Attitudes towards disciplinary measures among managers and workers in Bophelong hospital Mahikeng

Abstract

This study examines the attitudes towards disciplinary measures among managers and workers at the Bophelong psychiatric hospital, Mafikeng. This is based on the fact that undisciplined workforce may lead to disorder in the workplace and eventually to an organisation's failure to reach its objectives. From a population of four hundred workers and one hundred managers. a simple random sampling technique was used to select sixty workers and forty managers. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire made up of six different sections. The data collected was sorted, coded and analysed using SPSS. Frequency counts and mean deviations were used to describe the data. The results of the study show that 47 percent of the workers and 35 percent of managers are between 30 to 40 years old. About 69 percent of workers are female while 70 percent of the managers are male. The common educational level among workers is matric while managers had Diploma and BSc degree. In terms of attitude to disciplinary measures, seventy three percent of workers agree that disciplinary measures are legal at BPH as opposed to eight percent who disagree. Seventy five percent of managers agree that disciplinary measures are legal whilst twelve percent agreed. Sixty percent of workers disagreed that disciplinary measures are non sequential at BPH whilst thirteen percent agree. In terms of knowledge of disciplinary measures, sixty six percent of workers at BPH are aware of written warning and Employee Assistance Programmes as disciplinary techniques. Sixty five percent of workers at BPH are aware of the final written warning, verbal warning and counselling as disciplinary techniques. Sixty one percent of workers at BPH are least commonly aware of the Performance Management and Development System as a disciplinary technique. Results on implementation of disciplinary measures show that seventy percent of worker mostly had verbal warnings: sixty eight percent final written warning and sixty six percent salary deductions and written warnings as disciplinary measures used against them. Fifty six percent of workers least had withholding all privileges; fifty percent demotion and forty five percent withholding certain privileges as disciplinary measures used against them. Seventy percent of managers mostly had verbal warnings: sixty eight percent final written warnings and sixty six percent salary deduct ions and written warnings as disciplinary measures used against them. Fifty six percent of managers least had withholding all privileges; fifty percent demotions and forty five percent withholding certain privileges as disciplinary measures used against them. With respect to constraints to the implementation of disciplinary measures, forty percent of BPH workers cited head office taking too long, unions being too defensive whilst workers were resistant. Twenty six percent cited unqualified managers as one of the most common constraints towards the implementation of disciplinary measures. The study concludes by advocating the need to review and enforce discipline at the work place if service delivery has to improve.