The management of disciplinary cases in the South African public service post-2009 to the 2018 era

Background: Poor management of disciplinary cases in the South African public service departments is on the rise. The management of disciplinary cases, amongst other things, has drawn considerable criticism from within the public sector, various media outlets, interest groups and even opposition movements. The government has adopted progressive discipline prescripts to inculcate and promote a culture of professional ethics and accountability. In the workplace, objectivity, consistency and fairness are an important part of healthy employer–employee ties.Aim: The study sought to obtain an in-depth understanding of disciplinary cases and describe the challenges senior managers face when managing disciplinary cases in the public service departments.Setting: Both the national and provincial public service departments of South Africa.Methods: The study adopted qualitative modernistic research approach. Semi-structured electronic questionnaire was used to collect views from 751 senior managers.Results: Public service employees are deprived of organisational justice because of weaknesses associated with the discipline management. This is because management of disciplinary cases and sanctions in most national and provincial departments in the public service is perilous and incongruent with the discipline management prescripts.Conclusion: Based on the findings, the current practices do not deter future violations of discipline management prescripts; inconsistent, unfairness and injustice application of sanctions and management of cases and future misconduct in the workplace. Therefore, the authors recommend the use of team-based and progressive discipline to ensure that staff contribute effectively, efficiently and ethically to the goals of the government. The present study contributes to the existing body of knowledge on human resource management and organisational behaviour and provides a platform that broadens an understanding of the amplifying toxic management of disciplinary cases in the South African public service context.

Disciplinary Approaches for Cannabis Use Policy Violations in Canadian Secondary Schools

The objective of this study was to examine the disciplinary approaches being used in secondary schools for student violations of school cannabis policies. Survey data from 134 Canadian secondary schools participating in the Cannabis use, Obesity, Mental health, Physical activity, Alcohol use, Smoking, and Sedentary behaviour (COMPASS) study were used from the school year immediately following cannabis legalization in Canada (2018/19). Despite all schools reporting always/sometimes using a progressive discipline approach, punitive consequences (suspension, alert police) remain prevalent as first-offence options, with fewer schools indicating supportive responses (counselling, cessation/educational programs). Schools were classified into disciplinary approach styles, with most schools using Authoritarian and Authoritative approaches, followed by Neglectful and Permissive/Supportive styles. Further support for schools boards in implementing progressive discipline and supportive approaches may be of benefit.

Career Conversations: Progressive Discipline the Right Way

Personnel actions are among managers’ least favorite job duties. If you talk to librarians, you will find few who enjoy the stress, tension, and confrontation engendered by corrective actions that can become as much about interpersonal conflict as the job itself. Many managers also fear failing—that the corrective action will not succeed in correcting the issue, or worse, that the employee will somehow twist the action and win, removing the supervisor’s authority and control of the situation. In some instances, when the employee requiring discipline is popular among co-workers, managers dread being labeled as cruel, tarnishing the positive relationships they have with other employees, or inciting fear among them.

From Crisis to Creativity: Towards a Psychology of Creating

The present paper argues that crisis talk has been rampant in psychology since its beginning. This is so because it serves a powerful rhetorical function – ‘if we are in crisis we must do x to get out of it’. In fact, being in crisis is the state of any progressive discipline, where new evidence is brought to light and new ideas are put on offer. This paper then turns to the specific conceptual and methodological issues facing the psychology of creativity and offers some suggestions for moving the sub-discipline forward. It proposes dropping the study of ‘creativity’ as a noun, and instead focusing on the concrete process of creating and evaluating the products of that activity.

Schools, Cultural Mobility, and Social Reproduction: The Case of Progressive Discipline

Drawing on a case study of Progressive Discipline (PD), this paper asks: How does greater discretion, flexibility and parent involvement affect the application of school policy? What are the consequences of these conditions? PD is part of a suite of changes that caters to students’ individualized academic and social needs while formalizing increased parent involvement. Drawing on forty-four interviews with school staff members, we find that PD has the potential to enhance students’ social and behaviour literacy. And yet, educators are unable to fully tame higher-SES (Socio-Economic Status) parents. According to our interviewees, higher-SES parents are more likely to participate in disciplinary proceedings, confront and threaten school staff and negotiate more favourable disciplinary outcomes for their children. Our paper contributes to cultural capital theory by examining how higher-SES families exploit “discretionary spaces” (i.e., opportunities that allow parents to improve their child’s social, academic or disciplinary outcomes) in schooling organizations. Résumé : En s’appuyant sur une étude de cas de mesures disciplinaires progressives (MDP), cet article pose la question : Comment une plus grande discrétion, souplesse et participation des parents influent sur la mise en pratique de la politique scolaire ? Quelles sont les conséquences de ces mesures ? Les MDP font partie d’une série de changements qui répondent aux besoins scolaires et sociaux individualisés des élèves, tout en formalisant la participation accrue des parents. À partir de quarante-quatre entretiens avec des membres du personnel œuvrant dans des écoles, nous constatons que les MDP ont le potentiel d’améliorer les habiletés sociales et comportementales des élèves. Pourtant, les éducateurs sont incapables de composer de façon satisfaisante avec les parents jouissant d’un statut socio-économique plus élevé. Selon les membres du personnel interviewés, il est plus probable que les parents de statut socio-économique plus élevé participent plus activement au suivi disciplinaire, confrontent et menacent le personnel de l’école et négocient des solutions disciplinaires plus favorables pour leurs enfants. Notre article contribue à la théorie du capital culturel en observant comment les familles de statut socio-économique plus élevé exploitent des « espaces discrétionnaires » (c’est à dire, les possibilités qui permettent aux parents d’améliorer les résultats sociaux, académiques ou disciplinaires de leur enfant) dans les organisations scolaires.