Essentials Of Good Disciplinary System

What is discipline

The practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behaviour, using punishment to correct disobedience.
Training to act in accorda nce with

rules; drill: military discipline.

Essentials
Knowledge of Rules Prompt Action Fair Action Well Defined Procedure Constructive Handling of Disciplinary Action. Self Motivation and self led morale's.

Knowledge of Rules
The

employee must be informed clearly about what constitutes good behaviour. All instructions should be clear and understandable. Well equipped Supervisor Effective Communication Wide spectrum of knowledge for Superior.

Prompt Action
All violations and misconducts-big and smallshould be promptly inquired into. For example, a supervisor is most unwise to wait until lunch break before rebuking a worker for arriving late. Beat the iron when it is hot. This is because when the penalty is imposed immediately following the violation of a rule the person punished tends to identify the punishment with the act he committed. law of effect. The greater the delay the more one forgets and

Fair Action

Promptness of disciplinary action at the cost of its fairness is not proper. An action in order to be fair must possess the following characteristics:

All violations-big and small-should be duly punished.

A violation should not be overlooked or condoned merely because it is small otherwise this will give an impression that announced rules are meaningless. All individuals-big and small-should receive equal punishment for equal indiscipline. If a rule is applied to one individual but not to another, the management is bound to be accused of favouritism.

 Discipline should be uniformly enforced at all

times.
Eg:- If management soft-pedals on taking a

disciplinary action when there is shortage of labour and toughens its policy when labour is plentiful it is acting arbitrarily. Similarly, if the management overlooks a wrong on one occasion and punishes it on another occasion it is acting inconsistently. Inconsistent behaviour of management leads to uncertainty in the minds of subordinates. They simply do not know where they stand.
The alleged violation should be fully inquired into.

Making a mistake by hastily administering a

The employee should always be given an opportunity to explain his action. The common law principle that an offender is innocent until he is proved guilty beyond doubt should be followed. The burden of proving the violation always lies on the management

Well Defined Procedure

The procedure to be followed to reach to a penalty decision should be carefully laid down. It should include the following steps:
The supervisor must assure himself that some

violation of the rules has taken place. He should state precisely and objectively the nature of the alleged violation.
He should then proceed to gather full facts about the

case and maintain proper records.

Post Information gathering 3 separate list of actions should be prescribed.

include all types of disciplinary action to make certain that no possibility is overlooked The second list should classify penalties according to rank in order to acquaint the executive with those actions which lie within his command and those for which he should refer the case to his superiors . The third list should include only those penalties

The appropriateness of a disciplinary action should be decided in terms of its effectiveness in correcting the employee.

Constructive Handling of Disciplinary Action

Handled in a constructive manner. Should be carried out by the immediate line supervisor. This employee should be told not only the reasons for the action taken against him but also how he can avoid such penalties in future. Disciplinary action should be taken in private. By exposing an employee to public ridicule the supervisor attacks his dignity and social standing.

It is most unwise for a supervisor to take a general disciplinary action against a group of subordinates. Disciplinary action is a matter for the individual. It is the individual who should be held responsible for any wrong. A management which takes disciplinary action against a group is likely to set off a wave of unrest associated with falling morale and even the possibility of wildcat strike.

After the disciplinary action has been taken the supervisor must assume a normal attitude towards the employee. He should revert to his role of a helping hand-as if nothing has happened. This is possible only when the supervisor uses an impersonal approach in administering a penalty. He should not engage in personal ridicule, insult or even criticism. He should avoid getting into an argument. In short, he must play the role of a judge enforcing the law with impartiality.

Reference

university.wisdomjobs.com/...managem ent/.../employee-discipline_essentials Business Management C B Gupta Human Resource and Personnel Management K Aswathappa