Discipline as Self-control: Discipline at one level means training that corrects,moulds, strengthens, or per fects the behaviour.

Discipline, in this sense, refers tothe development of an i ndividual, i.e., one s efforts at self-control for the purposeof adjusting oneself to certain needs and demands. This is nothing but what youwould call self-disci pline. You will agree with us that it is extremely importantto have this kind of self-discipline both in you and in your subordinates for effectively and effici ently achieving your organisational objectives. Here againthe emphasis is on est ablishing and ensuring a minimum degree of orderliness.This orderliness is obtai ned in the modern work context by increasing thedegree and extent of compliance by subordinates. Let us examine it a little more closely. TYPES OF DISCIPLINE Discipline may be of two types: positive and negative. Positive discipline or'se lf-discipline' is the best discipline. This refers to an organizational atmosphe rein which subordinates willingly abide by rules, which they consider fair. Thet echniques followed by the management to achieve this type of discipline include positive motivational activities such as praise, participation and incentive pay . Negative or punitive discipline is one in which management hasto exert pressur e or hold out threat by imposing penalties on wrong doers. When this pressure be comes increasingly severe each time a man is disciplined, it iscalled "progressi ve" or "corrective" discipline.

DISCIPLINARY ACTION PROCEDURE To start with, based on any misconduct committed by the employee or complaint, a preliminary enquiry is called for. Then disciplinary authority has to initiate a ction.The following authorities are laid by the organisation for various levels of employees: a)Disciplinary authority; b)Appellate authority; and c)Reviewing authority.Based on judicial pronouncement, elaborate procedure have been evolved which has tobe followed to avoid infirmities in the disciplinary ac tion. Various 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. rity, 6. 7. stages involved arebriefly indicated as under: preliminary enquiry, framing and serving of charge sheet, holding of domestic enquiry, report of the enquiry officer, consideration of the report of the enquiry officer by disciplinary autho order of punishment and its communication, and appeal

Stages of Disciplinary Action Proceedings 1) Issue of the Charge-Sheet Delinquent employee is to be issued a charge-sheet call him to submit his explan ationwithin a specified period of time. This charge-sheet should be drafted in a clear andunambiguous language so that the workman does not have any difficulty in understanding the charges that he has to answer. Wherever possible, the relev

antclause of the company s standing orders should be mentioned in a charge-sheet. If thecharge relates to an incident, the date, time and place of the occurrence should bementioned. Proper care should be taken in framing the charge-sheet, for the validity of the punishment would depend on the enquiry of the misconduct me ntioned in thecharge-sheet. The charge-sheet should be in the local language.The charge-sheet framed against delinquent employee and duly signed by thedisciplin ary authority should be served on him personally if possible andacknowledgement to the effect should be obtained from him. In case the workman isabsent, or if h e refuses to accept the charge-sheet when presented to him, the sameshould be se nt to his local and home addresses by post under-registered cover withacknowledg ements due, after getting his refusal attested by two witnesses. In case thechar ge-sheet is returned unserved with the remarks of the postal authorities, the sa meshould be kept intact without opening. In such a case, the employer should dis play thecharge-sheet on the notice board or act in accordance with the provision s of thestanding orders. In some cases, it may be necessary to public the conten ts of thecharge-sheet in a local newspaper having wide publicity . 2) Suspension Pending Enquiry In a case where the charges levelled against a workman are of serious nature and it isconsidered by the disciplinary authority that his physical presence might endanger thesafety of other workmen, or if it is apprehended that he might intim idate others ortamper with the evidence, he may be suspended. During the period of suspensionpending enquiry, the workman will get subsistence allowance as per rules. 3) Consideration of the Explanation After a charge-sheet has been served on a workman for reply he may submit his ex planation: i)admitting the charges and requesting for mercy, or ii)denying the charges and requesting for an enquiry, or iii)not submitting any explanation at all, or iv)requesting for more time to submit explanation.In a case where the workman ad mits the charge which is of a minor nature and begsfor mercy, no enquiry is held and decision is taken accordingly on the charge-sheet. If,however the misconduct is serious enough to warrant discharge or dismissal, t hemanagement should still arrange to hold a proper enquiry, the admission of the charges not withstanding.In a case where the workman submits an explanation ment ioning that the chargeslevelled against him are false, baseless, motivated, conc octed, etc. A proper enquiry asper procedure should be held before awarding any punishment.When the workman fails to submit any explanation within the specified time limit, themanagement should take steps to hold a proper enquiry.When the w orkman concerned makes a bonafide request on reasonable grounds forextension of time to submit explanation, the same should be granted.

4) Notice for Holding the Enquiry After consideration of the explanation of the charge-sheeted workman or when nor eply is received within the specified time limit, the disciplinary authority sho uld issuean order appointing an enquiry officer or an enquiry committee to hold the enquiry of the charge-sheet. The enquiry officer can be an official of the c ompany, or even an outsider, but care should be taken to appoint only such a per son as enquiry officerwho is neither a witness nor is personally interested in a ny way in the matter for whichthe charge-sheet has been issued. It should also c ontain the name of the managementrepresentative.Thereafter, the enquiry officer

should issue a notice of enquiry. This notice of enquiryshould clearly mention t he date, time and place of enquiry. It should ask the workmanto present himself with his witnesses/documentary evidence, if any, for the enquiry. Itshould also be mentioned in the notice of enquiry that if the workman fails to attendthe enq uiry on the appointed date and time, the same will he held ex-parte. Areasonable period of time should be given to the workman for preparing his defencebefore t he enquiry is held. 5) Holding of the Enquiry The object of holding an enquiry is to find out whether the workman is guilty of thecharges levelled against him in the charge-sheet, or not. In doing so, the e nquiryofficer gives the workman a reasonable opportunity to defend himself by cr oss-examining the witnesses/documentary evidence/exhibits produced against him a nd byexamining the witnesses/documentary evidence in his defence. The workmancon cerned can also make statement in his defence apart from what is stated in reply tothe charge-sheet. It should be clearly understood that it is for the manageme nt srepresentative, i.e., evidence officer to prove the charges against a workman byadducing evidence during the enquiry and it is not the workman who has to prov e hisinnocence. Unless management side has been able to prove the case against t he workman, he should not be considered guilty.

6) The Enquiry On the appointed date and time, fixed for the enquiry, the following persons sho uld bepresent apart from the enquiry officer. 1. Presenting Officer: He is the person who will lead the case from themana gement s side by producing witnesses and relevant documentary evidence insupport o f the charge. He may himself be a witness, in which case he is the firstperson t o be examined. The presenting officer has a right to cross-examine acharge-sheet ed workman as well as the witness/documentary evidence produced by him. 2. Delinquent Employee: No enquiry can be said to have been held as perproc edure in the absence of the charge-sheeted employee. However if he refusesto tak e part in the enquiry after presenting himself, or when he does not reportfor th e enquiry despite receiving the notice to him, the enquiry may proceed ex-parte, provided in the notice of the enquiry a specific mention to that effect hadbeen made. Also, if during the enquiry, the delinquent employee withdrawshimself, th e same me be held ex-parte. In such a case, it is not advisable topostpone the e nquiry and give another opportunity to the delinquent employeerather than holdin g ex-parte enquiry. In a case, where the delinquent employeeturns up for the enq uiry after some witnesses have been examined, it would beproper for the enquiry officer to allow him to participate in the enquiry afterrecording this fact in t he proceedings. The enquiry officer should recall thewitnesses who have already been examined in the absence of the delinquentemployee so that he get an opportu nity to cross-examine such witnesses. 3. Representative of the Delinquent Employee: If the delinquent employee writesto the charge-sheet or makes a subsequent reque st that he should be allowed totake a knowledgeable co-worker of his choice to a ssist him in the enquiry, thesame should normally be allowed. In some companies, union committee member of the recognised trade union is allowed to attend an en quiry on the specificrequest of the workman, to either assist him or play the ro le of an observer as perprocedure. 4. The Procedure of Enquiry:

At the commencement of the enquiry, if thedelinquent employee is present, the en quiry officer should record the date, timeand place of enquiry, names of the per sons present and obtain their signatures onthe order-sheet. Thereafter, he shoul d proceed as follows: Read out and explain the charges and the reply of the charge-sheet to thedelinqu ent employee and get his confirmation to that effect. In case thedelinquent empl oyee has not accepted the charge in reply to the charge-sheet,he should be asked if he pleads guilty of the charges. If the charges areadmitted, that should be recorded and signatures of all concerned, with date,should be taken. A full-fled ged enquiry need not be held if the misconduct isof a minor nature. In case the charge, if proved, is serious enough to warrantdischarge or dismissal, the prope r course is to hold the enquiry. Explain to the delinquent employee concerned the procedure to befollowed in the enquiry, viz., that the presenting officer will producewitnesses/documentary evi dence/exhibits in support of the charge andthe delinquent employee will have opp ortunity to cross examine. Thereafterthe delinquent employee should be given opp ortunity to produce hiswitnesses/ and the management representative will have a right tocross-examine them. The delinquent employee will have further opportunity to make statement, if any, in his defence. At any stage of the enquiry, the enquiry officer can seek clari fication from any witness or the delinquent employee by puffingquestions to him. Neither the presenting officer nor the delinquent employeecan put leading quest ions to their respective witnesses. Witnesses in support of the charge are to be examined one by one in thepresence of the delinquent employee. The charge-sheeted workman is to be given an opportunity to cross-examinemanagem ent s witnesses. In case he declines to cross-examine any witness,an endorsement t o that effect should be recorded by the enquiry officer. The delinquent employee should be asked to produce his own witnesses oneby one a nd the presenting officer will be allowed to cross-examine them. Thedelinquent e mployee should be asked to give his statement after his witnessesare examined an d cross-examined. He may also produce documentaryevidence, if any. In case the d elinquent employee declines to produce anywitness/documentary evidence or declin es to give any statement, the enquiryofficer should make a record to that effect in the order-sheet and obtainsignatures of all concerned. If the enquiry remain s incomplete in the firstsitting and some more witnesses are required to be exam ined, it may becontinued or any other day mutually agreed by both sides. In such a case, theenquiry officer should make a suitable endorsement in the order-shee t andobtain signatures of all concerned. On each. page of the enquiry proceedings, the signature with date of thecharge-s heeted workman, his representative, if any, the concernedwitness and the managem ent representative should be taken. Theconcerned witness should sign on each pag e of his statement only. Theenquiry officer will sign on each page of the procee dings after endorsing thatthe statement has been recorded by him and explained t o the parties in theirlanguage before they were asked to sign. If the delinquent employee refuses to put his signature even after he had been asked to do so, th e enquiry officershould make an endorsement to that effect and get it attested b y otherspresent.e Ex-parte Enquiry: If, on the day fixed for the enquiry, the delinquent employeedoes not turn up, a n ex-parte enquiry may be held by following the usualprocedure. In such an enqui

ry, the presenting officer has to lead the evidenceagainst the charge-sheeted wo rkman. The enquiry officer, by putting questions tothe witnesses, get facers to come to reasonable conclusion about the validity orotherwise of the charges. As stated earlier, it is advisable to fix another date of enquiry, instead of holdi ng an ex-parte enquiry on the first sitting itself. The Enquiry Report: After the enquiry is over the enquiry officer makes anappreciation of the evide nce on record and comes to his conclusion. If there is nocorrobortive evidence o n a particular point, the enquiry officer has to give his own reasons for accept ing or rejecting the evidence of such a witness. The enquiry report isa document which should clearly indicate whether the charges levelled against thedelinquen t employee are proved or not. The conclusion of the enquiry officer shouldbe log ical and based only on evidence brought out during the enquiry. Tne enquiryoffic er may record clearly and precisely his conclusions with reasons for the same.Th ere is no place for any conjecture or surmises in the enquiry report. It should besuch that as per the evidence on record, any impartial man, not connected with thecase, should be able to come to the same conclusion as that of the enquiry o fficer.

7) Final Decision of the Disciplinary Authority The enquiry report is submitted to the Disciplinary Authority. Before he takes a decision on the findings of the enquiry officer, he is required to furnish a cop y of theenquiry officer s report to the concerned employee. If he agrees with the findings of the enquiry officer, after considering the gravity of the misconduct and the past recordof the delinquent employee equitable treatment with preceden ts of action taken, etc., hemay pass an order on the quantum of punishment after recording his reasons for thesame in writing. An order in writing is passed to that effect and is communicated tothe delinquent employee.In case the disciplina ry authority decides to punish the employee for his misconduct,the following are the punishments, which he can impose, depending upon the severecyof the miscond uct. There are two kinds of punishment: i)Minor Punishments a)Warning or Sensor; b)Fine (keeping the provisions of Section 8 of Payment of Wages Act inview); and c)Withholding of increment (either with cumulative effect or non-cumulativeeffec t). ii)Major Punishments a)Demotion; b)Discharge; and c)Dismissal A letter communicating the order of discharge/dismissal should set out clearly t hecharge(s) proved against the delinquent employee and the date from which the o rder isto become effective. Normally, the order of discharge/dismissal should be effectivefrom the date of the order, unless there is an express provision in th e standing ordersto the contrary . 8) Appeal An employee can appeal against an order imposing upon him any of the penalties. Theappellate authority may confirm, enhance, reduce or set-aside the penalty. 9) Conclude

It is the employer s right to direct its internal administration and maintain disc ipline.However, before passing an order of discharge or dismissal, the employer has toarrange for a fair and proper enquiry in consonance with the principles of natural justice. The reason is that its decision may not be reversed by the adj udicator at a laterdate, if the workman raises an industrial dispute challenging the order. A domestic enquiry need not be conducted in accordance with the technicalrequire ments of a criminal trial but they must fairly conducted and in holding them,con sideration of fair play and natural justice must govern the conduct of the enquiry o fficer. A domestic enquiry must be conducted with an open mind, honestlyand bona fide, with a view to determine whether the charge framed against thedelinquent e mployee is proved or not. In today s context, no employer can discharge or dismiss a delinquent workman even for a serious misconduct without following an elaborate procedure for takingdisc iplinary action. An employer can be guilty and penalised, if the adjudicator fin dsthat there was want of good faith; or there was victimisation or unfair labour practices; or the management was guilty of a basic error or violation of a princ iple of natural justice; or on the grounds that the finding was completely basel ess or perverse.

Hot-stove Rule This rule, so called by Douglas McGregor, draws an analogy between touching ahot stove and undergoing discipline. When a person touches a hot stove: 1. The burn is immediate.

2. He had warning. Particularly if the stove was red hot he knew what would happen if he touched it. 3. The effect is consistent. Every one who touches a red-hot stove would be burned. 4. The effect is impersonal. A person is burned not because of who he is bu t because he touched the hot stove. 5. The effect is commensurate with the gravity of misconduct. A person whor epeatedly touches the hot stove is burnt more than one who touched it onlyone. The same should be with discipline. The disciplinary process should beginimmedia tely after the violation is noticed. It must give a clear warning that somuch pe nalty would be imposed for a given offence. The same kind of punishment should b e consistently imposed for the same offence. Punishmentshould be impose regardle ss of status difference. In other words, it should beimpersonal in application. Punishment should be commensurate with the gravity of the offence. An employee f ound guilty of an act of minor misconduct likeunpunctuality or irregular attenda nce should not be awarded the same punishment as may justifiably be awarded to a n employee found guilty of an act of majormisconduct like the theft of employer' s property.