Personality → Organizational Development

Good morning everyone. Today we will discuss a set of fundamental concepts in

organizational behaviour and human resource management: Personality, Perception,
Attitudes, Emotions and Emotional Intelligence, Group Dynamics, Power and Politics,
Conflict and Negotiation, Stress Management, Organizational Change, and
Organizational Development. I will explain each concept in depth, illustrate it with practical
workplace examples and brief caselets, and suggest a few questions or mini-activities you can
do during the lecture.

Personality — meaning and importance

Personality is the organized pattern of feelings, thoughts, and behaviours that make each
person unique. When we say someone has a ‘personality’, we mean there is a relatively stable
way they perceive the world, make decisions, react to pressure, and interact with others. In
organisations this matters because personality affects everything from job performance and
leadership style to team interactions and how people cope with change. For instance, two
employees with the same role and workload may behave very differently: one may be calm,
methodical and reliable under pressure, while another becomes anxious, makes hurried errors
and withdraws from teamwork. That difference is largely attributable to differences in
personality.

Theories of personality — elaborated with examples

Let us now move through the main theories of personality and see how each one helps us
understand behaviour at work.

Type theories classify people into broad categories. Carl Jung’s distinction between
introverts and extroverts is useful for thinking about role fit: an extrovert salesperson will
often enjoy constant social contact and thrive on immediate feedback, while an introvert
analyst may prefer deep work with fewer interruptions. Friedman and Rosenman’s Type A
and Type B patterns illustrate behavioural risk: Type A individuals are competitive, time-
conscious and may accept high work intensity — think of a high-performing emergency-
room physician — but they are also at greater risk of stress-related illness. Type B
individuals, by contrast, are calmer and may be better suited to creative or low-pressure roles.

Trait theories treat personality as a collection of measurable traits. Allport distinguished

cardinal traits, those that dominate a person’s behaviour (for example, a leader driven by
integrity), central traits that form the basic personality (such as friendliness or
conscientiousness), and secondary traits that appear only in some situations (such as anxiety
about public speaking). Cattell used factor analysis to isolate 16 personality factors; Eysenck
proposed three broad dimensions — extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism — which
can be used to predict workplace behaviour. Today the Big Five model — Openness,
Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism — is widely used in HR
practice because it predicts many outcomes. For example, high conscientiousness is a strong
predictor of reliable performance in clerical or accounting roles; high openness predicts
creativity useful in design or strategy; high agreeableness supports teamwork and service
roles.

Psychoanalytic theory, developed by Freud, reminds us that some motivation is

unconscious. Freud’s model speaks of three interacting systems: the Id, which seeks pleasure
and immediate gratification; the Ego, which negotiates reality; and the Superego, which
enforces moral standards. In an organisational example, a salesperson’s Id may push them
toward overstating results to close a sale; their Superego may inhibit dishonest behaviour; the
Ego manages the trade-off by seeking an ethical way to improve sales.

Social learning theory — Albert Bandura’s work — emphasizes modelling and

reinforcement. People learn behaviours by observing others and watching the consequences.
In a hospital, a junior nurse will learn bedside manner not just from lectures but by observing
empathetic senior nurses; when that behaviour is praised and rewarded, it becomes part of the
junior’s personality repertoire.

Humanistic theories, represented by Maslow and Rogers, highlight growth and self-
actualization. Maslow’s hierarchy suggests employees who have fairly secure wages and
working conditions will seek higher-level fulfilment such as recognition and purpose.
Organisations that help employees meet these higher needs — for example, by enabling
learning, career progression and meaningful work — will see more self-directed, creative
behaviour.

Finally, interactionist perspectives tell us behaviour is a function of both traits and situation.
A normally reserved engineer may become outspoken in a familiar team meeting where they
feel psychologically safe. The key managerial implication is that when we assess personality,
we must also consider the context in which behaviour occurs.

Personality in organizational behaviour — practical

implications
Personality matters in HR decisions. For selection, matching the person to the job — person–
job fit — improves performance and lowers turnover. For example, a highly conscientious
candidate is an excellent fit for audit or quality-control roles where attention to detail matters.
For leadership, extroversion often helps people to be visible and persuasive, but a reflective
introvert may be a better strategic thinker. In teams, diversity of personality increases
creativity but can create conflict; managers must design norms and communication channels
that harness different styles. Personality also predicts stress responses — Type A employees
may need stress-management support — and change adaptability — people high in openness
adapt faster to new technology.

Class mini-caselet: Consider a startup that promoted its best coder to a people-manager role.
The coder is highly conscientious and technically brilliant but shy. Post-promotion, team
communication weakened. Ask students: what personality factors matter here, and what
options does HR have? (Possible answers: provide leadership coaching, allow hybrid role
combining technical and managerial tasks, or reassign managerial tasks.)

Perception — how people construct reality

Perception is the active process through which people select, organize and interpret sensory
input to form a meaningful picture of the world. Perception, not objective reality, influences
decisions and behaviour. Two employees who are present during the same appraisal
discussion may leave with entirely different interpretations: one may perceive fairness and
constructive advice; the other may feel unfairly criticized. This divergence arises because
perception filters how we see events.

Factors that influence perception

There are three broad influences: characteristics of the perceiver, characteristics of the target,
and the situation.

 Perceiver factors include a person’s attitudes, prior experience, expectations, motives

and interests. A manager who expects underperformance will tend to find faults —
this expectation shapes what they notice.
 Target factors include novelty, motion, size, background and similarity. New or novel
stimuli attract attention — a rookie’s new idea is noticed because it’s novel, not
necessarily because it’s better.
 Situational factors include time pressure, work setting, and social context. Under time
constraints, people make quicker, less nuanced interpretations.

Common perceptual errors

Let us review typical biases you must be mindful of as future managers:

1. Selective perception: seeing only what confirms your beliefs. If a supervisor believes
an employee is lazy, they may ignore that employee’s later hard work.
2. Halo effect: a positive impression on one trait spills over to other judgments.
Example: a polished applicant is assumed to be competent across the board.
3. Horns effect: one negative trait colors the entire appraisal.
4. Stereotyping: making generalizations about people based on group membership.
Saying “millennials are entitled” is stereotyping.
5. Projection: attributing one’s own motives to others; a dishonest manager may assume
staff are also dishonest.
6. Contrast effect: people are evaluated relative to those they are compared with. A
mediocre candidate looks great after a weak interviewee.
7. First-impression error and self-fulfilling prophecy: early expectations shape
behaviour. If a leader expects high performance, they may provide more support
which then produces high performance.

Practical tip: Use structured interviews and rating scales to reduce these biases in selection
and appraisal.
Attitudes — components and functions
An attitude is a learned predisposition to respond favourably or unfavourably toward a
particular object, person or situation. Attitudes have three components: the affective (feeling),
the cognitive (belief), and the behavioural (intention to act). For example, if an employee
feels proud of their company (affective), believes the organisation invests in employee
development (cognitive), and then volunteers for extra training (behavioural), that is attitude
in action.

Katz proposed four functions of attitudes, which help managers design interventions:

1. Adjustment function (utilitarian): attitudes guide behaviour to gain rewards and

avoid punishment. For example, positive attitudes toward safety result from incentives
for safe practice.
2. Ego-defensive function: attitudes protect self-esteem. An employee blaming an
external tool for a failing project illustrates this function.
3. Value-expressive function: attitudes reflect central values; for example, an employee
committed to sustainability will advocate eco-friendly policies.
4. Knowledge function: attitudes provide cognitive organization and simplify decision-
making by offering frameworks.

When changing employee attitudes, use emotional appeals, cognitive information, role
modelling and changes in reinforcement. For example, if you want to increase safety
compliance, combine education with rewards, visible role-modelling by supervisors, and
safe-design modifications that make safe choices easier.

Emotions and Emotional Intelligence (EI)

Emotions are short-lived, intense responses to specific stimuli. They combine physiological
arousal, cognitive appraisal and behavioural expression. Whereas moods are diffuse and
long-lasting, emotions have identifiable triggers. Emotions strongly influence decision-
making: anger can produce risky choices; fear can produce avoidance; pride can increase
effort.

Emotional intelligence, a concept popularised by Daniel Goleman, is the capacity to

recognise, understand and manage one’s own emotions and to recognise and influence the
emotions of others. EI comprises five interrelated components:

1. Self-awareness — knowing your emotional states and how they affect behaviour. A
manager who recognises they are becoming impatient can choose to pause and
reframe feedback.
2. Self-regulation — managing disruptive impulses and emotions; for example,
choosing to defer a corrective conversation until calmer.
3. Motivation — using emotional forces to pursue goals with energy and persistence;
intrinsic motivation is a hallmark.
 4. Empathy — understanding others’ perspectives and emotions; this is critical in
service sectors and conflict resolution.
5. Social skills — managing relationships, building networks and influencing others.

Example: In a hospital triage, a nurse with high EI can stay calm, comfort patients and
coordinate the team effectively, while low EI can lead to panic and poor coordination.

Teaching exercise: role-play a performance feedback scenario where one student practices
giving feedback with low EI and another with high EI; discuss differences in outcomes.

Group dynamics and stages of group development

A group is two or more people interacting to achieve common goals. Group dynamics studies
the forces operating within groups that affect performance and behaviour. Groups develop
over time, and Tuckman’s classic five-stage model describes this evolution:

1. Forming: members are polite, exploratory and uncertain about roles. The leader’s
role is directive and clarifying.
2. Storming: conflicts about goals, roles and power emerge. Productive conflict can
lead to better decisions if managed.
3. Norming: group develops shared norms and cohesion. Roles become clearer and
cooperation increases.
4. Performing: high maturity, independence and coordinated problem-solving—this is
when groups deliver results.
5. Adjourning: for temporary teams, the closure and disengagement stage—members
may feel sadness or relief.

A temporary team on a semester project often follows a punctuated-equilibrium pattern:

initial low energy, a sudden mid-course push as deadlines approach, and a final burst of
productivity.

Practical classroom activity: Ask students to map a past team experience to these stages and
identify interventions that would have moved the team faster to performing.

Power and politics — sources and ethical use

Power is the capacity to influence others. French and Raven’s framework identifies several
bases of power:

 Legitimate power — comes from formal role or position. A principal who sets
school policy wields legitimate power.
 Reward power — ability to provide incentives such as bonuses or promotions.
 Coercive power — ability to punish or sanction.
 Expert power — derived from specialised knowledge; a cybersecurity expert
commands trust and influence.
  Referent power — based on admiration and identification; an inspirational leader—
someone people emulate—has referent power.
 Information power — control over valuable information can be a powerful resource.
 Connection power — influence gained through networks and relationships.

Power used ethically fosters trust and compliance. Abused power leads to cynicism, conflict
and turnover. Politics in organisations — behaviours aimed at power acquisition — may be
destructive or constructive, depending on intent and transparency.

Scenario for reflection: A mid-level manager uses information power to influence

promotion outcomes secretly. Discuss ethical issues and possible organisational responses.

Conflict and negotiation — types, management styles, and

process
Conflict arises when parties perceive incompatible goals or interference. Types include:

 Intrapersonal conflict: within an individual, e.g., role ambiguity or values conflict.

 Interpersonal conflict: between two people, such as a supervisor-subordinate clash.
 Intragroup conflict: within a team over tasks or roles.
 Intergroup conflict: between departments, like sales and production arguing over
deadlines.
 Interorganizational conflict: between firms, such as supplier disputes.

Conflict may be functional, stimulating innovation and corrective action, or dysfunctional,

harming morale and productivity.

Thomas and Kilmann describe five conflict-handling styles: competing, collaborating,

compromising, avoiding, and accommodating. The best style depends on the situation. Use
competing for urgent safety issues, collaborating for complex problems needing multiple
inputs, compromising for quick, mutually acceptable solutions, avoiding for trivial disputes,
and accommodating when maintaining harmony is critical.

Negotiation process: prepare by identifying interests and BATNA (best alternative to

negotiated agreement), exchange information, make proposals, bargain, and close. Two main
negotiation types are distributive (win–lose, dividing a fixed pie) and integrative (win–win,
expanding the pie by exploring shared interests). Skilled negotiators search for integrative
options, trade across issues, and build relationships.

Role-play suggestion: pair students as supplier and buyer; use integrative bargaining to
create value (e.g., flexible delivery terms plus a price concession).

Stress and stress management

Stress is the body and mind’s reaction to demands that exceed coping resources. Hans Selye
termed stress the “nonspecific response” to any demand. Stress can be eustress, which
motivates action, or distress, which damages health and performance.

Sources of stress include:

 Individual factors: personality (Type A), poor time management, unrealistic goals.
 Organisational factors: role conflict, role ambiguity, heavy workload, poor
leadership and inadequate resources.
 Environmental factors: economic uncertainty, social upheaval, technological
change.

Consequences include physiological symptoms (headaches, hypertension), psychological

effects (anxiety, depression, burnout), and behavioural outcomes (absenteeism, reduced
productivity).

Management strategies operate at two levels. At the individual level, techniques include
time management, cognitive restructuring to change irrational beliefs, relaxation and
breathing exercises, regular physical exercise, adequate sleep and social support. At the
organisational level, redesign jobs to reduce overload and role ambiguity, implement
employee assistance programs, offer flexible work arrangements, promote supportive
leadership and create a culture that encourages work–life balance.

Example: Many technology companies offer mindfulness sessions, flexible hours and
counselling, which reduce turnover and increase job satisfaction.

Organizational change — models, resistance, and steps

Organizational change is the process of moving from the current state to a desired future state
to improve effectiveness. Change can be planned or reactive, incremental or
transformational. Forces driving change include technological advances, competitive
pressure, legal and regulatory change, demographic shifts and internal strategy shifts.

Kurt Lewin’s three-step model — unfreeze, change, refreeze — is a practical heuristic.

First unfreeze the status quo by creating awareness of the need for change; then change by
implementing new processes, systems and behaviours; finally refreeze by institutionalising
the new routines so they stick. John Kotter’s eight-step model provides a more granular
roadmap: create urgency, build a guiding coalition, form a vision, communicate the vision,
empower broad-based action, generate short-term wins, consolidate gains and anchor the
changes into the culture.

Resistance to change is natural and may stem from fear of the unknown, habit, loss of status,
economic insecurity or mistrust. Effective change leaders use communication, involvement,
support and negotiation to reduce resistance. Pilot projects, early wins and active sponsorship
can build momentum.
Case example: when a mid-sized hospital moved to an electronic medical record system,
clinicians resisted because they feared slower workflow and loss of control. Leadership
addressed concerns by communicating benefits, training staff intensively, running a pilot in
one department, and recognizing early successes, which gradually built acceptance.

Organizational Development (OD) — process and

interventions
Organizational Development is a long-term, system-wide effort to improve organisational
effectiveness and employee well-being through planned interventions grounded in
behavioural science. OD is participative, diagnostic and iterative.

The typical OD process includes: diagnosis (collect data through surveys, interviews and
observation), feedback (share findings with stakeholders), action planning (develop
interventions), intervention (implement the planned activities), and evaluation (assess
results and refine). Key OD interventions include:

 Team building to improve group performance and trust; for example, a hospital may
run a surgical-team workshop to improve communication and reduce errors.
 Sensitivity training (T-groups) to increase self-awareness and interpersonal
effectiveness.
 Survey feedback where employee survey results are used to formulate action plans.
 Process consultation where an external consultant helps improve group processes.
 Intergroup development to reduce conflict between departments.
 Appreciative inquiry that focuses on strengths and aspirational change rather than
problem-fixing.
 Quality of Work Life (QWL) programs to improve the overall working conditions
and employee satisfaction.

OD initiatives are most effective when leadership is committed, change is aligned with
strategy, and there is a culture of continuous learning.

Group exercise suggestion: provide a short OD diagnosis summary and ask groups to
propose a three-month intervention plan with measurable outcomes.

Closing summary and classroom prompts

To summarise: personality, perception and attitudes shape how people behave at work;
emotions and emotional intelligence determine how people respond under pressure; groups
and power structures determine how influence and decisions are exercised; conflict and stress
are inevitable but manageable; and organisational change and OD are systematic ways to
improve organisational functioning. As future managers or scholars, your task is to design
systems, processes and cultures that recognise human variability while steering behaviour
toward organisational goals.
Class prompts:

1. Think of a workplace you know: map one person’s behaviour to personality traits,
perception biases and an emotion they experienced.
2. Identify one organisational change in recent memory and discuss which of Lewin’s
steps was followed and whether resistance was handled effectively.

Thank you — that concludes the lecture. If you’d like, I can convert this into a printable
handout, a slide deck with speaker notes, or prepare an exam question set and reading list to
accompany these lecture notes. Which would you prefer next?