Supervision- Session 9 Flashcards
What does discipline compel individuals to do?
- Observe rules, regulations, or procedures deemed necessary to achieve objectives
- Facilitates coordination of effort, to develop self control and character
What are the four common types of discipline?
- Positive Discipline- Corrects deficiency without punishment (training)
- Negative discipline- Used when positive discipline fails, should be progressive
- Self discipline- being an example to subordinates
- Upward discipline- discipline exercised by subordinates against a supervisor (withholding information, force boss to over supervise, constant deferring to supervisor, actions in order to burden or frustrate the supervisor)
- Loss of some form of time is a typical discipline
- Suspensions or loss of pay is more serious because that can affect someones whole family
What are the requisites for punishment?
- Certainty- Must be sure punishment will be effective and achieve desired change in subordinate conduct
- Swiftness- Without unnecessary delay keeping in mind due process, protects department from officer misconduct that they let go, protects officer from significant issues later, without being told they may think their conduct is okay
- Fairness- Fair and equal not the same (1st vs 10th lateness should not be punished the same)
- Consistent- Similar breaches should have similar punishment (two people each on their third lateness should have similar discipline)
- If you as a boss are heated when disciplining a subordinate take time to cool off to go into the discipline with a clear head
- The same is not afforded to the subordinate
What should determine the severity of punishment?
Punishment should be as severe as necessary to correct the behavior
- Punishment shouldn’t just deter the offender it should deter all employees
When should infractions be documented?
Infractions should always be documented even if no punishment was given to document that the supervisor took steps to correct the behavior and they were ignored
Should discipline of one employee be made available to the rest of the organization?
- Yes, discipline should not be secret
- This will deter speculation, rumors, and allow this officers actions to be a deterrent to others
Who should determine the appropriate level of discipline?
The first line supervisor
Never tell a subordinate that discipline rests with a higher level supervisor (this undermines your authority)
How can management avoid over-discipline?
- Limiting unnecessary and over-complicated rules
- Improving vertical communication
What is the result of standards being generally accepted by the subordinates?
- These styandards are generally enforced by the group via peer discipline
- Be aware punishments may generate hostility, we do not want to foster long lasting negative attitudes towards the job, these attitudes can infect the group
What is esprit de corps?
The feeling of pride, fellowship, and loyalty shared by the membership of an organization
What are low morale indicators?
- Deteriorating appearance
- Absenteeism
What are some ways to improve morale?
- Employee suggestion programs
- Involving subordinates in decision making
- Willingness to give praise
- Praise should not be always followed by criticism, and should not be given so freely that it becomes less meaningful
What should all actions work towards?
Specific goals or objectives
Is it appropriate to bring up past conduct issues with an officer during discipline for a new issue?
- No, Once you have spoken about conduct with an officer and addressed the issue unless the conduct continues do not continuously bring up past transgressions (when it’s done it’s done)
What is the problem with informal rules and regulations?
- They are diufficult to enforce because there is no definitive standard
- Therefore they are not conducive to proper discipline
What is the consequence of failing to address officer misconduct?
Departments can be liable
Should you always discipline in private?
- Not always, you want to preserve your subordinates’ dignity but ventually actions come up against a hard line (subordinates being disruptive during a briefing or roll call, officer safety issues, excessive force)
- These must be addressed immediately
What is the meaning of surveillance in a supervisory context?
Can contextually mean supervision and how much is applied to a given employee (should vary based on the subordinate and how much they require)
Is it appropriate to transfer an individual who is a disciplinary issue?
- No, this does not solve the problem and builds the resume of this person making them look better
- On paper they appear to be a jack of all trades
What are grievances often based on?
- Perception-based issues
- Despite this being the cause of many grievances supervisors who do not take them seriously will experience resentment
- Grievances based on inept supervision are within a supervisors control to change
- Policy misunderstandings from confusing or poorly written policy can be cleared up by the supervisor to mitigate issues
- Supervisors might not have control over the working conditions of their officers but must recognize how they can contribute to low morale
What is the typical process for formal grievance procedures?
- Supervisor or union delegate receives complaint
- Complaint referred to upper management
- If unresolved, moves to top management
- If still unresolved, arbitration can result
Which do employees typically have a bigger issue with policies or their delivery?
Employees will most often take issue with the way rules and regulations are explained and enforced than with the policies themselves
- “Because I said so” can make a unpopular policy even worse whereas explaining the policy can soften the blow
What is a tenured employee entitled to prior to termination?
- A tenured public employee is entitled to oral or written advisement of the charges against them and an opportunity to tell their side of the story prior to termination
What should a supervisor do when they observe strong feelings of discontent amongst their subordinates?
- When a supervisor observes strong feelings of discontent they should do their best to determine the reason (it may not be within your control but you can bring it to the attention of upper management)
- Grievances which do not involve contractual violations should be sorted by the first line supervisor
