FACTORS INFLUENCING SUPERVISORS’ DISCIPLINE SEVERITY WHEN FACING RULE VIOLATIONS

The present research examined the effects of three situational factors: causality ambiguity, severity of personal injury, and injury target on supervisors ’ discipline severity following a rule violation. Participants were 207 supervisors who either currently make or have made disciplinary decisions as part of their job. The participants read three of 24 scenarios about rule violations and made disciplinary decisions based on information contained in the scenarios. Results revealed statistically significant main effects for all three situational factors and a statistically significant injury severity X injury target effect on the discipline severity. When the injury targets are coworkers, more severe injuries lead to harsher discipline. When the injury targets are the violators, more severe injuries lead to less harsh discipline. The results support the notion that supervisors formulate discipline as a function of the context of rule violation rather than the violating behavior itself