Book REVIEW

More than just a text book

Reviewed by Dr Alan Robertson

Management education has been offered in Sri Lanka for more than 50 years, in the process becoming a very popular option for those seeking university and professional qualifications at all levels. Much of the theoretical underpinning for management is centred on the study of organisational behaviour, which focuses on the human aspects of organisations, with the result that this is an essential component of any management course.

Sri Lankan educators and students have, until now, been dependent upon textbooks related to organisational behaviour written by overseas academics. These texts are valuable resources in their own right in that they present the very diverse range of theories and practices, which make up the complex web of individual and group behaviour and interaction within organisations and draw extensively upon case studies, examples and vignettes. However, almost exclusively, they are based upon a world far removed from Sri Lanka and therefore often difficult to relate to the experience of its students, practitioners and educators.

While one might ponder as to why this situation has continued for so long, the good news is that finally Sri Lanka has its own organisational behaviour textbook, authored by Senior Professor Dr. Henarath H. D. N. P. Opatha of the Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce, University of Sri Jayewardenepura.

Professor Opatha is well recognised and highly regarded as a teacher, researcher and author and has the distinguished achievement of being the first Senior Professor in his Faculty at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.

And the good news gets better when one opens the pages of the text, appropriately titled 'Organisational Behaviour: The Human Side of Work'. Not only does Professor Opatha present very clearly the manifold facets of what characterises human behaviour in the workplace, he also illustrates them with well-crafted case studies, stories and examples. which are both insightful and thought- provoking, breathing life into theory and thereby enhancing its relevance and understanding. It's not just a textbook. In many ways it is a compendium of the intricacies of dealing with people in the workplace.

The organisation of the chapters allows the reader to commence the learning journey with the understanding of what characterises us as individuals and how this impacts on the very significant work-related attributes of attitude, perception and motivation. Drawing from this foundation, Professor Opatha explores the impact of these individual characteristics upon critical organisational issues: communication, conflict, negotiation and leadership.

Individuals, now more than ever, are encouraged to operate as part of work groups and teams. Group dynamics is therefore examined in detail as it is an integral component of behavior within an organisation in both its formal and informal manifestations.

Finally, the author moves to the broad organisational level and in successive chapters relates the impact of organisational behaviour to internal power and politics, structure, culture and change.

Each chapter contains review questions and activities, which teachers will find of great value. I personally see the case studies as an excellent teaching tool. They are interesting and, in fact, I spent enjoyable hours reading them. Most importantly, however, is their direct relevance to the Sri Lankan context and therefore of significant potential value in implementing the learning and understanding of organisational behaviour throughout the country.

Professor Opatha is to be congratulated on his initiative and endeavor in authoring this much needed publication which, as with his earlier books on human resource management and personal development, will be a valued addition to management education in Sri Lanka for many years to come. His achievement is, in my opinion, even more merit-worthy in that he is the sole author, whereas most other texts on organisational behaviour are, because of the broad scope of this area of study, produced by multiple contributors.

(Dr Alan Robertson, Dean of Studies, Nawaloka College of Higher Studies, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka)