Hot-Stove Rule and Progressive Discipline, Essay Example

Progressive Discipline

According to the concept of progressive discipline, penalties imposed on employees must commensurate to the respective violations and done in such a way that there is a specific procedure that is evident from the way the disciplining is done. That is, minor misdemeanors by employees, especially those that have previously never occurred should be met with warnings via word of mouth. Subsequent misdemeanors that warrant a written notice or warning should be followed with just that: a written warning (Robbins & DeCenzo 2006).  If the employee continues to exhibit same inappropriate behaviors this may call for other serious punitive steps like termination of employment. To enable recognition of consistent disciplinary actions, it is important for firms or organizations to have procedures that are formalized and spelled to all employees.

Red-Hot-Stove Rule

On the other hand, the Red-Hot-Stove rule stipulates that the consequences of a disciplinary action constitutes a number of actions that can be allegorical to the red-hot stove. First, the disciplinary action should directly follow the inappropriate behavior just like the stove burns one the moment he touches the stove. Delays may make it difficult for the employees to interconnect the two.  Secondly, a warning of punishment should be provided beforehand for any behavior that is not acceptable in the organization. This is analogous to the warmth one gets as he nears a hot stove. Individuals in the organization should be subjected to similar disciplinary actions following a similar misdemeanor (Robbins & DeCenzo 2006). Consistency is imperative as it rules out favoritism and double-standards. Lastly, disciplinary actions should be impersonal hence there should be no preferences.

While the both types of disciplinary concepts are important, each concept lays emphasis on a particular facet of the organizational dynamics than the other. The red hot stove rule lays more emphasis on the outcome of the behavior (i.e. the punishment) than the need for employment of diverse communicative strategies. In my opinion, therefore, progressive discipline is a better approach as it realizes the importance of communication in the organization and attempts to demonstrate this by bringing out various ways of communicating to the misbehaved employee before deciding to on a serious course of action.

Reference:

Robbins S. P. & DeCenzo, D. A. (2006) “Fundamentals of Human Resource Management” John Wiley & Sons; South Carolina, USA