human resources management unit 21

7/30/2019 Human Resources Management UNIT 21

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UNIT 21

Discipline and Grievance

Discipline

The success of any organization depends upon the extent to which the behaviour

of the employees conforms to that prescribed for the achievement of the organizational

objectives. The employees are said to be disciplined when their behaviour is in conformity

with what is expected. Every employer expects his employed to be regular for work,

punctual, to carry out the task assigned and to avoid doing anything that would damage

the image of the institution. An employee who fails in his duties towards his institution

has to face disciplinary action.

Meaning

The attitude of the employees with reference to the rules and regulations of an

organisation is what is termed as discipline. Employees are disciplined if they adhere to

those rules and regulation and are indiscipline if they dont.

Definitions

Given below are a few definition of the term discipline:

1. Discipline is a force that prompts individuals or groups to observe the rules,regulations and procedures which are deemed to be necessary for the effective

functioning of an organisationRichard Calhoon.

2. Discipline is the orderly conduct of affairs by the members of an organisation,who adhere to de necessary regulations because they desire to cooperate

harmoniously in forwarding the end which the group has in view, and willingly

recognize that. To do this their wishes must be brought into a reasonable unison

with the requirements of the group in actionOrdway Tead.


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3. It simply means cooperating and behaving in a normal and orderly way, as anyresponsible person would expect an employee to doEarl. R. Brmablatt.

4. Discipline is said to be good when employees willingly follow companys rules andit is said to be bad when employees follow rules unwillingly or actually disobey

regulations Michael J. Jucius.

The above definitions make it clear that discipline in the workplace is the willingness

of the employees to strictly adhere to the rules and regulations of the organisation.

Positive and Negative aspects of Discipline

Positive discipline involves the creation of an environment in the workplace

whereby employees willingly conform to the established rules and regulations. Positive

discipline is also known as constructive discipline or self-discipline.

The following measures help to secure positive discipline:

1. Fair wages2. Job security3. Suitable incentives4. Promotion opportunities5. Conductive working conditions and so on.

Negative discipline involves the use of the force or threat to make the employees obey the

rules and regulations of the origination. Negative discipline may also be called as

enforced discipline. The employer resorts to the following measures to enforce

discipline:

1. Fine or penalty2. Demotion3. Transfer4. Suspension5. Dismissal etc.


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Objectives of Discipline

The following are the objectives of discipline:

1. To secure the co-operation of employees If the employees of an origination aredisciplined, it is an indication that they are willing to co-operate in the task of

performing the various enterprise activates.

2. To ensure adherence to the rules and regulations of the organisation Disciplineensures adherence to the rules and regulations of the organisation by the

employees. The employees, by remaining disciplined, convey their willing

acceptance to the rules and regulations of the organisation.

3. To ensure goal attainment despite individual differences Individual differencesare unavoidable. such differences arise due to differences in perception, value

system etc. but in the workplace the employees have to sink all their differences

and perform the tasks assigned. This alone can ensure goal attainment.

4. To develop a spirit of tolerance among the employees In the workplace, theemployee have to work as per the directions of their superiors. This requires

proper understanding between the personnel. If an employee is intolerant, he

may not accept the view and suggestions of the follow-employees. Such an

attitude is detrimental to term work. Discipline develops a sprits of tolerance

among the employees.

5. To have good human relations in the workplace Discipline in the workplacenecessitates first and confidence among the employees and between the

subordinates and their superiors. In the absence of trust and confidence

misunderstandings may develop between the individuals. Such

misunderstandings affect human relations. Discipline ensures good human

relations in any workplace.

6. To entrust responsibility The manager can entrust responsibility to hissubordinates if only the latter are discipline. Fulfillment of the duty or

responsibility depends on the extent to which the employees are disciplined.


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7. To improve the morale of employees morale, i.e., the collective attitude of theemployees is important for the due performance of any task. The level of morale

of the employees, who are highly disciplined, is sure to be very high.

Causes of Indiscipline

The important causes of indiscipline are:

1. Faulty selection and placement of employees While recruitingcandidates for jobs, it is not correct to judge a candidate by his academic

achievements alone. His personality traits are equally important. If the employer

ignores such personal qualities of an individual as attitude, obedience, tolerance,inquisitiveness etc., and selects candidates, the enterprise is sure to have people

who oppose any decision made by the management. This would certainly promote

indiscipline.

2. Lack of proper code of conduct for the employees (Dos andDonts) The management has to prescribe proper code of conduct for the

employees. The employees must know what they can and cannot do. Failure on

the part of the employer to determine a proper code of conduct would lead to

indiscipline.

3. Uninteresting work While assigning to any employee, his strengths andweaknesses will have to be taken into consideration. If an employee is given a job

for which he neither has attitude nor aptitude, he is sure to develop ill-feelings. He

may find the work uninteresting and do everything possible to shirk duties.

4. Ineffective leadership Another cause of indiscipline is that someorganisations lack leaders who have the capacity to guide their subordinate

properly and also the courage to firmly deal with employees showing indifference

and arrogance.


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5. Favoritism in the matter of employee evaluation Some supervisorshow favoritism in the matter of evaluating the performance of the employees

working under them. They may give high ratings to some employees although

their performance may not be so good or give low ratings to some who haveperformed very well. Discrimination is done mainly based on caste, religion, sex

and such other considerations. This promotes ill-feelings among the individuals

and paves way for indiscipline.

6. Favoritism in the matter of enforcing rulesThere may also befavoritism in the matter of enforcing the rules and regulations of the organisation.

For example, if, as pr rules, an employee has to get prior permission of his

employer before availing certain leave, the employer himself may not insists on

such a formality in the case of a few employees who are close to him. On the other

hand, he may not allow another employee to avail leave although he has made a

proper application. Iftell me the person and I will tell you the rule is the approach,

problems of indiscipline are sure to arise.

7. Lack of proper system of communication In the absence of a propersystem of communication in the organisation, the decisions of the management

cannot reach the employees at the right time and place. The rules and regulations

of the organisation also may not be made known to all the employees. In such a

situation, due toignorance, the employees may not comply with the rules. This

again paves way for indiscipline.

8. Absence of good supervisors Efficient supervisors will be able to guidetheir subordinates well. Such supervisors give their subordinates all the necessary

instructions pertaining to work and also ensure due performance of work by the

latter. In the absence of such supervisors, the employees may go without proper

guidance and may make mistakes.

9. The divide and rule policy of the employer Some employers adopt apolicy of divide and rule, i.e., they induce a group of employees to support all their


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decisions. This will bring about divisions among the employees and spoil the work

atmosphere.

10.Autocratic attitude of the management Some managements considerthe needs of their employees with an autocratic attitude. They may make aunilateral decision that is thrust on the employees. This promotes dissatisfaction

among the employees and paves way for indiscipline.

11. Lack of machinery for the redressal of grievances The reasonabledemands of the employees will have to be conceded by every employer. There shall

exist a proper machinery to hear the complaints and grievances of the employees

and provide early relief. Absence of such a machinery frustrates the employees and

promotes indiscipline.

12.Distrust among subordinates and supervisor When there is lack oftrust and confidence between the supervisors and their subordinates,

misunderstandings may develop and this may lead to indiscipline.

13.Bad working conditions If the working conditions are awfully bad and themanagement is indifferent towards the same, the employees may begin to show

their protest. If this trend continues, the employees will be left with no option but

to strike work.

14.The general tendency to flout rules In some organisations, the code ofconduct for employees remains only on paper and the general tendency is to flout

rules. In such a case, there is greater scope for employee indiscipline.

Acts of indiscipline

An act of indiscipline is called misconduct. The following acts are generallymentioned as acts of misconduct:

1. Disobedience or willful insubordination.2. Theft, fraud or dishonesty in connection with the employers goods or property.3. Willful damage to the employers good or property.


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4. Receiving or giving bribes.5. Habitual absence without leave.6. Absence without permission for more than ten consecutive days.7. Habitual late coming.8. Striking work or inciting others to strike work.9. Smoking in prohibited areas.10.Drunkenness.11. Sleeping while on duty.12.Adopting go-slow tactics.13.Assaulting or insulting any officer of the establishment.14.

Refusal to work on a job or a machine that has been assigned.

15.Non-observation of safety precautions.16.Threatening any employee.17.Gross negligence of duty.18.Collecting or canvassing the collection of money during working hours without

the prior permission of the management.

19.Holding meetings within the business premises without the prior permission ofthe management.

20.Distributing or exhibiting inside the business premises any newspapers, handbills,pamphlets or posters without the prior permission of the management.

21.Disclosing official information to any unauthorised person.22.Writing anonymous letters criticising the management.23.Carrying on money lending or any other private business.

Procedure for Discipline Action

The following procedure is usually followed while initiating

disciplinary action against an employee:


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1. Issuing a Letter of ChargeWhen an act of indiscipline committed by anemployee warrants disciplinary action, the management should issue a charge

sheet to the concerned employee. The chare sheet indicates the act of

indiscipline clearly and provides the employee an opportunity to offer properexplanation. It is for this reason a charge sheet is also known as show cause

notice.

2. Suspension Pending EnquiryWhere the nature of misconduct is grave,the management may, in the interest of the organisation, place the employee

under suspension pending enquiry. Under the Industrial Employment (Standing

Orders) Act, 1946, the suspended employee is entitled to subsistence allowance.

The amount of subsistence allowance is equal to one half of his wages for the

first ninety days of suspension and three fourths of his wages for the remaining

period of suspension if the delay in the completion of disciplinary proceedings is

not due to the employees conduct.

3. Notice of enquiryIn his reply to the charge sheet, if the employee admitsthe charge made against him, the employer may award the punishment without

further inquiry. In case the employee does not admit the charge and the act find

out the truth. Proper notice must be given to the employee indicating the date,

time and place of enquiry so that he will be ready with the necessary evidences to

prove his point.

4. EnquiryThe officer conducting the enquiry (the labour welfare officer or thelegal advisor to the organisation or any person nominated) must do his work

without any fear or favour. Reasonable opportunity must be given to the employee

to prove his point.

5. Recording the Findings Once the enquiry is over, the enquiryofficer must record his findings. He must indicate whether the charges

made against the employee are valid or not.


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6.Awarding punishment based on the findings of the enquiry, thepast records of the employee and so on, the employer will decide on

the punishment to be awarded. The punishment awarded to the

employee should be communication to him through a letter.

Principles of Natural Justice

The following principles of natural justice must be followed while

initiating disciplinary action against an employee:

1. The employee charge-sheeted must be informed in unambiguousterms about the charge levelled against him.

2. He should be given an opportunity to present witnesses of his choice.3. The managements evidences should be examined in the presence of

the employee.

4. The employee should have the right to cross-examine themanagements evidences.

5. The enquiry should be fair and conducted in an important manner.6. The punishment awarded should be proportionate to the offence

committed by the employee.

The Red Hot Stove Rule

The manner in which punishment should be given to an employee,

committing an act of indiscipline, is explained by the Red Hot Stove Rule.

Douglas McGregor equates the experience of a person touching a red stove

with that of an employee indulging in an act of indiscipline. When a person

touches a hot stove:


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1. The burn is immediate.2. He had warning as he knew what would happen if he touched it.

3. The effect is consistent. Who ever touches a hot stove is sure to getburns.

4. The effect is impersonal. A person suffers burns not because of who heis but because of touching a hot stove.

5. The effect is commensurate with the extent of the act of indiscipline,i.e., a person touching a hot stove repeatedly suffers more burns than

the one who touched it only once.

What is true in the case of a person touching a hot stove, mentioned

above, is true with an employee committing an act of indiscipline.

The discipline process should start immediately after a violation is

noticed. It must give a clear warning regarding the extent of punishment for

an act of indiscipline. The same punishment should be impersonal, i.e., it

should be imposed irrespective of the status of the individual. Punishment

should also be commensurate with the extent of the committed. For

example, an employee found sleeping during working hours and another

found stealing the employees property cannot be awarded the same

punishment.

Kinds of the Punishment

Punishment awarded to an employee, indulging in an act of

indiscipline, various with the severity of the misconduct. The various types

of punishment, usually awarded for misconduct, are:

1. Oral warnings


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2.Written warnings3. Loss of privileges4. Fines5. Punitive suspension6.Withholding of increments7. Demotion8. Discharge9. DismissalOf the nine types of punishment the first five are minor punishments

and the last four are major punishments. Each of these has been explained

below.

Oral Warnings

This types of punishment is usually given for such minor offences

committed by employees as sleeping during working hours or smoking in

the workplace. The superior makes it clear to the subordinate, who as

committed the offence, that he does not approve of his behaviour. Oral

warnings should be used sparingly. If used often it will not have any effect on

the employees.

Written Warnings

Where oral warnings fail to create the desired impact, the employer

may issue written warnings. Such a written warning statement, issued to an

employee for misconduct, may be referred when substantive punishment is


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to be awarded to him in future. Thus, it serves as evidence for future course

of action.

Loss of privileges

Sometimes the employee, who is guilty, may have to forego certain

privileges that he hitherto enjoyed. For example, he may not get interesting

work assignments or may be denied flexible interval or lunch breaks and so

on.

Fines

Under the payment of wages Act,1936 , deduction may be made from

the wages payable to the employee, be way of fine, for certain offences

committed by the employee. Deduction may also be made for any damage to

or loss of goods expressly entrusted to the employee for custody or for loss of

money which he is required to account for.

Punitive Suspension

In the case of punitive suspension the employee, who has committed

an offence, is not allowed to perform the duties assigned to him and his

wades are also withheld during the period of punishment. Punitive

suspension is different from suspension pending enquiry. In the case of

suspension pending enquiry, the employee is placed under suspension, as

the offence he has committed is a serious one. But the employee is paid

subsistence allowance.

Withholding of Increments


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In this case, the employer withholds the annual increments of the

employee who has violated the code of conduct.

Demotion

Demotion is a punishment measure whereby the employee, who has

done the offence, is assigned a lower grade job in lieu of his present job. The

employee is considered unfit for the job he is doing right now considering

his misconduct.

Discharge

If in the contract of serve both the employer and the employee have

agreed to terminate the contract by giving advance notice or by paying

money in lieu of such noticed the contract of service may be terminated in

the agreed manner. Although the word discharge is used to denote removal

of an employee from service by was of punishment, no stigma attached to it.

The employee does not suffer from any disqualification for further

employment.

Dismissal

Although discharge and dismissal have the same result, namely, the

termination of service of the employee, dismissal is more severe a

punishment than discharge. There is a stigma attached to the expression

dismissal that makes it a disqualification for future employment.

Meaning


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An integral part of human resource management is the effective handling

of grievances. Every employee has certain job expectations. When the

organisation, where the employee is working, fails to fulfil such expectations, he

develops a feeling of discontent or dissatisfaction. A dissatisfied employee is

bound to have grievances. Grievancethus, rises due to the gap between the

expectations of an employee and the extent of their fulfillment.

Definitions

Given below are a few definitions of the term Grievance.

1. Grievance means any discontent or dissatisfaction, whether expressedor not and whether valid or not, arising out of anything connected

with the company that an employee thinks, believes or even feels, is

unfair, unjust or inequitable Michael J. Jucius.

2. It is any dissatisfaction or feeling of injustice in connection with onesemployment situation that is brought to the notice of the

managementBeach.

3. It is a type of discontent which must always be expressed. A grievanceis usually more formal in character than a compliant. It can be valid or

ridiculous, and must grow out of something connected with company

operations or policy. It must involve an interpretation or application of

the provisions of the labour contract Flippo.

Characteristics of grievance

An analysis of these definitions will bring out the following

characteristics of grievance:

1. A grievance is an employees feeling of dissatisfaction.


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2. The dissatisfaction must be in respect of certain organisationalmatters. If the employee has certain domestic problems, his

employer cannot be excepted to provide remedy.

3. The dissatisfaction must be expressed or implied. Expressedgrievance takes the form of gossips, criticisms, arguments, careless

handling of tools and equipment, higher rate of labour turnover etc.

Implied grievance, on the other hand, takes such forms as

indifferent attitude towards work day dreaming, absenteeism etc.

4. The discontent may be factual or imaginary. It is factual when thelegitimate job expectations of an employee are not fulfilled. It is

imaginary when the employee develops certain needs that the

organisation is not obliged to fulfil.

Cause of Grievances

The various causes of grievances are mentioned below:

1. Unsuitable job: The employee is not given job in tune with hisqualification and experience.

2. Inadequate pay: The remuneration paid to the employee is inadequatewhen compared with the work done by him.

3.No guaranteed minimum wage: The employee is not assured ofminimum daily wage.

4. Lack of job security The service of the employee may be terminated atany time.

5. Lack of social security benefits: The employee is not entitled to suchbenefits as pension, provident fund, gratuity, insurance etc.


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6. Inadequate leave facilities: The number of days of leave the employeecan avail is inadequate.

7. Lack of incentives: There are no monetary and non-monetaryincentives to induce the employees to perform better.

8. Lack of promotion opportunities The employee has to serve in thesame position in indefinitely.

9. Irrational transfer policy of the employer An employee whodesperately needs a transfer owning to family considerations may not

be transferred. On the other hand, another employee wanting to serve

in the same town, again for family considerations, ma be transferred.

10.Poor working conditions The workplace lacks even basic amenitieslike drinking water, lighting, ventilation, toilet, canteen etc.

11.Poor supervisor-subordinate relationships The superior is always keenon finding fault with the subordinate.

Methods of knowing Grievances

The management may adopt any one or more of the following

methods to understand the grievances of employees:

1. The open-door Policy2. Complaint Boxes

3. Opinion Surveys4. Exit Interview

Each of these has been explained below.

The Open-door Policy


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Under this method, any employee, who has grievances, can enter the

managers cabin and apprise him of his problems. This is a straightforward

approach. But it has certain limitations too as stated below:

(a) In a large organisation, where there are hundreds of employeesworking, such an approach may not be suitable. The top-managers

will be disturbed often and as a result they will not be able to

concentrate in their work. Such managers believe in the concept of

Management by Exception only exceptional matters need their

participation.

(b) The supervisor, under whom the employee works, is the rightperson to understand the actual problem of the employee and

provide a remedy. Under the open door policy approach, the

employee bypasses the supervisor as he is allowed to meet the

manager directly. The supervisor, thus, becomes ineffective.

(c) The top-managers may not be familiar with the work situation inwhich the grievance developed and therefore may not be in a

position to make correct assessment.

(d) Although the employees have the liberty to meet the executivesdirectly the former may hesitate in view of psychological and social

barriers.

Complaint Boxes

Another way of knowing the grievances of the employees is to require

them to drop their written complaints in the complaint boxes kept in the


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workplace. The employees may not be required to write their names in the

complaint letters so that they can express their grievances freely.

Opinion Surveys

Opinion surveys may be conducted at regular intervals to find out the

views of the employees on the policies of the management. Such surveys

help to know the feelings, reactions and sentiments of the employees. The

management can make note of the negative remarks of the employees to

certain policy decisions and take suitable corrective action before these the

form of grievances.

Exit Interview

Employees who quit the organisation may be interviewed to know the

reason for their decision. Generally it is only those employees who have

grievances quit their organisation. The interview may reveal the specific

problem, if any, in the work environment and guide the management in

taking suitable corrective action.

Grievance Redressal Procedure

The grievance redressal procedure involves certain stages to be gone

through before finding a solution to the grievance of an employee. This has

been explained by means of a diagram below:

When an employee has a certain grievance, he has to approach his

immediate superior, namely, the supervisor. If there is a trade union in the

establishment, a representative of the union may accompany the employee.


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The supervisor, who has been approached, has only limited powers. He may

not be able to offer a solution, if the matter falls outside the purview of his

authority. In such a case, the affected employee may have to meet the

departmental head. A few office-bearers of the trade union may also

accompany the employee.

If the head of the departmental is unable to offer an acceptable

solution, the aggrieved employee, along with the trade union leaders, may

approach the top management consisting of the General Manager and the

departmental managers. If the grievance is not settled even at this stage, the

matter will be referred to an impartial outside person called the Arbitrator.

Benefits of Grievances Redressal Procedure

Having a definite procedure for redressing grievances of employees has

certain advantages. These are:

1. It brings to the knowledge of the management the existence ofgrievances among the employees.

2. It enables the employees of an enterprise to express formally theircomplaints over the management policies and practices.

3. Once the management comes to know of certain grievances among theemployees, it is sure to involve itself actively in the process of finding a

remedy. The management, thus, is prevented from being indifferent to

the needs of the employees.


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4. Once a solution is found to the grievances of the employees, it wouldmake the employees happy. This is sure to promote better employee-

employer relationships.

5. The existence of a grievance redressing procedure further prevents agrievance from assuming dangerous proportions.

6. It ensures a systematic handling of every grievance.7. It prescribes a time within which a solution must be found every

grievance.

Features of a Sound Grievance Procedure

A sound grievance procedure should fulfil following essential conditions:

1. It should not contradict the previsions of any law in force.2. It should be acceptable to both the employee and the employer.

3. It should not give scope for delay in arriving at a solution.4.As far as possible, grievances should be settled at the lower level.5. The procedure should be simple so that any employee will be in a

position to understand it

6. The supervisors, the union representatives and all those whoparticipate in the grievance redressing process should be given proper

training in grievance handling.

7. The grievance redressing procedure should be reviewed periodicallyand changes, if any required, should be made to make it more

effective.

Guidelines for better handling of Grievance


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The following guidelines have been prescribed for a better handling of

employee grievances:

1. The aggrieved employee must be fully heard.2. Every grievance must be considered important.

3. The union representative must be asked to identify any specificcontractual provision violated by the management.

4. Every grievance must be heard and resolved within the timeframe.5. The past records of the aggrieved employee must be examined.6.All grievances must be put in writing.7.All the relevant facts pertaining to a grievance must be gathered.8. The relief sought by the union must be considered.9. The procedural requirements laid down be duly complied with.10.The grievance should not be postponed in the hope that it would get

solved automatically.

11.The decision arrived at must be communicated to the employee.12.Follow-up action must be taken to determine the effect of the decision

on the aggrieved employee.

human resources management unit 21

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