Ethical Issues and Management of Discipline

Every organization has people who do acts that are not acceptable in the workplace and are against policies set forth by the organization’s leaders. When these types of issues occur, the organization’s managers need to consistently discipline employees to ensure high worker productivity, set certain standards for all employees equally, and to comply with the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines (Trevino & Nelson, 2007). There are many moral and ethical issues faced by managers when dealing with discipline. Unfortunately, some managers have a difficult time disciplining employees for a number of reasons. In some occasions managers believe the problem will resolve itself or they may not have the assertive personality to discipline other adults. There are also some managers who believe employees who are all-star performers can have some discipline issues overlooked because the employee is making the company money and even maybe the manager through bonuses. Unfortunately, not only can these issues cause major problems for the manager and its department, but for the company as a whole as well. If an employee is favored and not disciplined in the same manner for a similar offensive as other employees, then other employees may become resentful and have legal cause to sue the company according to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. Trevino & Nelson (2007) states that, “Sentencing Guidelines specify that all employees in an organization must receive consistent discipline for similar infractions,” and by not adhering to this guideline other people could be affected as well. By not establishing consistent disciplinary procedures other individuals could be affected, which also affects the company as a whole. The other employees will begin to break company policies as well because they may believe the standards are not high and those actions could bring down morale in the department or company. For instance, if an employee is consistently late for work and is not