The Common Causes of Indiscipline in an Organisation

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Indiscipline lies in non-cooperation, and non-cooperation is the result of the faulty attitudes and behavior of the management or the leaders in the organization. | The statement that “discipline is what the leaders make it” is the observation of Henry Fayol on faults and lapses. Even where indiscipline results form the faulty attitudes and behavior of the subordinates, the responsibility lies with the management because it provides the leaders to guide the subordinates.

The common causes of indiscipline in an organisation may be stated as follows:

1. Lack of Effective Leadership: Effective leadership is a must for maintaining the discipline, which means to seek cooperation of the followers (subordinates) to achieve the desired objectives. In India, effective leadership could not be provided either by the management or by the trade unions which caused indiscipline in the industries.
2. Varying Disciplinary Measures: Consistent disciplinary actions must be there in the organisation to provide equal justice to all concerned.

At different times and for everyone, the same standard of disciplinary measures should be taken otherwise it may give rise to growing indiscipline in the industry in future i. e. , the judicious function on the past of management must be free form may bias, privilege or favouritism.
3. Defective Supervision: Supervisor is the immediate boss of the workers and many disciplinary problems have their in faulty supervision. The attitude and behavior of the supervisor may create many problems.

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As the maintenance of the discipline is the discipline is the core f supervisory responsibilities, indiscipline may spring from the want of the right type of supervision.
4. Lack of well-defined Code of Conduct: There must be a code of discipline in every organisation enlisting sufficient rules regulations or customary practices for the guidance and information of all employees. Such code should be communicated to all concerned in a clear and simple language so as to be followed by the concerned in a clear and simple language so as to be followed by the concerned parties in its true spirit.To be effective, the code should be adopted by the joint consultation of managers and the subordinates. In the absence of a well defined code of discipline, the disciplinary actions emanate form personal whims and temperaments which create indiscipline.
5. Divide and Rule Policy: Many mangers in the business obtain secret information about other employees through their trusted assistants. The spying on employees is only productive of a vicious atmosphere and of undesirable in the organization. Henry Fayol has rightly pointed out that dividing enemy forces to weaken them is clever, but dividing one’s own team is grave sin against the business.No amount of management skill is necessary for dividing personnel, but integrating personnel into a team is the challenging task of sound management.
6. Deferring settlement of Employee Grievances: The employee grievances cannot be put off by deferring or neglecting their solutions. The grievances should properly be inquired into and settled by the managers in a reasonable period. Neglect of grievances often results in reduced performance, low morale and indiscipline among the employees. Strikes and work stoppages stem in many cases form the utter neglect of employee grievances. . Mis-judgment in Promotion and Placements: Mis-judgment in personnel matters like promotion and placements contribute to the growth of indiscipline in an enterprise. Cases of mis-judgment are carefully noted, widely circulated, and hotly debated by the employees. Expecting discipline from misruled people is not possible. Sometimes, undesired persons are placed on the jobs which makes the employees discontented, then giving rise to the problem of indiscipline.
7. Inadequate Attention to Personal Problems: Actions or reactions of people are the direct out come of their attitudes.Attitudes influence human beings and their activities. Discipline is the by-product of these attitudes and the attitudes in turn, is determined by the personal problems of employees. In order to maintain the discipline, understanding of the personal problems and individual difficulties as well as counsellings with employees, is necessary. Inadequate attention to the personal problems, thus, gives rise to indiscipline.
8. Victimization and Excessive Pressures: Sometimes the manager or the supervisor develops ill-feelings in him about some persons and victimises them in his own way.It contributes to indiscipline. Moreover, the supervisor puts excessive pressure of wok on the employees under his strict control which they feel suffocative. It may result in indiscipline.
9. Other Causes.

There may be certain other causes of indiscipline among the workers. Economical, social and political factors may influence the disciplinary problem in the organisation because industry is a part of the social and political system of the country. Political leaders very often use the work force for their own political interests. The general social environment also influence the workers’ disciplinary problem.Thus, there are certain external factors which contribute to the be industrial indiscipline. | Free MBA resources: online Notes 1, 18 Major Causes of Indiscipline among the Employees of Your Organization By Varun Naik Indiscipline means disorderliness, insubordination and not following the rules and regulations of an organization. It is very difficult to prepare an exhaustive list of the reasons which lead employees to indiscipline: In fact, a number of social, economic, cultural and political reasons contribute to indiscipline in an organization.In an organization the parties responsible for indiscipline are workers and their unions and the management. Politicized trade union leadership in India encourages and instigates indiscipline. Intra-union rivalry and inter-union rivalry are also major causes of indiscipline. Similarly, management tactics like deliberate delay in discipline procedure, concealed penalties such as transfer to an inconvenient place at a short notice, maintenance of confidential reports etc. , are responsible for indiscipline.

C. B. Mamoria nd S. V Gankarhave stated the major causes of indiscipline:

1. Non-placement of the right person on the right job which is suitable for his qualifications, experience and training.
2. Undesirable behaviour of senior officials, who may have set a pattern of behaviour which they expect their subordinates to follow; but their expectations are often belied, and an infringement of rules follows;
3. Faulty evaluations of persons and situations by executives lead to favouritism, which generates indisciplined behaviour;
4.Lack of upward communication, as a result of which the thoughts, feelings and reactions of employees cannot be conveyed to the top management. This may lead to aggressive or rebellious behaviour;
5. Leadership which is weak, flexible, incompetent and distrustful of subordinates is often an instrument which makes for the creation of indiscipline among the employees, particularly when a decision is taken in haste and withdrawn under pressure;
6.Defective supervision and an absence of good supervisors who know good techniques, who are in a position to appreciate critically the efforts of their subordinates, who can listen patiently to them, who are capable of giving definite and specific instructions, and who believe in correcting their men rather than in uprooting them;
7. Lack of properly drawn rules and regulations, or the existence of rules and regulations which are so impracticable that they cannot be observed; and the absence of service manuals and a code of behaviour;
8.The “divide and rule” policy of the management, as a result of which friction and misunderstanding are created among the employees which destroy the team spirit;
9. Illiteracy and low intellectual level of workers as well as their social background; for example, there may be indebtedness, drinking habits, casteism and other social evils from which an employee may suffer;
10. Worker’s reactions to the rigidity and multiplicity of rules and their improper interpretation;
11. Workers. personal problems, their fears, apprehensions, hopes and aspirations; and their lack of confidence in, and their inability to adjust with, their superiors and equals;
12. Intolerably bad working conditions;
13. Inborn tendencies to flout rules;
14. Absence of enlightened, sympathetic and scientific management;
15. Errors of judgment on the part of the supervisor or top management;
16. Discrimination based on caste, colour, creed, sex, language and place in matters of selection, promotion, transfer, placement and discrimination in imposing penalties and handing out rewards;
17.Undesirable management practices, policies and activities aiming at the control of workers; e. g. : employment of spies, undue harassment of workers with a view to creating a fear complex among them, and the autocratic attitude of supervisors towards their subordinates;
18. Improper co-ordination, delegation of authority and fixing of responsibility; and Physiological and sociological reasons, including misunderstanding, rivalry and distrust among workers and supervisors, an absence of fellow-feeling, a widespread sense of injustice or apathy on the part of the management.From the above comprehensive list of the causes of indiscipline, it is mostly noncooperation that results in indiscipline. Various factors like social, economic, political and cultural issues also play a significant role in causing indiscipline. Henry Fayol observed that, “discipline is what the leaders make it”. Many times indiscipline is due to managerial faults, lapses, thoughtless words, and deeds and poor management.