Customer Reviews

Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach (7th Edition)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Osland, Kolb, and Rubin continue to make a fine book better. The buyer is well advised to think about the title before making a purchase. Organizational Behavior: an Experiential Approach makes clear that much of the text will be devoted to things like "Learning Style Inventories," "Thematic Apperception Tests," "Past Experience Inventories", "Active Listening Exercises," Case Studies, Role Plays, and the like. Many of these exercises may be easily completed and scored by the reader. Some, like the Thematic Apperception Test, are difficult for the reader to score accurately, but not impossible. Many of the exercises, such as active listening, require a partner, and some simulations require a larger group to complete the work.

The introductory text to the experiential exercises at the end of each chapter is well written and instructive. In a few words the authors make valuable points about perception, motivation, leadership, decision-making and problem solving, group work, and team development. They have in mind the professional manager who has on-the-job experience; a younger reader might find it difficult to relate to the tone and style of the book, which is aimed at a literate, educated, intelligent audience.

College professors, many of whom are a finicky lot, have adopted this book for their organizational behavior courses for over twenty years. That they continue to select this text is testimony to its enduring appeal and value.

For those readers who want a more conventional approach to the subject of organizational behavior, Stephen Robbins has written a variety of OB books that are comprehensive, readable, and even entertaining. Robbins covers more ground than Osland, but has less room for personal application of the material.

The reader who wants to learn from concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experiementation will find Organizational Behavior: an Experiential Approach an excellent resource for further study and application.

"Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach" has rightfully earned its reputation as a practical applied OD Classic! While traditional primary and secondary education emphasize building mental libraries of `theoretical knowledge,' Osland, Kolb, and Rubin recognize that working professionals learn through applicable experiences that address real-world challenges--thus, `an experiential approach.' I have successfully used lessons from "Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach" during consulting engagements in both private and public sectors, in both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, and in graduate business education. Consistently, through `experiential approaches' as described in "Organizational Behavior", adults learn more useful lessons from their experiences, learn what their lessons mean, learn how to generalize their learning for other applicable situations, AND apply more of their learning when they are back on the job. Experiential learning goes beyond merely increasing knowledge and actually changes individual (and organizational) behavior.
I highly recommend "Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach" for everyone working to achieve results through other people--and also for anyone seeking to better understand themselves and how they interact with other people.

The content of the book is great, especially when dealing with the subject in detail or even when being forced to deal with it (like I was in college). What i really liked about it was the "Learning Points" section at the end of each chapter, which is very useful especially since some of the chapters tend to be...long winded (from my point of view). To sum it up: I enjoyed dealing with the book, though it's pretty expensive.

Very interesting book that deals more in-depth with Psychology and Sociology. Very useful to have a better understanding of human behavior and interaction in the workplace.

Condition of the book is so-so, but its a school text book so I don't need it perfect. However it's discouraging the market for this book leads to such a high price.

The book was marked all over, had highlighter and the cover was pretty torn, but it still works... The seller's reviews said something about the marks in the book, so I am ok with my purchase. The bright side: the shipping was fast.

This book arrived in great condition and quickly! I learned a lot from this book, even though I had to have it for a college course.

Using this text in my Management and Leadership MBA class. Some of the exercises are a little out there in my opinion, but never the less, I see this as a book that I will keep for my library and not re-sell after the course. Because is is basically like a workbook, I would not recommend buying it as a used book unless you are sure it has not been marked up or had pages removed (they are perforated to allow for this).

The transaction when quick and recieved item sooner that expected. The item was exactly as described and was shipped hastily recommend to all.

As promised and per the condition advertised in the website. Thank You - will re-buy;