The individual: personality, perception and attitudes
Organisational behaviour starts with the person.
- Personality: a person's steady way of thinking, feeling and acting. It comes from inherited traits and from experience. A common model describes five traits: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and emotional stability. There are no 'good' or 'bad' personalities, only a better or worse fit for a job.
- Perception: how a person selects and understands what they see and hear. Two people can see the same event and read it differently. Common errors: first-impression bias, stereotypes (judging a person by a group), the halo effect (one good trait colours everything).
- Attitude: a lasting feeling for or against something, with three parts: what I think (belief), what I feel (like or dislike) and how I tend to act. Attitudes toward the job (job satisfaction) and toward the employer (commitment) affect absence and effort.
A manager who knows this can match tasks to people and avoid unfair judgements.
Digital identity
Your digital identity is the picture of you that exists online: your profiles, posts, photos, comments, and the data trails you leave. In an organisation it covers both the personal identity (social media) and the professional identity (work email, company chat, professional networks).
- E-reputation: what others find and think of you when they search. Employers often look.
- Professional use: a work account represents the organisation; what you write can affect its image.
- Protection: strong, separate passwords, two-step login, privacy settings, careful sharing, and respect for others' privacy and for company data.
Good habits: think before posting, keep work and private life apart, and ask 'would I be comfortable if my manager, a customer or a parent saw this?'
Interpersonal communication
Communication is passing a message so that it is understood. The path is: sender → encodes message → channel → receiver decodes → feedback.
- Channels: face to face, phone, email, chat, notice, meeting. Choose the channel that fits the message: urgent and sensitive things are better said in person.
- Noise (barriers): physical (a loud room), language and jargon, emotions, differing perceptions, poor listening, information overload, and technical problems.
- Feedback: the receiver's reply shows whether the message was understood. Without feedback, communication is one-way.
- Verbal and non-verbal: words, tone, face and body also carry meaning. In digital text, tone is easy to misread.
Tips: be clear and short, check understanding, listen actively, and choose the right time and tool.
Groups: status and belonging
A group is two or more people who interact and depend on each other to reach a goal. A formal group is created by the organisation (a department, a project team). An informal group forms by friendship or common interest (lunch group).
- Roles: the behaviour expected from a position (team leader, recorder).
- Status: the rank or respect given to a person, from job title, skill, age or experience. It affects who is listened to.
- Belonging: the need to be accepted. A person who feels part of a group works harder for it, but strong belonging can lead to conformity and 'groupthink' (nobody dares to disagree).
- Group development: groups often pass through forming, storming (disagreement), norming (agreeing ways of working) and performing.
A good manager builds teams with clear roles, fair treatment of status and room for different views.
Organisational culture and norms
Culture is the set of shared values, beliefs and habits that shape 'the way we do things here'. Norms are the unwritten rules that come from it: how to dress, how to speak to the boss, whether to work late.
- Visible: dress, office layout, logos, rituals, stories.
- Hidden: values and assumptions.
Culture is shown to newcomers through induction, stories and what leaders reward. A strong, positive culture speeds decisions and builds loyalty; a negative one (blame, secrecy) harms morale. Culture changes slowly: leaders must show new behaviour, change rewards and tell new stories. See also the lesson on organisational culture.
Authority, leadership and motivation
Authority is the formal right to give orders and make decisions, linked to a position. Power can also come from expertise or respect. Leadership is influencing people to work willingly toward a goal.
- Autocratic: the leader decides alone. Quick, but may lower motivation.
- Democratic: the leader consults the team. Slower, but builds commitment and ideas.
- Laissez-faire: the leader leaves choices to the team. Good for skilled, self-driven teams; weak otherwise.
Good leaders adapt style to the people and the situation.
Motivation is the inner drive to act. Two classic ideas: Maslow says needs rise from basic (food, safety) to belonging, esteem and growth, and a satisfied need no longer motivates. Herzberg separates hygiene factors (pay, conditions, rules) that prevent unhappiness from motivators (achievement, recognition, interesting work) that truly encourage effort. Clear goals, fair rewards, feedback, praise and a chance to grow all help.
Handling conflict
Conflict is a clash of goals, ideas, values or interests between people or groups. Causes: limited resources, unclear roles, different goals, poor communication, personality clashes, unfair treatment.
Conflict is not always bad. A little can bring new ideas; too much harms trust and output.
Five ways people respond:
- Avoid: keep away from the issue.
- Give in (accommodate): put the other's needs first.
- Compete: push to win.
- Compromise: each gives a little.
- Collaborate: work together for a solution that satisfies both.
Steps to resolve: stay calm, listen to both sides, name the real issue, look for shared goals, suggest options, agree and follow up. A neutral person (manager, mediator) can help when the parties cannot agree by themselves.
Key formulas and definitions
- Communication path: sender → message → channel → receiver → feedback (noise can block any step)
- Maslow: physical → safety → belonging → esteem → growth
- Herzberg: hygiene factors prevent unhappiness; motivators create effort
- Leadership styles: autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire
- Conflict responses: avoid, give in, compete, compromise, collaborate
Worked examples
1. A manager emails 'Finish the report soon.' One worker delivers it in 2 hours and another in 2 days. What went wrong in the communication?
The message was unclear: 'soon' means different things to different people (perception). There was no feedback step to check understanding. Fix: give a time ('by 3 pm today') and ask the receiver to confirm.
2. A new employee stays silent in meetings although everyone else jokes with the boss. Which concept is at work, and what can the team do?
Group norms and belonging: the newcomer has not yet learnt the unwritten rules and may feel low status. The team can introduce the person, give a clear role, ask for opinions in a friendly way, and a buddy can explain the norms.
3. A shop owner raises pay, but staff still seem bored. Using Herzberg, explain why.
Pay is a hygiene factor: it prevents unhappiness but does not create lasting motivation. To motivate, add motivators such as recognition, responsibility and chances to learn.
4. Two team members both want the only meeting room at 10 am. Name two ways to resolve this and say which is more collaborative.
Compromise: one takes 10 am, the other 11 am. Collaborate: find a solution that serves both, for example one uses a free room nearby or they hold a joint meeting. Collaboration is the more joint solution because both needs are fully met.
Common mistakes
- Thinking that sending a message means it has been understood. Check with feedback.
- Judging a person by first impressions or a group label instead of facts.
- Believing pay alone motivates everyone. Recognition and meaningful work matter too.
- Treating all conflict as bad, or ignoring it until it grows. Deal with it early and fairly.