Managing Behavior in Organizations / Edition 3

As you hold this book in your hands, you can tell that it is not a traditional, full-featured organizational behavior (OB) text that covers all aspects of all topics. Its diminutive dimensions and paperback format suggest otherwise. Rather, you may consider it a tour of the scientific and practical highlights of OB housed in a succinct package. It gets "right to the point" by focusing on essential concepts and practices that students really must know. Fortunately, the thousands of students to whom I have taught this material over the years have done a fine job (albeit sometimes, with painful bluntness) of letting me know precisely what is wheat and what is chaff. It was with an eye toward answering their proverbial question "What's the most important stuff?" that I wrote this book.

For Whom Is This Book Written?

This book is aimed squarely at readers who have no special background or training in the social sciences. It is designed to be read by students taking their first class in management or organizational behavior. Specifically, these readers are as follows:

• Undergraduate students (in both two-year and four-year colleges)
• MBA students and those in related masters-level programs
• Practicing managers and executives in corporate training programs

Because this book is a stand-alone guide to the essentials of OB, in previous editions, it has been supplemented by additional materials such as cases, exercises, and readings that reflect instructors' particular approaches to teaching OB. In fact, rather than attempting to be an all-inclusive package that dictates precisely what and how to teach, this book offersinstructors the ultimate in flexibility. Whether an instructor is teaching OB using the case method, an experiential approach, a seminar format, distance learning, or a traditional series of lectures, students must recognize, understand, and appreciate the essentials of OB as a practical and scientific field. Regardless of the mode of delivery (and previous editions have been used in all these ways), it is necessary to understand the basics of the field. And this, in a nutshell, is what this book offers.

A Balanced Approach to Theory and Practice

Many textbooks take a particularly narrow approach to whatever field they are describing. In the field of OB, some texts focus primarily on research and theory whereas others center mainly on managerial practice. In my opinion, these skewed orientations are misleading and do readers a disservice insofar as they fail to reflect the true nature of the field of OB. By its very nature, OB is a deliberate blend of the scientific and the practical—an applied science in the truest sense. And this carefully balanced orientation is reflected in this book. Accordingly, I have prepared this book so that readers will come away with a firm understanding of what should be done (and what currently is being done) to improve the functioning of organizations and the satisfaction of people who work in them, as well as the research and theory that accounts for why these practices are effective.

Although examples of this balanced approach to theory and practice may be found throughout this book, a few illustrations of this approach are in order. Take Chapter 4, on motivation. Here, my treatment of the various classic theories of motivation is framed in terms of the central practical question: How do you motivate employees? The sate may be said for Chapter 12 on culture and creativity. Here, readers come away with a basic understanding of not only the concepts of culture and creativity lout also the very practical matter of how to promote a culture in which creativity abounds. Virtually every chapter captures this dual allegiance to theory and practice.

Mission: Keeping Abreast of the Shifting Landscape

Keeping up with the ever-changing world of organizations is a full-time job. I know, because it's mine. As a researcher, consultant, educator, and author, I spend my working hours probing into the world of organizational behavior, which at cocktail parties I have been known to define as the field that explains "what makes people tick" on the job. In the three decades I have studied, taught, and written in this field, my standard cocktail-party line has not changed (much to the chagrin of my wife), although the field surely has. Several of the topics we once regarded as central while I watched the Watergate hearings have faded into the background as others have gained prominence. Research findings I took for granted when my hair covered my ears like headphones are seen in a new light today, when I consider myself lucky to have hair at all. And those organizations in which I applied my knowledge while wearing my best double-knit polyester slacks have undergone dramatic transformations—if, unlike those pants, they even still exist. Such core issues as what people do, how and why they do it, and even where they do it, cannot be understood from the lava lamp mentality of the 1970s.

Importantly, to truly understand the world of organizations today, we must seriously consider changes in organizational theory and practice that were made in only the three years since the previous edition of this book was published. Sweeping changes in Internet technology have revolutionized the functioning of organizations and the ways people work within them. Any reasonable effort to characterize the world of OB must reflect these rapid advances. Indeed, keeping abreast of such changes is both the challenge and the joy of writing textbooks in this field. Finding a sufficiently stable terrain about which to write amid an ever-shifting landscape is my ongoing mission in revising this book. It was with an eye toward chronicling the most current thinking about the state of the field of OB that I prepared this book. As a result, it contains topics that are completely new to this edition as well as material that was presented in different contexts or with different emphases in earlier editions.

These changes are not merely cosmetic, but reflect my objective—to present the most recent knowledge about the field of organizational behavior in a way that describes the field of OB as it is studied and practiced today. Specifically, here are just a few of the topics that are new to this edition of the book:

• Social identity theory (Chapter 2)
• The self-fulfilling prophecy (Chapter 2)
• Knowledge management (Chapter 2)
• Intellectual capital (Chapter 2)
• Emotional dissonance (Chapter 3)
• Emotional intelligence (Chapter 3)
• Mood congruence (Chapter 3)
• Procedural justice (Chapter 4)
• Concierge programs (Chapter 4)
• Myths about affirmative action (Chapter 5)
• Employee loyalty (Chapter 5)
• Social information processing model (Chapter 5)
• Dispositional model of job satisfaction (Chapter 5)
• Psychological contracts (Chapter 6)
• Deviant organizational behavior (Chapter 6)
• Career coaches (Chapter 7)
• Entrepreneurship (Chapter 7)
• Communicating in the global economy (Chapter 8)
• Communicating in a multilingual workforce (Chapter 8)
• Inspirational communication (Chapter 8)
• Law of telecosm (Chapter 9)
• Virtual teams (Chapter 9)
• Adaptive agents as decision aids (Chapter 10)
• Cultural differences in decision making (Chapter 10)
• Co-CEOs (Chapter 11)
• Grassroots leadership (Chapter 11)
• Leading in the digital age (Chapter 11)
• Divergent thinking (Chapter 12)
• Morphology (Chapter 12)
• Toxic organizational cultures (Chapter 12)
• The Internet and organizational culture (Chapter 12)
• Affiliate networks (Chapter 13)
• "Going virtual" (Chapter 13)
• Appreciative inquiry (Chapter 14)
• Strategic planning (Chapter 14)

I also included two new chapters, which include a blend of new and newly organized material. These are as follows:

• Chapter 3: Personality, Feelings, and Stress
• Chapter 6: Interpersonal Behavior in the Workplace

These additions reflect growing interest in these topics in recent years. They were guided by feedback from readers of the previous edition of this book, as well as my own assessment of what's happening in the field of OB. I resisted the temptation to include the latest fads. To have done otherwise would have triggered a departure from my mission of focusing on the essentials—in addition to dating the book prematurely and diminishing its usefulness for readers. As such, changes in content were made only where warranted.

Pedagogical Features

In addition to changes in coverage, I also added and enhanced the pedagogical features in this book.

CHAPTER-OPENING CASE: "MAKING THE CASE FOR..."

The most prominent change is the addition of a chapter-opening case that introduces and leads into the material. It is entitled "Making the Case for. . . " and is designed to do precisely what the name implies—describe a real organizational case that foreshadows and suggests the importance of the material in each chapter. Although such cages are more commonly found in full-featured OB texts than in brief ones, I added them here because they play the vital pedagogical function of establishing the relevance of the topic. And insofar as the true importance of OB may be found in the insight it provides into real organizational situations, these cases play a critical role in conveying the nature of the field.

HIGHLY DIVERSE COMPANY EXAMPLES

These cases—and all real company examples throughout the book, in fact—are selected to reflect the varied nature of organizations. Some describe giant multinational corporations, whereas others chronicle small, entrepreneurial-based businesses. Some of the organizations portrayed are government agencies, some are not-for-profits, and still others are for-profit companies in the private sector. And, of course, some examples illustrate the dynamics of today's faced-paced Internet-based businesses (dot-coms, as they are known), but I have not forgotten the traditional bricks-and-mortar businesses. This diversity in company examples is quite intentional. I wanted to illustrate that OB principles and practices are relevant to all types of organizations, not just some. And, insofar as readers are likely to work at a wide variety of organizations, I thought it was important for them to be able to relate to some of the examples and to learn about the others.

HIGHLIGHTING PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: "WINNING PRACTICES"

Highlighting my commitment to the interplay between the theoretical and the practical, each chapter contains a special boxed section entitled "Winning Practices." These sections contain all new material that calls readers' attention to current organizational practices that illustrate one or more key OB concepts from that chapter. In this sense, these sections are clear illustrations of practical applications of OB—the very kinds of material that convince students .of the relevance of the field of OB. To get students thinking about the topics described in these sections, and to help make connections to the main text material, I have added three "questions for discussion" at the end of each. Whether used jointly in class, or by students individually, these questions are designed to stimulate reactions to the material.

ENHANCED TABLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS

This book is now more richly illustrated and full of descriptive tables than its predecessors. I have incorporated these features into the book because I am convinced that material presented in these formats helps many students understand and remember ideas that otherwise get camouflaged in the body of the text. Over the years, my students have always expressed their appreciation for interesting figures and tables, so I have gone out of my way to ensure that the ones in this book are as useful as possible.

RETURN OF POPULAR PEDAGOGICAL FEATURES

Back by popular demand are several of the most popular pedagogical features from the previous edition of this book. These features, found in each chapter, are as follows:

• Learning Objectives. At the beginning of each chapter, readers are provided a list of six specific things they should be able to do after reading that chapter. These all begin with verbs, such as define, describe, identify, and distinguish.
• "Three Good Reasons Why You Should Care About . . . ." Understandably, today's busy students may be prone to challenge the relevance of material, asking what value it has to them. Assuming that students are most receptive to learning about topics that have some recognizable benefits to themselves, these sections begin each chapter by indicating precisely why readers should care about the topic at hand.
• You Be the Consultant. These brief sections describe a hypothetical organizational problem and then challenge readers to draw on the material to find ways of solving them.
• Summary: Have I Met the Learning Objectives? The learning objectives are restated at the end of each chapter. Following each, I have provided summaries of the material bearing on that particular objective. These serve not only as chapter-end summaries, but they also provide valuable opportunities for self-testing of the chapters' major points.

Finally, I also have retained in each chapter the two skills-based exercises that were so popular in earlier editions of this book. These are as follows:

• Self-Assessment Exercise. These exercises are designed to provide readers with insight into key aspects of their own individual attitudes or relevant behavior.
• Group Exercise. These hands-on experiences require the joint efforts of small groups of students to help illustrate thinking about key phenomena described in the text.

These exercises can be an important part of students' learning experiences. They not only expose students to some of the phenomena described in the text on a firsthand basis, but they also stimulate critical thinking about those phenomena. Not unimportantly, they are fun.

Available Teaching and Learning Aids

This book is accompanied by a very helpful set of materials to aid both students and instructors. These teaching aids and instructional aids were prepared especially for this book.

FOR STUDENTS

Students reading this book will find a great deal of useful information available to them at the book's companion Web site: www.prenhall.com/greenberg. These include the following:

• Learning Objectives. Each chapter identifies six objectives students should be able to recognize and understand after reading the chapter.
• Interactive Study Guide. This consists of instantly-scored quizzes on each chapter that help students assess their mastery of the material.

FOR INSTRUCTORS

Available to professors adopting this book is a complete set of instructional aids consisting of the following items:

• Instructor's Manual with Test Item File (print version). Each chapter of the Instructor's Manual includes a chapter synopsis, lecture outline, and suggested answers to end-of-chapter questions. The Test Item File provides 25 multiple-choice questions, 25 true/false questions, and 5-7 short answer/essay questions for each chapter.
• Prentice Hall Test Manager. Test Manager is a comprehensive suite of tools for testing and assessment that contains all of the questions in the printed Test Item File.
• PowerPoint Electronic Transparencies. More than 100 slides, available on CD-ROM, illustrate key chapter material.
• Downloads for Instructors. The Instructor's Manual and PowerPoint slides also may be downloaded from a password-protected instructor's page on the book's companion Web site, www.prenhall.com/greenberg.

Instructors requesting these materials should contact their Prentice Hall sales representative.

Acknowledgments

In closing, I wish to acknowledge the many talented and hardworking individuals whose efforts have made this book possible. To begin, I thank my colleagues who have provided valuable suggestions and comments in response to various drafts of this and earlier editions of this book. These include:

• Richard Grover, University of Southern Maine
• Jeffrey Miles, University of the Pacific
• Michael Buckley, University of Oklahoma
• Suzyn Ornstein, Suffolk University
• Fabia Fernandes, Boise State University
• Pal A. Fadil, Valdosta University
• Greg Mathison, GTE Communications Corp.
• Robert Insley, University of North Texas
• Sally Riggs Fuller, University of Washington

Second, I wish to thank the editorial and production teams at Prentice Hall. My editors, John Sisson, Jennifer Glennon, Melissa Steffens, and Jessica Sabloff provided the steadfast guidance and support, along with the "gentle reminders," which have brought this book to fruition. On the production side, Judy Leale, Keri Jean, Nancy Marcello, and Michael Fruhbeis worked tirelessly at transforming my ramblings into the beautiful book you have before you. I am truly indebted to these kind professionals for lending their talents to this project.

Finally, I wish to acknowledge my many colleagues and students at the Fisher College of Business who somehow always can tell from my demeanor when I am writing a book. I shudder to think what the cues may be, but I thank them for sheltering me from this information. Most notably, I am grateful to my research assistants, Brian Dineen and Lai D'Bughe, for gathering much of the material that helped me prepare this book. And, as always, I wish to thank the family of the late Irving Abramowitz for their generous endowment to The Ohio State University, which provided invaluable support while I was preparing this book.

Jerald Greenberg
Columbus, Ohio

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