Saying "good job" is kind of like saying "I love you." Once you throw it out there, it's difficult to stop saying it, and it begins to lose it's meaning. Sometimes you start to say it out of obligation, and if you stop saying it, the other party becomes skeptical or changes their performance. Verbal kiss of death.
It's easy to see "good job" being used to manipulate people to do things the way we want them done. Praise is a biscuit, and we want to train the dog to sit. Once the dog is trained, it does not seem necessary to reward a general behavior or performance, so we stop giving the dog treats. The dog will stop sitting on command because it no longer receives a treat, or reward, for that behavior.
When dealing with people, we can tell someone that he or she is doing a good job, and they may continue to perform in that same way, rather than developing another behavior that may be equally or more impressive. People grow to expect praise for certain behaviors, or only perform in ways that will earn them a "good job." Overall, praise is a way to manipulate people that can ultimately hinder a person's natural development.
I see what you're saying, but what if the person's natural development would hinder their ability to perform he job. By using "good job" to train an employee, you could potentially be creating a high performance work force at your company.
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