Though the last decade of economic reforms has led to fundamental changes in labor relations, staff discipline remains essential for successful business development and economic efficiency. Olga Pisarevskaya and Svetlana Vyacheslavova, HR specialists at real estate agency Penny Lane, argue that staff discipline is most effective when the company’s rules are clearly understood by employees and when those rules are closely related to a company’s corporate culture.

Maintaining order in the workplace without being repressive is a task that the managers of any organization face. HR specialists at the Penny Lane holding explain the close relationship between staff discipline, employee motivation and corporate culture.

The highest level of enforcement of labor-discipline is part of a well-developed corporate culture. Corporate values specifically include the company’s mission and image, treatment of employees, style of management, decision-making process, information exchange methods, contacts and methods of conflict regulation. Ideally, corporate values should match the personal values of the employees.

Employees need a minimal amount of discipline when they are devoted to their place of work. Devoted employees feel positive about their jobs and are determined to work for the good of the company.

The main qualities of a devoted employee include an awareness of being part of the company, involvement in work and loyalty to the company and its leadership. A person who identifies him — or herself as part of the company will not violate labor discipline. When hiring new employees, companies with a developed corporate culture usually try to find out how the potential employee’s personal values correspond with those of the team.

In any case, a set of documented rights and responsibilities on the part of both employers and employees, in the form of a code of conduct, is essential to staff discipline in any successful business.

“Rules are necessary to structure any organization and avoid chaos,” says Peter Coppieters of AtlasCopco, a Swedish company specializing in the manufacturing and sale of industrial equipment. “Checking everyone at every moment is impossible, and it is difficult to enforce rules no one understands. So rules should be clear, when they are people usually follow them. Unclear or senseless rules, or those that are enforced in a repressive way will not be respected.”

Some companies impose dress codes, prohibit employees from smoking in the office —or hire only non-smokers — and require employees to keep their desks clean and tidy. Rules often depend on the employee’s position; usually, tougher rules apply to employees who work regular hours, like secretaries, drivers, bookkeepers and engineers while managers are more likely to be evaluated on the basis of their actual job performance. Nonetheless, as long as they are supposed to represent their company, they have to comply with its corporate rules of conduct.

Andrei Nadein of iXcelerator, an American company specializing in software and Internet solutions, said the company does not have any special dress code but, at the same time, it require its employees to come to work neatly dressed.

“Those in charge of working with clients and partners have to wear suits on days when they have meetings. We also have simple rules concerning order on the desks and in offices, and we prohibit employees from using Walkmans because this might distract other employees,” he said.

Nadein added that the most important thing is that each employee has the right to put forth his or her own proposals to amend existing rules. Top managers consider these proposals every month, and some are accepted.

There are a number of methods for enforcing labor discipline. The directive method presupposes the existence of a company’s written internal code of conduct. In some companies, this code is outlined in an employee’s contract. In the absence of regulatory documents, it will be difficult to enforce measures of punishment for discipline violations.

Disciplinary measures pertaining to the directive method include reprimands, fines, salary cuts, strengthening of work control (progress reports, meetings, etc.). Directive methods are essential during a company’s development, specifically in the initial stage, during crises or periods of instability. However, if used on its own the directive method will fail to help increase labor productivity and will not cause employees to become interested in the results of their work.

Discipline alone will not insure the impeccable behavior of employees; they also need to be motivated. Material stimulation tends to have the most direct effect on people’s consciousness and behavior. The so-called “stick and carrot” principle ensures that each employee is interested in the company’s final performance, which, for most companies, is measured by their profitability.

In my opinion, for the purpose of maximum employee motivation, remuneration should consist of two parts — a constant and a variable. The constant part should be calculated according to the specialist’s “market value” — the value of his or her qualifications — while the variable component should depend on the results of their work. The bigger the variable, the higher an employee’s responsibility will be. An alternative scheme of material stimulation includes bonuses and social packages — a model widely used in Japan and Europe. Specialists paid on an hourly basis can be rewarded with bonuses for good quality work and meeting deadlines.

Moral motivation is also important when trying to minimize the need for discipline in the workplace. The following factors are important for making a job attractive to an employee: responsibility, awareness of one’s contribution, opportunity to make key decisions, the presence of feedback, as well as educational and professional growth opportunities.

In Japan, for example, each employee is treated as an individual with a character that should be respected and employers try to vary the environment and the job description enough to keep a person motivated. The usual practice is personnel rotation, both vertical and horizontal, which prevents a person from getting bored while working at the same company for many years. Employee rotation serves to satisfy a person’s need for self-expression and stimulates responsibility. And Japanese companies offer generous social packages.

Unlike Japanese businesses, U.S. companies usually use strict control and clear differentiation of duties to control employees. Each employee performs a different function, gradually perfecting his or her skills to the utmost. Material motivation is usually through salary increases.