Basic Disciplinary Steps To Take

You can use the following steps as a guide to imposing an oral or written warning or suspension on the
employee:

Inform the employee that he or she has engaged in specific conduct that is unacceptable and that certain
conduct is expected of the employee. Refer to the specific rule or policy.

Explain that the improper conduct must stop.

Discuss the negative consequences that will occur if the employee fails to change unacceptable behavior
and the possible positive consequences of changing the improper behavior.

Explore the reasons for the unacceptable behavior.

Develop an action plan that you and the employee agree on to change the unacceptable behavior.

Document the disciplinary process.

Points to remember
The employer should not fail to make its employees aware of the rules and regulations of the company.

Employees must be provided detailed warning of disciplinary actions in advance.

Employees should be provided with the companys code of conduct so that they would not be able to
deny knowledge of those rules.

Disciplinary actions must be taken immediately; the company should never ignore any act of violence or
wait for the most convenient time to take action.

Disciplinary actions must be the same for all the employees, regardless the post he/she holds in the
company or the relationship he/ she has with the superiors and supervisors.

Disciplinary actions must be flexible and progressive in nature whereby the level of penalty depends
upon the weight and frequency of the mistake.

The company should not show excessive leniency while taking any corrective actions, or else the
employees will show more negligence.

Also, the company should not be excessively harsh because it creates dissatisfaction.

Once the disciplinary act is taken, the supervisor must show normal behavior and attitude towards the
employees.

Disciplinary actions must never be used as the mode to satisfy personal whims.
HOT-STOVE RULE

Disciplinary action against an employee is painful and generates resentment. Hot-stove rule is
all about how to impose discipline to employees without generating resentment. Hot stove rule
draws an analogy between touching a hot stove and undergoing discipline.

According to the Red Hot Stove rule, disciplinary action should have the following consequences:

(a) Burns immediately: If disciplinary action is to be taken, it must occur immediately so the
individual will understand the reason for it. With the passage of time, people have the tendency
to convince themselves that they are not at fault. As with the hot stove when we touch it, our
hand burns immediately.

(b) Provides warning: It is very important to provide advance warning that punishment will
follow unacceptable behavior. As you move closer to hot stove, you are warned by its heat that
you will be burned if you touch it.

(c) Gives consistent punishment: Disciplinary action should also be consistent in that
everyone who performs the same act will be punished accordingly. As with a hot stove, each
person who touches it is burned the same.

(d) Burns impersonally: Disciplinary action should be impersonal. There are no favorites when
this approach is followed. As with hot stove when we touch it, it burns everyone's hand without
any bias.

Key principles to remember

Always remember the Hot Stove Rule where discipline is concerned:-

You had a warning you knew what would happen if you touched the stove

The penalty was consistent everyone gets the same treatment

The penalty is impersonal a person is burned not because of who he or she is, but because the stove
was touched

The penalty is not delayed.

So check out the facts first, follow due process and, if appropriate, apply the discipline as soon after
the event as investigations will allow. If you fail to be consistent, you may end up getting your own
fingers burnt!

A progressive discipline system is the best way to correct employee performance problems.
 Its also the best way to protect against wrongful termination lawsuits. It allows you to ensure that any
employee fired because of inferior performance was treated fairly and in accordance with your
companys policies.

Progressive discipline is an employee disciplinary system that provides a graduated range of

responses to employee performance or conduct problems. Disciplinary measures range from mild
to severe, depending on the nature and frequency of the problem. For example, an informal
coaching session might be appropriate for an employee who is tardy or violates a minor work
rule, while a more serious intervention -- or even termination -- might be called for if an
employee commits serious misconduct or doesn't improve a performance problem after receiving
several opportunities to do so.

Progressive discipline is a system of discipline where the penalties increase upon repeat occurrences.

This term is often used in an employment or human resources context where rather than terminating employees
for first or minor infractions, there is a system of escalating responses intended to correct the negative behavior
rather than to punish the employee.

The typical stages of progressive discipline in a workplace are:

1. Counselling or a verbal warning;

2. A written warning;

3. Suspension or demotion; and

4. Termination.

Pros and Cons of Progressive Discipline

With any workplace policy, there are pros and cons, and progressive discipline is no exception. Lets take a look
at some of the biggest advantages and disadvantages to such a policy.

Here are the pros:

It provides a clear explanation of the consequences of not following the employers rules
or not meeting expectations.

It provides the opportunity for consistency and fairness in disciplinary procedures for
different employees.

It gives the opportunity for an employee to change behaviors. This is especially true in
cases where the employee may not have realized they were breaking the rules or causing
a problem.

It gives the employer the chance to explain to the employee what actions can be taken to
improve the situation; this is a chance for coaching and mentoring.

It provides the employer with alternatives to termination for minor infractions. This
improves employee retention.
 It also can enhance employee morale when the employees know the employer is not going
to fire them for a minor issue. Morale can also be enhanced by the knowledge that poor
behavior of others will be addressed.

It provides evidence that the employer gave the employee every opportunity to improve

Positive Discipline (or PD) is a discipline model used by schools, and in parenting, that focuses
on the positive points of behaviour, based on the idea that there are no bad children, just good
and bad behaviors. You can teach and reinforce the good behaviors while weaning the bad
behaviors without hurting the child verbally or physically. People engaging in positive discipline
are not ignoring problems. Rather, they are actively involved in helping their child learn how to
handle situations more appropriately while remaining calm, friendly and respectful to the
children themselves.

It is also called enforced discipline. In case of negative discipline, employees are forced to obey orders and
abide by rules and regulations that have been laid down, failing which penalties and punishment would be
imposed on them. Thus, the objective of using punitive or coercive discipline is to ensure that employees do not
violate rules and regulations formed by the organisation.

ADVERTISEMENTS:

In other words, the purpose of negative discipline is to scare other employees and to ensure that they do not
indulge in undesirable behaviour. It is worth mentioning here that negative discipline cannot eliminate the
undesirable behaviour of the employees, but can merely suppress it.

Punishment is not pleasant. It causes resentment and hostility on the part of employees. That is why this kind of
discipline results in only the minimum standards of performance on the part of employees. This is precisely the
reason why it is rarely used in the organisations.

Prevention of conduct problems through careful planning and wise administration is desirable. Because one learns what he practices,
it is well to prevent misbehavior, which is in effect the practice of bad conduct. Applying principles of mental hygiene will aid in
discipline.

Principles

1. The best method of discipline is preventive, which means planning in such a way as to avoid the rise of behavior problems.

"The best way to prevent the growth of evil is to preoccupy the soil." FE 164

2. It [preventive discipline] helps children and youth to trust them [educators].

When you sit down with employees to discuss attitude problems, try to determine whether they have a reason
for their behavior. Is it a grudge against you or against the company in general? If you can't get to the root of the
problem, don't think you can't resolve it.
Describe the behaviors you won't tolerate, and tell the employee firmly that those behaviors must stop. Too
often, managers fail in their counseling efforts because they skip this (sometimes uncomfortable) step. Also,
make sure the employee understands why the behavior must end. Explain how it's causing a problem.

Also, follow up with a description of the preferred behavior, such as cooperation, helpfulness and
courteousness. Don't feel bad about being direct. Every manager has the right to demand that employees behave
in a courteous and cooperative manner.

Finally, give the employee the opportunity to speak. The person may be unaware of what he or she is doing or
not realize how it impedes other people's work. It may also turn out that the attitude problem is a symptom of a
more serious problem that needs referral to the employee assistance program.

Habitual absenteeism and tardiness constitute gross and habitual neglect of duty. Repeated acts of absences
without leave and frequent