Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT..................................................................................................................2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.................................................................................................................3
ABOUT THE ORGANISATIONS.....................................................................................................4
ORGANIZATIONAL DISCIPLINE..................................................................................................5
TIME MANAGEMENT IN PRL.......................................................................................................6
TIME MANAGEMENT AT FBR.......................................................................................................8
RECOMMENDATION.....................................................................................................................10
APPENDIX.........................................................................................................................................11
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to thank the management at Pak Refinery Ltd. and the Federal Board of Revenue for
their time and kind assistance in disclosing information which was helpful to us in formulating our
analysis for the report.

We would also like to thank Mr. Imran Saqib and Mr. Mirza Sardar Hussain for their valuable
guidance throughout the semester which helped us in making the report.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

We took up discipline management as the focus of our term report keeping in mind the importance of
time management in the corporate sector. Discipline management revolves around the three broad
Theories of Justice, Utility and Rights. Keeping this objective, we took up Pakistan Refinery Ltd., a
private sector company and The Federal Board of Revenue, a public sector organization. Our
analysis is a comparison of the discipline working particularly time management at the two
organizations, formulated through interviews.
Through our research, we established that the decentralized form of management is in practice at
PRL while a bureaucratic form of management exists at FBR.

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ABOUT THE ORGANISATIONS
Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) was built and commissioned in October 1962 at Karachi in
alliance with major foreign oil companies like Burmah Oil California, Texas Oil Corporation, Shell
Petroleum Corporation and Esso Standard Eastern Inc. PRL is a hydro-skimming refinery with a
capacity of 50,000 barrels per operating day.

With employee strength of 300, PRL takes pride in the edge it enjoys over its competitors in respect
of efficiency, lower operating cost, high quality human resources, reliability and introduction of
newer generation technologies. PRL has demonstrated its excellence as a first rate corporate citizen
by serving community and demonstrating total commitment to the cause of Health, Safety and
Environment. PRL is proud to be the leader in integrated HSEQ Management System, being the first
in Pakistan’s oil industry to achieve OHSAS 18001:1999 and ISO 14001:2004 certification.

Vision Statement

“To be the refinery of first choice for all the stakeholders”

Mission Statement

“PRL is committed to remaining a leader in the oil refining business of Pakistan by providing value
added products that are environment friendly, and by protecting the interest of all stakeholders in a
competitive market through sustainable development and quality human resources.”

The Central Board of Revenue (now Federal Board of Revenue, FBR) was created on April 01,
1924 through enactment of the Central Board of Revenue Act, 1924. In 1944, a full-fledged Revenue
Division was created under the Ministry of Finance. After independence, this arrangement continued
up to 31st August 1960 when on the recommendations of the Administrative Re-organization
Committee, FBR was made an attached department of the Ministry of Finance. In 1974, further
changes were made to streamline the organization and its functions. The Revenue Division with
employee strength of 1000, has the responsibility for (i) formulation and administration of fiscal
policies, (ii) levy and collection of federal taxes and (iii) quasi-judicial function of hearing of
appeals.

Vision Statement

“To be a modern, effective, progressive, autonomous and credible organization for optimizing
revenue by providing quality service and promoting compliance with tax and related laws.”

Mission Statement

“Enhance the capability of the tax system to collect due taxes with application of modern techniques,
providing tax payer assistance and by creating a motivated, satisfied, dedicated and professional
workforce.”

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ORGANIZATIONAL DISCIPLINE

Is discharge a viable form of discipline available to employers today? Public humiliation and
physical abuse were once accepted forms of employee discipline. Today, these forms are
unacceptable in the workplace because they are generally considered too harsh and inhumane.
Instead, progressive discipline technique, where punishment should fit the crime is an idea that is
now being readily adopted across many organizations.

In recent years, the employer's right to discharge an employee has been affected by the passage of
federal and state laws and by the erosion of employment-at-will. Employment-at-will exists when an
individual is employed without a written contract, a collective bargaining agreement, or a tenure
system. The employee can quit at will and the employer can discharge at will. As state courts
diminish the employer's ability to discharge at will, more lawsuits are successful and the employer's
need for protection against wrongful discharge claims increases

Progressive discipline provides protection to employers so that "discharge" can still be a part of
discipline. Under progressive discipline less serious offenses are disciplined differently than more
serious offenses. For example, a less serious offense would be handled with multiple penalties. The
first penalty is usually an oral warning. The final penalty may be discharge. Thus, discharge is still a
form of discipline - but it is not the only form employers should consider using.
The employer's right to discharge may depend on the employer's approach to discipline. Use of
progressive discipline, where the penalties are matched to the offense and progressive in severity,
strengthens the employer's position in a discharge situation.

In most cases at organizational level, major offenses tend to be disciplined with one penalty -
discharge - and minor offenses tend to be disciplined with a combination of four penalties - oral
warning, written warning, suspension, and discharge. Furthermore, when a combination of penalties
is used to discipline an offense, the penalties are applied in order from least severe to most severe.
Discharge does continue to be an accepted form of discipline for the organizations as part of their
progressive disciplinary system.

In our separate analysis of the two organizations taken as example for our research we see a clear
comparison in the time management systems.

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TIME MANAGEMENT IN PRL
Pakistan Refinery is one of those private companies in Pakistan that emphasizes and maintains a
stringent discipline management system.

Work at the refinery is done in two shifts day and night as the plant area has to be in operation 24
hours a day, while for the management staff the working hours are from 8.30am to 6.30pm. For the
employees working in the night shift company vans are available to transport them which assists in
properly maintaining attendance. At the plant the supervisor takes the attendance manually since it’s
easy to keep track of all employees due to familiarity with each other. Any manipulation of the
system would be visible therefore. However, there is no formal system of taking attendance at the
head office; instead it works on a trust system where the objective is to meet the daily work
requirement.

The management is quite content with the current system however keeping in line with modern
technology, PRL plans to introduce the hand print biometric system to better manage their time
keeping methodology.

The chance for manipulation exists no matter how sophisticated the system is, however, at PRL
employees are satisfied with the current setting hence eliminating any such chances.

In case of breech of disciplinary rules verbal warnings are given and counseling is done at both the
head office and the plant. There are no rewards given to people who are punctual or complete their
work on time because this is the expected requirement.

Currently a hand print biometric system is being installed which would help make the process of
taking attendance more simple , this system is then going to be connected with the payroll system
hence saving great deal of effort and time as all the salary calculations which were previously
manual will now be computerized. The automation would reduce great deal of manual labor and the
administrative costs relating the maintenance of attendance and calculation of monthly salaries. This
hand print system has been installed in the head office but yet has to be connected to the payroll
system while in the plant area it’s still in the introduction stage as humidity and sand is making it
difficult for this system to be up and running.

The current law and order situation of the country makes PRL and its surroundings a HIGH
SECUIRTY RISK area therefore there were no objections by the employees to this system as it
provides added security to everyone.

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The practice of flexi hours is present at the head office where managers can come late and leave
whenever their allotted work is complete. Working on weekends is also a common practice there to
finish any uncompleted work. Flexi hours cannot be employed in the plant area due to its sensitive
nature where someone has to be present at all times to look after the operations.

During shutdowns which are a common practice for refineries to conduct repair and maintenance,
the timing changes to two 12 hours shifts for the maintenance staff and the managerial staff also
increase their working hours to help support and monitor the subordinates. Outsourcing is done for
services and third party workers hired are governed under a predetermined contract.

We conclude that PRL has a decentralized control system, placing high importance on reducing loss
of time and following safety measures. Discipline is maintained using Theory of Utility where one
employee serves as an example for the rest to learn from.

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TIME MANAGEMENT AT FBR

A recent reengineering process has well established the Federal Board of Revenue (previously
known as the Central Board of Revenue), and has bought its divisional as well as functional lines up
to par with any private organization in Pakistan. Not only has this given a boost in productivity at the
lower level but also at the management level. Disciplinary management has been given serious
consideration by the Federal Board of Revenue.

Much importance is given to time management. The government offices run from 8.00 am to 4.00pm
with one hour break for lunch and prayers. However, FBR is the sole organization responsible for
collecting revenues therefore officers and officials work late to cope with the work load. There is a
clear job description and the work is divided on the functional basis and every functional division
has to prioritize the work and manage its time accordingly. Targets given cannot be achieved without
proper time management, but time management is disturbed when some job is newly assigned and
the disposal is required on emergency basis. However, this does not mean that the routine work
suffers; it is little delayed.

Employees’ attendance is an important feature of time management since payrolls are directly related
to the attendance. For officials, a master roll is maintained in every division and is checked and
signed by the in charge of the division daily. The Commissioner may check the master roll of his
subordinates on a monthly basis to evaluate punctuality and performance. However, the attendance
and time management system at the headquarters of FBR in Islamabad are mechanized. The
headquarters are fitted with electronic attendance machines (finger print reading machine) for
checking punctuality. Incase of low attendance or irregularity in coming to work, warning letters are
issued and a copy of the warning is placed in the respective employee’s personal file. This may later
on hinder promotion or attainment of fringe benefits for that employee.

As told, the attendance and the time management system is satisfactory at present, however there are
certain drawbacks to the overall system of FBR that directly relates to time management of the
organization. The situations that hit Pakistan that are usually unavoidable results in low attendance
of employees at FBR as low paid employees can not afford taxi or their own transport and since FBR
does not have the facility of staff pick and drop, attendance becomes an issue. In case employees do
not have a valid reason of not turning up to work and the inquiry committee feels the disciplinary
rules were breeched then minor or major penalties may be put into place. Minor penalties include
deduction of salary, withdrawal of special allowances whereas major penalties include suspension,
termination, demotion or removal from the service. In some cases it becomes difficult for the
organization to put forth any penalties on an employee because a few (those with political affiliations
or sources) have learned to work around the system and use political influence on departmental
heads. There are also incentives provided to employees to manage time properly and handle work
load effectively and efficiently. These include cash rewards, performance rewards, appreciation
certificates and performance evaluation reports.

The department heads however, feel that the time management system is still not very effective since
there are internal problems such as low salary, pick and drop, no insurance and health facility so a
few employees do not feel motivated to mange time and finish the work.

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With so many rules and policies in place, we conclude that FBR can largely be categorized as a
bureaucratic organization. Disciplinary system revolves around the Theory of Justice since
employees on the same level are given similar treatment.

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RECOMMENDATION

Innovation in technology has seen the introduction of devices/programs such as Time Clock Plus
Professional Edition which automates the management, collection, and distribution of employee
hours in real-time, making conventional employee time clocks and time tracking systems things of
the past. Time Clock Plus boasts robust and highly flexible configuration abilities to accommodate
today's growing businesses' need for powerful and accurate labor management solutions.

The use of this device in organizations may help management create and enforce the simplest work
and pay rules increasing timekeeping accuracy and reducing unwanted overtime throughout an
organization. By collecting and calculating employee time clock information automatically and in
real-time, Time Clock Plus saves payroll staff costly time, and significantly reduces the risk of
payroll inflation errors.

Management's need to make decisions "on the fly", where labor costs significantly affect bottom
lines, creates unmatched value in the concept. Time Clock Plus' use of SQL technology allows the
scalability required in today's expanding organizations.

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APPENDIX

• Term Report (comparative analysis)

• Questionnaire
• Interview with Commissioner, Mr. Muhammad Iqbal Khan
• Interview with Senior Manager, HR, Mr. Khalid Junejo
• Business Cards

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