are recognized for their efforts. It is in the form of incentives in some cases or maybe food coupons etc.
This is done for employee motivation. The reward is also given in the case of meeting sales targets.
Main Differences Between Award and Reward
- Demonstration: In Awards, the demonstration is done Publically, whereas, in the case of Rewards, the demonstration is done privately to hand over the Reward.
- Reason: The award is mainly associated with some good reason. On the contrary, the Reward may or may not be for a good reason.
- Example: For Award-The CM awarded the child for an excellent dance performance, and For Reward- Mary gives cookies to John for helping her in their studies.
- Output: An award is the output of some accomplishment. Conversely, Reward is the output of some recognition.
- Process: The Award is a formal process to praise a person or an organization, whereas the Reward is an informal recognition process to an individual.
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0013161X97033004004
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14703290600974016
Last Updated : 13 July, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
The distinction between awards and rewards is crucial. This article provides a comprehensive breakdown of both.
This article is incredibly informative and well-written. Thank you for sharing this!
Your arguments make sense, but I still believe that the two share more similarities than differences.
I understand your perspective, but the article provides clear examples that support the differences between the two.
This article really helps to clarify the differences between awards and rewards, thank you!
Great article! I appreciate your in-depth analysis of the terms.
I disagree with the premise of this article. An award is far more meaningful than a reward.