People need to be motivated, inspired and prepared to conform to rules and regulations and behave accordingly for the desired level of performance. Indiscipline if entertained in an organisation would cost the business a colossal amount of money. Absence of effective leadership results in poor management in the areas of direction, guidance, instructions. This in turn, results in indiscipline.
Maintaining discipline and controlling the behaviour of the employees and forcing them to follow rules and regulations is the supervisory responsibility with leaders setting the tone. Immediate supervisor is the boss of the employees and many disciplinary problems emerge due to poor or faulty supervision.
Build a good workplace
A good foundation has to be built with the right attitude by the employer. Employers’ attitudes towards their employees are also cause for indiscipline. Employers’ have certain obligations to be fulfilled e.g. ensuring safety at workplace, healthy conditions, adequate tools and implements, supply of raw materials, conforming to rules and regulations, payment of adequate wages and salaries. The breach of these obligations by the employers will lead to indiscipline.
Communication barriers and absence of humane approach on the part of superiors result in frustration and indiscipline among the workers. The management should clearly formulate the policies regarding discipline. These policies should be communicated and the policies should be consistently followed in the organisations.
The management should also be empathetic towards the employees. There must be an effective two-way communication channel. Especially upward communication. Superiors must listen to the feelings and opinions of lower level staff. Lack of this channel of communication is responsible for employee dissent and indiscipline.
If and when the rules are not complied with, consistent disciplinary actions must be there in the organisation to provide equal justice to all concerned. At different times and for everyone, the same standard of disciplinary measures should be taken otherwise it may give rise to growing indiscipline in the industry in future.
The judicious function of the past of management must be free from any bias, privilege or favouritism. There should be uniformity in application of rules. Everybody should be treated equally before rules. Breach of rules by any employee should not be allowed and rule breakers should be dealt with firmly and in a timely manner.
Divide and rule policy
Delay in solving personnel problems develops frustration among individual workers. The management should be proactive so that there is no discontent among the workers. It should adopt a parental attitude towards its employees. However no relationship can continue for long if it is one sided; workers should also live up to their commitments.
Managements adopting divide and rule policy also create an atmosphere of misunderstanding and chaos keeping the employees divided and killing team spirit. Many old school leaders obtain secret information about other employees through their trusted assistants – tail-carriers.
The spying on employees only produces a vicious and undesirable atmosphere in the organisation. Dividing enemy forces to weaken them is clever, but dividing one’s own team is a grave sin against the business. No management skill is necessary to divide personnel, but integrating personnel into a team is the challenging task of sound management.
A two-way effective communication channel plays an important and significant role in removing misunderstanding and maintaining cordial relationship among and between employees and management. Mis-judgment in personnel matters like promotion and placements contribute to the growth of indiscipline in an enterprise. Cases of mis-judgment are carefully noted, widely circulated, and hotly debated by the employees.
Expecting discipline from misruled people is not possible. Sometimes, undesired persons are placed on the jobs which makes the employees discontented, then giving rise to the problem of indiscipline.
Finally, never forget that employees are human beings. As human beings employees have certain rights which should not be violated in any case. Some of these rights are, they must be treated with respect, they should be allowed to express themselves or raise their voice, right to contribute to the best of their abilities, right to justice, right to security of service, right for self-development. If these rights are violated and they are suppressed they will feel dissatisfied. Discontent will prevail which will lead to gross indiscipline.