So if his rules are "point out what went wrong, describe what he wanted, work with the employee to alter things so it wont happen again", where does "punishment" and "distance" come into it at all? Why is it good that for several days his employee feels unable to talk to him about anything? Who does that benefit?

So his expected and desired situation outcome was different from the actual outcome and he's disappointed, or angry, or whatever. Why does that give him the right to 'punish' someone else? His inaccurate mental model (based on a poor understanding of his employee) -> his problem.

What if his 'punishment' doesn't work because the employee isn't "crushed", what if the employee is indifferent to being shouted at or distanced?

The only thing which matters is how to alter things so it's better next time That's it. That might mean process changes, or not giving that responsibility to that employee, or replacing that employee. Anything else is railing against the unchangable past.

(Also, how to deal with children is not a good framework for how to deal with adults).