Effects of disciplinary procedures on employees' performance In postal corporation of Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of disciplinary procedures on employees' performance in the Postal Corporation of Kenya. Indiscipline in any organization has devastating consequences on job performance. Some of these consequences include loss of working hours, destruction of property, failure to meet the performance targets and most importantly cause the organization not to have a competitive advantage, thereby not meeting its vision and mission. However, when disciplinary procedures are properly applied they lead to high motivation on the part of employees thereby producing high performance for the organization. The target population in the study was 215 employees at the Postal Corporation of Kenya headquarters and a sample size of 44 employees which represented 20% of the targeted population was selected and surveyed for the study. They were randomly selected from the 5 departments namely; Finance, HR & Development. Legal department, Information and Technology and lastly Mail/Courier services department. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize their responses. Out of the 44 employees selected for the study, 39 of them responded to the questionnaire and this formed 89% of the sample size. The respondents provided data from where general findings were drawn about the targeted population and that their views were presented by use of Tables, Bar Graphs, Frequency, Pie Charts, Percentages, Likert scale and also by use of measures of central tendency such as mean, mode and the standard deviation. The statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) computer program was quite useful in achieving this. The study found out that most employees in the Postal Corporation of Kenya were aware of the existence of the code of regulations and the disciplinary procedures and that negligence, lateness, absenteeism, intoxication and also criminal offences such as theft: by servant were found to be the commonly committed offences. The study also found out that majority of the employees (64%) approved the disciplinary procedures since they addressed genuine cases of

indiscipline. However a negligible percentage of (15%) disapproved the procedures since they were sometimes aimed at settling scores. Furthermore the study found out that Managers were not well trained in handling disciplinary cases and more often than not they overlooked some procedures. This greatly impacted negatively on employees' performance since they felt as being subjected to punitive measures unfairly hence felt demoralized thereby hampering the growth of Postal Corporation of Kenya. The study also found out that other factors outside the disciplinary procedures also affected performance of the Postal Corporation of Kenya. These factors included; financial problems of the Corporation nepotism, lack of training, stiff competition, poor technology and above all poor leadership from the Postmaster general emanating from lack of competitiveness during their recruitment process. The study suggests that all employees be involved in the making of rules and regulations irrespective of their positions to enhance or create ownership. Furthermore the study recommends that management should be well trained on disciplinary procedures so as to avoid conflicts and communication breakdown between them and the union sable members of staff. Additionally the management of Postal Corporation of Kenya should regularly alert their employees on the expected level of discipline through circulars and distribution of the Postal Corporation of Kenya code of conduct. Considering the importance of discipline in employees of every organization, the study recommends further research to measure variables that were beyond the scope of this study.