The “Course Topics” series from Manage Train Learn and Slide Topics is a collection of over 4000 slides that will help you master a wide range of management and personal development skills. The 202 PowerPoints in this series offer you a complete and in-depth study of each topic. This presentation is on "Laws and Rules".

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Laws and Rules
Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
Laws and Rules
EFFECTIVE DISCIPLINE

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Laws and Rules
Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
The Course Topics series from Manage Train Learn is a large collection of topics that will help you as a learner
to quickly and easily master a range of skills in your everyday working life and life outside work. If you are a
trainer, they are perfect for adding to your classroom courses and online learning plans.
COURSE TOPICS FROM MTL
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Laws and Rules
Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
ARE YOU READY?
OK, LET’S START!

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Laws and Rules
Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
INTRODUCTION
Just as in society at large, where morals, laws and accepted
ways of behaviour are necessary for people to live together,
so, in the microcosm of society that an organisation is,
similar codes of conduct are necessary to ensure freedom
with responsibility and individuality with the common good.
In times of unprecedented change, the art of managing is to
find ways to encourage people to question, overturn and
break rules within a framework of order and discipline.

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Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
CONFORMANCE
There is a range of conformance requirements which
organisations place on employees.
These are...
1. the laws of the land which can encompass employment
laws, including safety laws, financial laws and criminal laws
2. rules of behaviour as laid down by the organisation
3. standards of performance which are reasonably expected
in any particular job
4. targets of performance at either individual levels or group
levels
5. guidelines, procedures and systems which employees
should follow in order to do the job
6. norms, values and cultures which employees need to
conform to as part of the way the organisation does things.

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Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
LAWS OF THE LAND
The employees of an organisation are subject to the laws of
the land when they are at work. The organisation - through
its owners and managers - are also subject to the laws of the
land. Today those laws may include not just national Acts of
Parliament and common law but international law as well.
There is a range of different types of law that affect people
in work. These include...
1. Company laws
2. Employment laws
3. Finance laws
4. Business laws
5. Criminal laws
6. Environment laws
7. Safety laws
8. Specific industry laws.

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Laws and Rules
Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
RULES OF BEHAVIOUR
Rules are the "musts" in an organisation. They are the
collection of behaviours thought necessary to ensure the
best ways of working together and complying with laid-
down practices.
Rules may be either explicitly expressed or implicitly
understood.
Explicitly expressed rules include...
1. compliance with procedures and regulations, eg you
must not operate machines without guards in place
2. compliance with conditions of work, eg you must be at
work two minutes before starting time
3. compliance with best practice, eg you must keep work
areas clean.
Implicitly understood rules are mainly based on moral
imperatives of right and wrong, eg you must not steal, you
must not lie, you must not cheat.

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Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
CODES OF CONDUCT
Codes of Conduct are explicit statements of how employees
are expected to behave in their organisations particularly in
the areas of business ethics, personal morality, relationships
and honesty. Some people see them as an updated version
of rules of behaviour, filling in the gaps left by schools,
families and church.
In a survey of 178 top UK companies, the Institute of
Business Ethics found that the number of organisations
using codes of conduct had risen from 18% in 1987 to 57%
in 1998.
"Years ago it was accepted that dishonesty was wrong but
now it is more likely to be seen as clever. People need a
code of conduct to make clear what is acceptable and what
is not." (Stanley Kiaer)

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Effective Discipline
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CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS
In the past, workplace rules were based on listing
misdemeanours and what would happen to employees if
they were caught breaking the rules. The following rules and
penalties are taken from the 1865 rulebook of the
Buckingham foundry works.
1. For smoking in the works: 1s 0d
2. For introducing a stranger into the works without leave:
2s 6d.
3. For taking another person's tools without their
permission: 0s 6d.
4. For striking any person in the works: 2s 6d.
5. For washing, putting on his coat or leaving work before
the appointed time: 0s 6d.
6. For defacing a machine: 2s 6d.
7. For swearing or using indecent language: 1s 6d.
8. For reading a book or newspaper in the working hours: 0s
6d.

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Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
TABOOS
Different societies at different times have experienced what
happens when a bad law or excessive laws are passed.
Without the willing consent or support of the people, they
become ignored, broken and ridiculed. Prohibition in the
United States in the 1920's and 30's is one example; the UK
Poll tax another.
Excessive rule-making in particular becomes counter-
productive after a certain point. The authorities themselves
then become legitimate targets of protest. Down the
centuries, people have equated excessive rule-making with
excessive rule-breaking.
"The more taboos and restrictions there are in the world,
the poorer the people will be. The more laws and
regulations are made prominent, the more thieves and
robbers there will be." (Lao-Tzu 600BC)

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Effective Discipline
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SENSIBLE STANDARDS
Sensible rules are those that are acceptable to most people
and so not likely to give rise to disciplinary problems.
Sensible rules are those which are...
1. workable. Rules should be relevant, realistic and
enforceable.
2. agreed. Rules should be part of the initial terms of
working, new rules should be agreed through the
normal process of consultation.
3. positively expressed. Rules should be stated in positive
terms so that preferred behaviours are indicated, rather
than negative terms.
4. reasonable. Rules that have explanations are more
likely to be accepted than those without.
5. minimal. The fewer rules the better for both
supervision and staff.
6. widely publicised and followed through.

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Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
STANDARDS AND SKILLS
Standards are levels of work performance. They can be set
at organisational, group and personal level. So an individual
may do well as a member of a team but still under-perform
in relation to what he or she could do.
Although standards are based on skills, the standard we
perform to in an organisation is complicated. Performance
depends on motivation (do we want to?), personal talent
and training (do we have the natural or learned ability?),
and team dynamics (does the team help us perform?).
Standards may be laid down at three benchmarks: minimum
standard, average standard and excellent standard. It is
likely that continuous performance at or below minimum
level will result in some form of action by management at
some stage.

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Effective Discipline
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MEETING STANDARDS
Standards of work originate from three sources:
1. Industry and professional standards. In recent years,
particularly since the advent of National Vocational
Qualifications (NVQ's), industry-wide professions have laid
down the standards expected of those in the workplace.
2. Company and quality standards. Standards set within the
organisation itself are likely to be based on the quality
standards expected by the organisation's customers.
3. Personal standards. In addition to professional and
company standards, we each may set our own levels of
minimum, average and excellent standards. In groups, these
may be kept low to take into account the poorest performer.
Personal standards may by contrast be exceptionally high.

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Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
IMPROVING STANDARDS
The aim of all people management is to encourage people
to work to consistently high standards. To accomplish this,
you need to...
1. Let everyone know what normal standards are but
encourage individuals to perform to their own personal
best
2. Relate the importance of reaching standards to one of
the following: customer service; organisational
efficiency; personal development
3. Where people fail to meet minimum standards
regularly, consider training, coaching and instructing
before considering discipline
4. Use the SMART mnemonic to specify standards: ie
specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-
bounded
5. Practise the highest standards yourself and let others
see you doing so.

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Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
TARGETS
Some jobs use targets instead of standards to measure work
performance. These include sales jobs, managers in
Management by Objectives schemes (MBO) and production
operators who are set output targets.
The difference between targets and standards is that
performance is measured on outputs rather than inputs: if
the target is achieved (whatever the standard used to
achieve it), then performance is satisfactory.
It is likely that where employees consistently fail to hit
target, some form of work review will be necessary.
Although this is best considered in terms of internal
organisation, (eg are the right people in the right jobs?),
disciplinary measures are often used to deal with the
problem.

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Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
GUIDELINES
Guidelines and workplace procedures are the more explicit,
and often written, ways in which standards of behaviour and
work performance are expected to be carried out.
Laying down guidelines on how employees should perform
has the advantage that...
1. it is easier to teach and train large numbers of people
2. it results in a consistent standard
3. it makes the job of supervision and control easier.
The main disadvantage of laying down guidelines is that a
standardised way of performing is usually an average or
mediocre one and does not encourage employees to reach
for the highest standard possible.

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Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
OPERATING A TILL
The following guidelines were used as the standard till
operating procedure at Marks and Spencer’s stores. They
were the prescribed way for cashiers to ring up any item.
1. Welcome the customer.
2. Enter the coded digit number for each product into the
till.
3. Check the till price with the product price.
4. State the price to the customer. If there is a discrepancy
call the supervisor.
5. Press the "item" key.
6. Press the "subtotal" key.
7. Tell the customer how much there is to pay.
8. Place the product to one side.
9. Ask the customer how they would like to pay.

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Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
NORMS
Norms, values and culture describe the difficult-to-define
notion of "the way we do things around here". They may
also be described as "custom and practice".
Norms, values and cultures, while not being specific in the
way that rules and guidelines are, are just as important for
the way people behave. People who do not fit in with the
organisation's way of working, even if they possess the skills
and motivation, are likely at some point to be in conflict
with the organisation. Disciplinary action may be vital either
to enforce compliance with the way the organisation works
or to sever the relationship altogether.
The word "norm" comes from the Latin "norma" which
originally was a carpenter's tool for measuring right angles.
"Normal" derives from this root, meaning "according to
rule", "not deviating from standard".

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Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
MODELS OF CULTURES
Terence Deal and Allan Kennedy researched the link
between organisational cultures and individual behaviour.
They discovered that where culture and behaviour were
compatible, companies performed better than where there
was a mismatch.
Deal and Kennedy placed organisations into four types of
groups based on the level of risk in decision taking (high or
low) and on the level of feedback (rapid or delayed) of those
decisions.
They called their four types of culture...
1. Work hard, play hard (low risk, rapid feedback)
2. Process (low risk, delayed feedback)
3. Tough guy (high risk, delayed feedback)
4. Bet-your-company (high risk, rapid feedback)

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Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
WORK HARD, PLAY HARD
A "work hard, play hard" culture is one of low risk in
decision-taking and high feedback on those decisions. Of the
four types of organisational culture described by Deal and
Kennedy, it is the most high-powered and exciting.
This type of culture is typified by...
• a world of fun and action
• friendly, hail-fellow-well-met types
• heroes found amongst the super salesmen and women
who get results
• flash image (Gucci suits, Armani shoes)
• quick-fix solutions; a love of trendy gadgets
• quick-talkers
• short-term perspective
• fast socialising together.
Examples: sales, retail, computers, property

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Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
PROCESS
A "process" culture is one of low risk in decision-taking and
delayed feedback on those decisions. Of the four types of
culture described by Deal and Kennedy, it is the most un-
businesslike and risk-free.
This type of culture is typified by...
• the world of little risk and little feedback
• the empty in-tray as a benchmark to how well you work
• heroes who are orderly, punctual, attend to detail and
protective
• long hours, boring work
• people who dress according to rank
• people who like to discuss memos
• people who enjoy process sports, such as swimming.
Examples: banking, insurance, local authority

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Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
TOUGH GUY
A "tough guy" culture is one of high risk in decision-taking
and delayed feedback on those decisions. Of the four types
of culture described by Deal and Kennedy, it is the most
individualistic.
This type of culture is typified by...
• the world of fast fortunes
• individualism and tough negotiation
• little dwelling on past mistakes
• short-term in orientation
• people who dress in the current fashion
• people who like sports or pastimes they can win at eg
tennis, chess
• people who enjoy point-scoring off each other.
Examples: consultancy; advertising; entertainment

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Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
BET YOUR COMPANY
A "bet-your-company" culture is one of high risk in decision-
taking and quick feedback on those decisions. Of the four
types of culture described by Deal and Kennedy, it is the
most enduring and reliable.
This type of culture is typified by...
• the world of high-stake decisions and long waits for
payoffs
• people who can endure long-term ambiguity
• people who always double-check their decisions
• slow changes
• strong respect for authority
• people who can generate high-quality inventions
• people who like sports where the outcome is unclear
until the end eg golf.
Examples: oil, aerospace, the military

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Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
THAT’S
IT!
WELL DONE!

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Effective Discipline
MTL Course Topics
THANK YOU
This has been a Slide Topic from Manage Train Learn