[Writer's Name]
Discipline, in simple terms, is training people so that they obey certain rules and regulations. In the work place, discipline has to do with training employees so that they follow the given business practices. Ideally, discipline should correct behavior, and not promote feelings of shame and embarrassment. It is fair to say that discipline plays a vital role in the work place. The consequences of having ill disciplined employees can lead to problems not for the employees themselves, but for the organization on the whole as well. Take for instance, an employee that is always late at work. The employee will obviously suffer from productivity issues, and become an added cost for the organization. The manager, after trying to discipline the employee, will feel inclined to get rid of the employee. Now, the hard part will be dealing with the after effects of the termination. An employee might feel that he/she has been terminated wrongfully. Therefore, there could be legal issues to cope with. These issues can lead to problems for an organization in the long run.
While disciplining employees is a necessity, the process is not always so simple. There are quite a few laws in place that state what kind of disciplinary actions are permitted and those that are not. In a perfect world, disciplining an employee should have to do with motivating the employee rather than mere punishment. After all, an employee who is motivated is much more likely to outperform an employee who is not. Moreover, punishing employees is certainly going to get them to weigh up their options. For a manager, it is not always easy to know what kind of disciplinary action to take. However, there are a few guidelines that managers can follow and ensure that the disciplinary actions they take meet the requirements of the law. Before all this though, the manager should hire an investigator to fully investigate the issue that has emerged. The investigator has to be a person who is at a senior post, and one who has complete understanding of the issue at hand.
Proper employee disciplinary action should be as follows. For starters, a manager must ensure that whatever concerns that rage with the employee are communicated properly. Communication plays a big part in the voicing of opinions and concerns, and two-way communication not only ensures that the manager gets the chance to voice his opinion, but the employee also gets the opportunity to provide feedback on the issues that he/she might be facing. It is essential to firstly communicate with the employee as soon as the problem emerges, rather than letting the problem escalate and turn in to something that requires the employee's termination. The second point has to do with effective communication as well. The employee must be told about the issue in full detail. There should not be any generalities, and the exact breach of conduct must be communicated. This is important as vague terms used can later on lead to legal ramifications for the organization. Moreover, a manager should lay more importance on the problem on hand rather than blaming the employee. The point is to not make the employee feel ashamed, but guilty about the behavior itself. Thirdly, the negative consequences of the behavior should be brought to light. For instance, if an employee's behavior led to the discomfort of his/her counterparts, then this should be clearly communicated. The example mentioned in the beginning is a nice way to explain this point. An employee who is always late would require his/her counterparts to work on his/her part. Of course, the employee filling in will only allow this to a certain point, and then, voice his/her discontent as well. The next step has to do with providing the employee with guidelines on how to resolve the issue. This should be, at the least, a written document where the employee highlights his/her plan of action. The employer must provide a deadline so that the document is submitted on time. A large part of employee disciplinary action has to do with motivating the employee. As such, the employer must ensure that the employee gets full support in resolving the issue. The employee must be made to feel important, that he/she means a lot to the organization, and that is the reason why it is so necessary for the employee to correct his/her behavior. Lastly, the details of the conversation with the employee must be noted down. Doing so is hugely important in that not only it provides proof of the entire conversation, but also makes the whole process seem important to the employee. A disciplinary meeting with just verbal communication is much less likely to seem all that important to an employee, and can be easily forgotten as well.
However, just as it is important to discipline employees using the guidelines mentioned above, there are some disciplinary measures that managers should steer clear of. First of all, the manager must be make it a point to investigate the issue at hand in full detail. A lot of times, neither the employee, nor the employer is at fault. In such cases, the fault lies with the procedures of the organizations itself. In small organizations for instance, rules and regulations are not properly defined. In these situations, it is a given that employees are not likely to understand what the correct behavior is. Secondly, the manager must not hold any grudges or show bias against the employee who is under investigation. Premature conclusions should be avoided, and so should be decisions made in haste. Thirdly, the consequences of making an employee feel ashamed cannot be stressed on enough. The point is to make an employee feel bad about the behavior, and not their personality. It is common to come across situations where managers have, inadvertently, made their employees feel bad about themselves. This can lead another problem altogether.
An organization is likely to perform to its best when the employees it has are fully aware of the procedures and rules they have to follow. Of course, training plays a vital role in having disciplined employees, so the better the training process of an organization, the more likely it is to have disciplined employees. Discipline also depends a lot on the organization itself, and many organizations have distinct disciplinary rules. It is, therefore, important for a manger to consider and be fully aware of the organization's policies, so that the situation never requires disciplinary action in the first place. However, if disciplinary action is indeed the need of the hour, then the manager must ensure that the actions taken are within the laws defined by both the organization, and the State.
Works Cited
"How to Discipline and Fire Employees." Entrepreneur. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013. <http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/79928-2>.
Eccleston, Derek. The Manager's Guide to Discipline. New York: Gower, 2008. Print.
