What is the primary objective of progressive discipline?

• A. To punish employees rapidly
• B. To use corrective actions before punitive measures
• C. To terminate employees immediately
• D. To ignore minor infractions

Answer: (B)

Progressive discipline is about guiding improvement through a clear, escalating sequence of corrective actions rather than jumping straight to punishment. The aim is to give an employee a fair chance to correct behavior or performance, with each step documenting expectations and the consequences of not meeting them. By starting with coaching or informal feedback and moving to more formal steps only if issues persist, the organization supports remediation, consistency, and legal defensibility. This approach emphasizes response to behavior, not retribution, and it ensures that serious consequences are reserved for repeated or unresolved problems. Immediate termination or ignoring infractions would bypass the corrective process that progressive discipline is designed to uphold.