Essay Sample on Lenient Discipline in Workplaces: HR's Friendly Approach and Its Impacts

Introduction

Lenient disciplinary in a workplace is a crucial aspect in dealing with underperforming employees. In this concept, the Human Resource Manager (HR) applies friendly techniques to discipline the employees. This aspect is useful in a workplace where the employees are unionized. There are various impacts and consequences of the application of lenient disciplinary.

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What I Would Do

In a workplace where indiscipline cases such as absenteeism and low productivity are common among employees, I would use the progressive disciplinary strategy. This process involves the provision of several warnings to the employee through a written document that suggests the involved parties to improve. The maximum warnings an employee should receive are three, after which improvement on discipline would be noted. The document contains the reasons for the warnings and also requests the employees to present the cause of their misconduct at the workplace (Progressive discipline in the unionized workforce, n.d). Primarily, progressive training gives warnings to the employees, thus giving them a chance to improve their workplace behavior.

Reasons Why Advocating for Progressive Discipline

The progressive discipline strategy allows the employees to have a chance for improvement. The main objective of the procedure is to have employees improve and eventually end the misconduct, such as lateness and absenteeism. Additionally, the strategy prompts the manager to practice justice by allowing employee representation by an executive from the union (Progressive discipline in the unionized workforce, n.d). The plan also allows the employee to present their grievances and reasons for misconduct. Ideally, the progressive discipline strategy is an inclusive method that practices justice to employees and employers.

Another reason I would use the strategy is its clarity on the issues about the employees. Therefore, it gives the employees room to make their decisions about their progress at the workplace. The strategy explains to the employees the reason for the warning and the consequences of the continued indiscipline (Progressive discipline in the unionized workforce, n.d). Therefore, the strategy triggers improvement without the application of force.

Consequences

The progressive discipline strategy has various consequences that are bound to occur when applied. Among the effects is that the organization may lose its employees. Some workers may be offended by the progressive warnings, thus prompted to leave the work. Additionally, the progressive discipline strategy may cause chaos in the workplace due to the unionization of the employees (Progressive discipline in the unionized workforce, n.d). Through the union, they may come together and demonstrate the managerial actions of giving them warnings.

HR Core Problems

In the workplace in the case study, the human resource management seems to have some crucial issues. Among the problems could be the failure to reward and motivate employees. Employee development is a vital aspect of the success of an organization. This development allows the management to build a close relationship with the employees; thus, the issues that arise are handled effectively. Lack of employee motivation and development discourages the employees, thus resulting in misconduct, such as absenteeism (Hellstrom et al., 2017). Additionally, failure to reward the employees leads to low productivity as they feel unappreciated. Primarily, the HR department in the organization seems to have failed in employee empowerment and motivation.

Legal Implications

In this case, the HR management needs to consider legal implications such as breaching the contracts of the employees. Employees in an organization make an agreement that outlines their roles and rights while in the organization (Progressive Discipline in the Unionized Workforce, n.d). The contract also outlines the disciplinary actions taken in case of misconduct. Breaching a contract is a legal implication that the management needs to consider before implementing the progressive disciplinary strategy.

Role of the Union Contract

The workforce union's contract plays a significant role in deciding to use progressive disciplinary actions. The contract requires a representation of the employee by a member or executive of the union (Progressive Discipline in the Unionized Workforce, n.d). Therefore, before applying the strategy, one has to have enough facts that guarantee the punishment of the employees. Additionally, the union's contract prohibits severe discipline for misconduct, such as absenteeism, so that other disciplinary actions such as termination would not be effective.

Nehemiah's Principles

Upon return from Nehemiah to Jerusalem, he sought to make things right by restoring sanity in the city. Among the principles he used was teamwork. During the building of the walls, Nehemiah convinced the people to join him in the task (Neh13). Additionally, Nehemiah was proactive in promoting justice in the city (Scott, 2014). As a result, he confronted injustices among the leaders of Judah.

Application of Nehemiah's Principles

The principles used by Nehemiah could be effectively used to manage the misconduct in the organization. Through empowering teamwork among the employees and the management, the organization will allow communication between the two parties hence promoting productivity. Confronting injustices will help the HR to address the issues presented by the employees to the management and vice versa. Primarily, the HR department can use the principles applied by Nehemiah to handle the problems of the organization.

References

Hellstron, T, Jacob, M. Sjoo, K. (2017). From thematic to organizational prioritization: the challenges of implementing RDI priorities. Science and public policy. Vol. 44, no. 5, pp 599-608. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/spp/article/44/5/599/2907804Progressive discipline in the unionized workforce (n.d). Retrieved from

https://www.umass.edu/humres/sites/default/files/Progressive%20Discipline%20in%20the%20Unionized%20Work%20Force.docx3_.pdf

Scott, L. (2014) 12 Leadership Principles from the Book of Nehemiah. Biblical Leadership. Retrieved from http://christopherscottblog.com/leadership-principles-nehemiah