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Organizational Behaviour: The Human Side of Work

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Organizational
Behaviour
The Human Side of Work

Senior Professor Dr. Henarath H.D.N.P.Opatha

BSc Bus Adm (Special) (USJ); MSc Bus Adm (HRM) (USJ);
MBA (Birmingham); Dip PM&IR (CTC); Dip Eng (CPM);
PhD (HRM) (UUM); Doc HRM (IIU); HMIPM (SL); CDBA (OXIM-UK)

Department of Human Resource Management

Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce
University of Sri Jayewardenepura
Nugegoda, Colombo
Sri Lanka
2015

i
 Dedicated to
Department of Business Administration, University of Sri
Jayewardenepura - where I did reading for my Bachelor’s Degree,
my first Master’s Degree and I started my university career and served
as an Assistant Lecturer and a Senior Lecturer

And
Department of Human Resource Management, University of
Sri Jayewardenepura - where I reached the zenith of my academic
career as Professor of HRM (on Merit) and Senior Professor

ii
Organizational Behaviour

© Senior Prof. (Dr) Henarath H D N P Opatha

I S B N:978-955-7843-00-1

First Print 2015 September

All rights reserved. This book or any part thereof may not be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the
author.

Printed in Sri Lanka

iii
Brief Contents
Chapter 1 Organizational Behaviour 1-35
Chapter 2 Individual Differences: Personality, Ability and
Values 36-73
Chapter 3 Attitudes 74-114
Chapter 4 Perception 115-153
Chapter 5 Motivation 154-199
Chapter 6 Interpersonal Communication 200-244
Chapter 7 Conflict At Work 245-291
Chapter 8 Negotiation 292-326
Chapter 9 Leadership 327-389
Chapter 10 Group Dynamics 390-454
Chapter 11 Power and Politics 455-491
Chapter 12 Organizational Structure 492-541
Chapter 13 Organizational Culture 542-593
Chapter 14 Organizational Change 594-645

Glossary 646-665
Subject Index 666-669

iv
Contents
Preface, x

Acknowledgement, xii

1. Organizational Behaviour, 1
The meaning of Organizations, 1
Definitions of organizational behaviour, 4
Characteristics of the field of OB, 6
The importance of OB, 10
OB and HRM, 13
Approaches of OB, 16
Challenges and opportunities for OB, 24
A conceptual framework for the study of OB, 27
Summary, 29
Review questions, 29
From Activity 1 to Activity 7, 30-33
References, 34

2. Individual Differences: Personality, Ability and Values, 36

Individual differences, 36
Personality, 37
Ability, 55
Values, 58
Summary, 62
Review questions, 63
From Activity 1 to Activity 10, 63-71
References, 72

3. Attitudes, 74
Definition, 74
Traditional cognitive model of attitudes and cognitive dissonance, 76
Attitude formation, 79
Attitude change, 82
Attitude-behaviour correspondence, 85
Job satisfaction: a major work attitude, 87
Organizational commitment, 100
Job involvement, 103
Summary, 104
Review questions, 105
From Activity 1 to Activity 7, 105-112
References, 112

v
4. Perception, 115
Definition of perception, 115
Importance of perception, 116
Perception process, 117
Factors affecting selective perception, 121
Barriers to perception, 126
Developing perceptual skills, 133
Two related theories, 135
Management of impression, 139
Summary, 143
Review questions, 143
From Activity 1 to Activity 11, 144-152
References, 152

5. Motivation, 154
Definition, 154
Importance of motivation, 156
How to motivate employees? 157
Motivation through meeting of human needs, 157
Motivation through goal setting, 165
Motivation through fairness, 167
Motivation through alteration of expectation, 172
Motivation through reinforcement, 176
Motivation through making jobs interesting, 182
Summary, 190
Review questions, 190
From Activity 1 to Activity 10, 191-197
References, 198

6. Interpersonal Communication, 200

Definition, 200
Importance of communication, 201
Communication process, 202
Modes of communication, 204
Formal channels of communication, 214
Informal communication, 218
Barriers to communication, 222
Communication in the information age, 228
Interpersonal communication styles, 231
Summary, 235
Review questions, 235
From Activity 1 to Activity 8, 236-242
References, 243

vi
7. Conflict at Work, 245
Definition, 245
Functional versus dysfunctional conflict, 246
Causes of conflict at work, 249
Levels and general issues of conflict, 256
Dynamics of conflict, 257
Conflict management styles, 261
Transactional analysis, 266
Conflict management techniques, 277
Summary, 280
Review questions, 281
From Activity 1 to Activity 7, 281-289
References, 290

8. Negotiation, 292
Definition, 292
Negotiation as a critical activity of the head of human resources, 293
Preludes for good negotiation, 295
Key concepts of negotiation, 297
Distributive negotiation, 300
Integrative negotiation, 305
Comparison between distributive negotiation and integrative negotiation,
308
Dealing with difficult negotiation situations, 310
Ethics in negotiation, 312
Some specific situations in negotiation, 316
Summary, 320
Review questions, 321
From Activity 1 to Activity 9, 321-325
References, 326

9. Leadership, 327
Definition, 327
Importance of leadership, 328
Leadership and management, 330
The trait approach to leadership, 333
The behavioural approach to leadership, 335
The contingency approach to leadership, 340
The approaches stressing importance of followers for leaders, 358
Modern perspectives on leadership, 362
A perspective on alternatives for leadership, 371
Personal quality and leadership, 373
Leadership development, 375
Summary, 377

vii
 Review questions, 377
From Activity 1 to Activity 9, 378-386
References, 388

10. Group Dynamics, 390

Definition, 390
Types of groups, 392
Reasons for joining groups, 394
How groups are formed, 396
Aspects of group structure, 399
Informal organizations, 412
The effects of groups on individual performance, 418
Committees, 420
Potential benefits and weaknesses of formal groups, 434
Teams, 438
Summary, 444
Review questions, 445
From Activity 1 to Activity 8, 445-451
References, 453

11. Power and Politics, 455

Definition of power, 455
Sources of power in an organization, 458
Etzioni’s power analysis, 462
Symbols of power and powerlessness, 463
Organizational politics, 468
Management of political behaviour, 473
The ethics of power and politics, 477
Summary, 480
Review questions, 481
From Activity 1 to Activity 12, 482-489
References, 490

12. Organizational Structure, 492

The meaning of organizational structure, 492
Key elements of organizational structure, 493
Organizational designs, 511
Contingencies of organizational designs, 524
Organizational structure and employees, 533
Summary, 534
Review questions, 534
From Activity 1 to Activity 7, 535-539
References, 541

viii
13. Organizational Culture, 542
Definition of organizational culture, 542
Nature of organizational culture, 544
Cultural typologies, 547
The importance and effects of organizational culture, 554
Approaches to organizational culture, 558
Management of organizational culture, 562
Creating an ethical culture, 576
Summary, 581
Review questions, 582
From Activity 1 to Activity 9, 582-590
References, 592

14. Organizational Change, 594

Definition of organizational change, 594
Importance of organizational change, 596
Forces for change, 597
Resistance to change, 600
Models of organizational change, 608
Organizational development, 616
OD interventions, 623
Summary, 633
Review questions, 634
From Activity 1 to Activity 8, 634-642
References, 644

ix
Preface
I believe that Organizational Behaviour will play a key role in determining the
success and progress of success of our professionals, organizations and the
society as a whole.
The Author

This book is on Organizational Behaviour (OB), which is one of the most important
subjects in the education of Management of Organizations today. OB is a subject that
is compulsory for any Management Studies student irrespective of his or her field of
specialisation and interest. It is an exciting academic discipline which is one of the
behavioural sciences and is alternatively called Organizational Psychology.

This book is about the systematic study of individuals, groups, and organizational
processes in an organization in order to improve organizational effectiveness.

There are seven reasons for writing this book.

1. Management Education in Sri Lanka has been commenced more than 50 years
ago. Despite the long history of Management Education in Sri Lanka, Sri
Lankan literature on fundamentals of OB in English is negligible, and specially
there is no single textbook on OB in English Medium written by a Sri Lankan
or by anyone relating to Sri Lankan context which can be used by the Sri
Lankan student, Sri Lankan university teacher and the Sri Lankan manager.
My basic objective of writing this book is to fill this gap to a significant extent.
2. Our students and even teachers find it difficult to understand fully the books
on OB written by foreign authors.
3. There is an essential need to have learning material and teaching material,
which match Sri Lankan context. Consequently this book will improve quality
and relevance of OB education in Sri Lanka.
4. Many students in Sri Lanka are unable to find even foreign books to buy or
read.
5. Current books being used by students and teachers of Management Studies
are foreign books. Consequently a considerable amount of foreign exchange
goes out of Sri Lanka in every year. To have a Sri Lankan text will have a
positive impact on saving foreign exchange to a significant extent and of
course I believe in that my book will give an encouragement to Sri Lankan
academics to write books in English which is the language of Management
Education (except a few programmes) in Sri Lanka. Postgraduate Education
of Management in Sri Lanka is conducted in English.
6. This book will definitely increase the images of the Department of HRM,
Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, and the University of Sri
Jayewardenepura.

x
 7. Based on my observations the content validity of teaching and learning OB in
Sri Lanka is not at excellent level, if not good level.

The purpose of this book is to provide a systematic and rational understanding of

OB, both conceptual understanding and application-oriented understanding to the
reader. It delivers a systematic and scientific approach to the analysis and handling of
major issues in OB. Normally OB is considered as a difficult subject to teach and
learn. I tried to write the book in a way that appeals to the person who has no or little
competency of OB. Also an attempt was made to present complex subject matters by
simplifying English language with the intention of enhancing readability and ability of
understanding of the reader. I ignored generally accepted spelling differences between
American English and British English in writing this book. I believe in that the book
is highly readable and teachable.

Unlike foreign textbooks (specially American) there was no team of developing this
book. In addition to writing this book I had to do the hard work of word processing,
editing, and proofreading myself. While performing many duties and services not
only at my university level but also at the national level I wrote this book. Key
features of the book include the following:

1. Chapter objectives and summary

2. Real-life examples
3. Instruments developed by the author to measure various OB constructs
4. Vignettes
5. Review questions
6. Activities (Cases, Critical incidents, and Skill builders)
7. Glossary

The book is an essential reference to everyone who wishes to become an appropriate

management professional in any field. May this book contribute to increase learning and
teaching of OB among students, professionals and university and college teachers, and finally to
enhance standards of living of people! This is my heart- felt wish. Any suggestions for the
improvement of the book are welcome.

Professor Dr. Henarath Hettiarachchige Desapriya Nandana Pushpakumara Opatha

129/5 Thiththawelgolla
Kirigampamunuwa Dambulla.
Polgasowita

16/07/2015

opatha@sjp.ac.lk
hopatha@yahoo.com

xi
 Acknowledgements
 My sincere deep gratitude and appreciation are expressed to all the authors
whose written work and ideas of OB were useful in writing this book.
 It is with great respect that I would like to place on record my deep gratitude
to My Father (Late Captain Mr. H.H.D.S. Ashoka Opatha) and My Mother
(Mrs. D.M. Herath).
 A special thank goes to Prof. Hemantha Kottawatta, who is one of my best
students and the current Head of the Department of Human Resource
Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura for being a source of
encouragement and help.
 I would like to thank Mr. Anura Babunusinghe, Mr. Rangith Edirisinghe, and
others for their appreciation and support.
 And, certainly my propound appreciation is expressed to my loving wife (Mrs.
Renuka Nilanthi Opatha) for her love, understanding, support and patience
throughout the book. She is truly “a lady of love, understanding and patience.”
My deep appreciations go to my loving daughter (Pooja Jayani Opatha) for her
love and support and my loving son (Prabath Janath Opatha) for his love and
patience.

xii

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