Approaches to DisciplineHandling employee misconduct is a very critical task to be performed by the senior managers.Misconduct and other offensive behaviors often lead to decreased levels of productivity as theyaffecttheindividualperformanceoftheemployees.Tomanagedisciplineamongemployees,every company opts for a discipline policy which describe the approach it will follow to handlemisconduct. Broadly defined, there are two approaches to discipline employees. They are: Positive iscipline !pproach Progressive iscipline !pproach!. Positive iscipline !pproachThis approach is based on the premise that role of a discipline approach should not always be topunish" rather, it should try to regulate the negative behavior of employees to make them betterworkers. Positive discipline is a corrective action which results in improved performance, moreproductivity and effective workforce. Harsh and negative punishment might work in the shortterm, but the end result will eventually be employee dissatisfaction, low productivity, higher rateof absenteeismand high turnover. This approach tries to mend the negative behavior ofemployees by first providing them counseling in terms of what is e#pected out of them and thengiving oral and written warnings to them. Termination or discharge in e#treme cases may alsotake place.Steps of positive discipline approach$. Counseling: %ounseling is an important part of the discipline process, because it gives asupervisortheopportunitytoidentifyemployeeworkbehavior problemsanddiscusspossiblesolutions withhim. Thegoal of this phaseis tomakeemployeeawareoforgani&ational policies and rules. %ounseling by a supervisor in the work unit can havepositive effects also. 'ften, employees simply need to be made aware of rules. !n oralwarning can also be given toemployee during counseling. %onfrontation helps tounderstand the employee point of view as well. However, proper training should be givento the supervisors regarding counseling skills to make this process successful.(. Written warning: )f employee behavior has not been improved by counseling sessions,then a second conference is held between the supervisor and the employee. This stage isdocumentedinwrittenform.!spart ofthisphase, theemployeeandthesupervisordevelop written solutions to prevent further problems from occurring. *. Final warning:+henthe employee does not followthe writtensolutions, a finalwarning conference is held. )n that conference the supervisor emphasi&es to the employeethe importance of correcting the inappropriate actions. ,ome firms incorporateadecision-day off, in which the employee is given a day off with pay to develop a firm,writtenactionplantoremedytheproblembehaviors. Theideaistoimpressontheoffender the seriousness of the problem and the manager-s determination to see that thebehavior has changed. .. Discharge: )f the employee fails to follow the action plan that was developed and furtherproblem behaviors e#ist, then the supervisor will discharge the employee.The positive aspect of this approach is that it focuses on problem solving rather than punishingand penali&ing. This approach involves positive confrontation with the problem employee andthus gives himanopportunityto/ustifyhimself. Thesupervisor makes himawareof thecompany policies. The greatest difficulty with this is that 0#tensive amount of trainingre1uiredfor supervisors andmanagers tobecomeeffective counselors. !lso, the process often takes more supervisory time than the progressive disciplineapproach.