The effect of organisational culture in fostering discipline in an organisation. A case of Provincial and nine Districts Education Offices in Mashonaland East Province

Abstract

The motive behind the study was to investigate the effect of organisational culture in fostering discipline in an organisation. A case of Mashonaland East Provincial and the nine Districts Education Offices. Organisational culture has a significant role it plays in maintaining discipline in an organisation. Employees in an organisation are driven by the culture of that organisation so that they achieve the best. Organisational culture is considered an informal authority shaping the assumptions, values, attitudes and behaviour of an organisation’s members. These values have a strong influence on employee behaviour as well as organisational performance. Culture is largely invisible to individuals just as the sea is invisible to the fish swimming in it. Even though it affects all employee behaviours, thinking, and behavioural patterns, individuals tend to become more aware of their organisation’s culture when they have the opportunity to compare it to other organisations. Organizational culture helps improve workflows and guides the decision-making process. It also helps teams overcome barriers of ambiguity. Team members who are well disciplined, informed, and knowledgeable about certain processes are often more motivated to finish projects. Having a clear culture that unifies employees and promotes organised work structures that helps people work together with purpose. Discipline is an approach used by management to modify undesirable performance and behaviour through the use of a corrective action process. At the onset of any employee performance or conduct issues, supervisors are strongly encouraged to contact Employee Relations staff for assistance. It ensures individuals maintain silence at workplace and work as a single unit with their team members to achieve organisation goals and objectives. It is in fact the lifeline of an organisation. Without discipline, employees would not only misbehave but also do whatever they want to do. These positive attributes are increased morale, self-discipline, additional training, and better attitudes from the employees. The use of positive discipline can also increase productivity and vision, and at the same time reduce the fear of punishment, which allows employees to take risks to advance the organisation. Discipline in an organisation, therefore, ensures productivity and efficiency. It encourages harmony and cooperation among employees as well as acts as a morale booster for the employees. In the absence of discipline, there will be chaos, confusion, corruption, and disobedience in an organisation. The objectives of the study were as follows: to examine the effects of culture on organisational discipline among employees in educational institutions, to explore how customs promote organisational discipline among employees in the educational institutions, to examine the effects of how beliefs promote organisational discipline among employees in, the educational institutions to establish how values promote organisational discipline among employees in the educational institutions. Data was derived through questionnaires distributed to selected employees of Provincial and nine Districts Education Offices in Mashonaland East Province with a target population of 450 staff members. Data analysis was done through descriptive statistics. Descriptive statistics included the use of percentages, means, and standard deviation. The completed questionnaire forms the foundation of this research. The study found that organisational culture had an impact on fostering employee discipline despite the challenges faced by the management which included: poor motivation, lack of compensation policy, poor working conditions, the resistance of the top-level management to empower junior employees and lack of team spirit among workers.