The document discusses the principles and methods of discipline in nursing management, emphasizing the importance of a positive attitude, prompt action, and clear communication in addressing undesired behaviors. It outlines various approaches to discipline including traditional, developmental, and self-controlled methods, as well as common errors that can occur during disciplinary procedures. Additionally, it details the stages of disciplinary proceedings, including the necessary steps and rights of civil servants under specific service rules.

1. DISCIPLINE
By
Mr. Abhijit Bhoyar

2. INTRODUCTION
ONE METHOD BY WHICH A NURSE
MANAGER CAN CONTROL
SUBORDINATES BEHAVIOUR IS TO
INVOKE OFFICIAL DISCIPLINARY
PROCEDURE.
DISCIPLINE CAN BE SELF-CONTROL BY WHICH AN
EMPLOYEE BRINGS HIS OR HER BEHAVIOUR INTO
AGREEMENT WITH THE AGENCY‘S OFFICIAL BEHAVIOUR
CODE

3. DEFINITION
Discipline is defined as a training
or moulding of the mind and
character to bring about desired
behaviours.

4. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF
DISCIPLINE
• To obtain a willing acceptance of the rules,
regulations and procedures of an
organization so that organizational goals
can be achieved.
• To impart an element of certainty despite
several differences in informal behavior
patterns and other related changes in an
organization
• To develop among the employees a spirit
of tolerance and a desire to make
adjustments

5. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
OF DISCIPLINE
• To give and seek direction and
responsibility
• To create an atmosphere of respect
for the human personality and human
relations
• To increase the working efficiency
and morale of the employees so that
their productivity is stepped up, the
cost of production brought down and
the quality of production improved.

6. PRINCIPLES OF
DISCIPLINARY ACTION
1. Have a positive
attitude
2. Investigate
carefully
3. Be prompt
4. Protect privacy
5. Focus on the act
6. Enforce rules
consistently
7. Be flexible
8. Advise the
employee
9. Take corrective,
consistent action
10.Follow up

7. Have a positive attitude
• The manager‘s attitude is very important in
preventing or correcting undesirable
behavior.
• People tend to do what is expected of them.
Therefore the manager must maintain a
positive attitude by expecting the best from
the staff.

8. Investigate carefully
• The ramifications of a disciplinary action are
serious.
• If a staff nurse is disciplined unfairly or
unnecessarily, the effects on the entire staff nurse
may be severe. Therefore managers must proceed
with caution.
• They should collect facts, check allegations, and
even ask the accused employees for their side of
the story

9. Be prompt
• If the disciplinary action is
delayed, the relationship
between the punishment and
the offense becomes less clear

10. Protect privacy
• Disciplinary actions affect the ego of the staff
nurse.
• Discussing the situation in private, causes less
resentment and greater chance for future co-
operation. However, a public reprimand may be
necessary for the nurse who does not take
private criticism seriously

11. Focus on the act
• When disciplining a staff nurse, the
manager should emphasize that it was the
act that was unacceptable, not the
employee

12. Enforce rules
consistently
• Consistency reduces the possibility of
favoritism, promotes predictability, and
fosters acceptance of penalties.

13. • Be flexible: individuals and
circumstances are never the same. A
penalty should be determined only after
the entire record is reviewed.
• Advise the employee: The employees
must be informed that their conduct is
not acceptable. Anecdoctal notes can
be of little value if the staff nurse is not
informed of the contents promptly.

14. Take corrective, consistent action: The manager should be sure that
the staff nurse understands that the behavior was contrary to the
organizations requirements.
Follow up: The manager should quietly investigate to determine
whether the staff nurse behavior has changed. If not, the manager
should determine the reason for the nurse‘s attitude.

15. COMPONENTS OF A
DISCIPLINARY ACTION
PROGRAM
1. CODES OF CONDUCT
2. AUTHORISED PENALTIES
3. RECORDS OF OFFENCES AND CORRECTIVE
MEASURES
4. RIGHT OF APPEAL

16. APPROACHES OF
DISCIPLINE
• TRADITIONAL APPROACH
• DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH
• POSITIVE DISCIPLINE APPROACH
• SELF CONTROLLED DISCIPLINE APPROACH
• ENFORCED DISCIPLINE APPROACH

17. TRADITIONAL
APPROACH
• It emphasizes punishment for undesirable behaviour.
• The purposes of traditional discipline are punishment for
sin, enforce conformity to custom, and strengthen
authority of the old over the young.
• Here discipline is always applied by superiors to
subordinates, the severity of punishments is designed to
be proportional to the severity of the offense, and when
no single individual admits to the violation, the whole
group is punished to motivate group members to identify
the violator or punish him or her themselves

18. DEVELOPMENTAL
APPROACH
• It emphasizes discipline as a shaper of desirable
behavior.
• The purpose of developmental discipline is to
shape behaviour by providing favourable
consequences for the right behavior and
unfavorable consequences for the wrong
behavior; and avoidance of physical punishment,
protection of the rights of the accused and
replacement of arbitrary individual judgments of
guilt

19. POSITIVE DISCIPLINE APPROACH
It is based on the assumption that an employee with self-respect, respect for authority, and
interest in the job will adhere to high quality work standards; and when an interested,
respectful and self-respecting worker temporarily strays from his/ her usually highs
standards, a friendly reminder is enough to redirect their efforts in the desired direction
Organisations that have employed a positive discipline have noted a subsequent decrease
in absences, dissmisals, disciplinary actions, grievances and arbitration, along with
improvement of employee morale.

20. SELF CONTROLLED
DISCIPLINE APPROACH
• The employees bring his or her
behaviour into agreement with the
organisations behavioural official
code i.e. the employees regulate their
own activities for the common good of
the organisation.
• As a result human beings are
reduced to work for a peak
performance under self controlled
discipline.

21. ENFORCED DISCIPLINE APPROACH
A managerial action enforces compliance
with organisations‘ rules and regulations. It
is a common discipline imposed from the
top.
Here the manager exercises his authority
to compel the employees to behave in a
particular way.

22. DEALING WITH
DISCIPLINARY
PROBLEMS
• Disciplinary action may be ineffective
because of methodological weakness or of
procedural omissions by the manager.
Methodological problems result from
improper documentation of disciplinary
interview and procedural problems from
failure to apply discipline in a timely fashion
and to follow due process.

23. 1. DISCIPLINARY
CONFERENCE
• It is a group discussion using both
directive and non-directive interview
techniques. It is damaging to
employee‘s self-esteem to receive
criticism from an authoritative figure.
Thus a disciplinary conference is
anxiety provoking situation for both
employee and the manager.

24. 2.
DISCIPLINARY LETTER
• It is a letter send to the
nurse/employee immediately after the
conference, documenting the
interview content from the
managers viewpoint. It is needed as
sometimes employee‘s anxiety may
block perception of the painful
feedback offered by the manager.

25. 3. MODEL
STANDING ORDERS
• It specifies the terms and conditions
which govern day to day employer-
employee relationship, infringement
of which could result in a charge
of misconduct

26. ERRORS IN DISCIPLINIG EMPLOYEES
The frequent errors
encountered while
disciplining the
employees are:
Delay in
administering
discipline
Ignoring rule
violation in hope
that it is an isolated
event
Accumulations of
rule violations,
causing irritated
manager to ―blow
up‖
Administering
sweetened
discipline
Failure to administer
progressively
severe sanctions
Failure to document
disciplinary actions
accurately
Imposing discipline
disproportionate to
the seriousness of
the offense
Disciplining
inconsistently

27. DISCIPLINARY
PROCEEDINGS
ENQUIRY IN
MANAGEMENT
• CSR(CENTRAL CIVIL
SERVICES RULES) AND
KCSR(KARNATAKA CIVIL
SERVICES RULES)

28. General Civil Services Rules
Article 311 of the
constitution enumerates
two fundamental principles
upon which the whole
procedural law concerning
departmental punishments
on civil servants rests.
The first clause of the
article contains the
guarantee that no civil
servant shall be dismissed
or removed by an authority
surbordinate to that by
which he was appointed.
The second clause
guarantees to him a
reasonable opportunity of
defence on the charges
against him,
supplemented by a
second opportunity of
showing cause why such a
punishment should not be
imposed on him, if after
enquiry it is proposed to
dismiss or to remove or to
reduce him in rank.

29. • Only the appointing authority can impose
major punishment (dismissal, removal or
reduction in rank).
• The power of punishment can never be
delegated.
• Enquiry officer is a officer subordinate to
the appointing authority; who conducts
formal enquiry about the charges on the
charged official. The enquiry report
contains findings of the charges, but
there should be no recommendations
about the punishment.

30. CAUSES OF DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS
A. Acts
1. Acts
amounting to
crimes
Eg. Bribery,
corruption
2. Acts
amounting to
misdemeanor
Eg.
Misbehavior,
insurbordinatio
n,
disobedience
3. Acts
amounting to
misconduct
Eg. Violation of
conduct rules
or standing
orders
B. Omissions
Eg. Habitual
late
attendance,
irresponsibility,
negligence

31. STAGES OF DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDING
ENQUIRY
• Preliminary enquiry
• Decision to start formal departmental enquiry
• Suspension
• Charge sheet and its service
• Appointment of enquiry officer
• Written statement of defence
• Recording of evidence by the enquiry officer
• Personal hearing of charged official
• Report of enquiry officer
• Show cause notice by the disciplinary authority

32. • Reply to show-cause notice and decision thereon
• Review of punishment order
• Appeal or revision
• Reinstatement and restitution
• Show-cause notice against withholding of emoluments for suspension
period in the case of a reinstated.

33. Thank you