A Primer on Organizational Behavior (Wiley Series in Management) [Paperback]

James L. Bowditch (Author), Anthony F. Buono (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471230588 | ISBN-13: 978-0471230588 | Publication Date: May 21, 2004 | Edition: 6

The study of Organizational Behavior is dedicated to illuminating both the nature of organizations and the roles we play in them. This book is a concise, sophisticated introduction to both sides of this important discipline: micro (motivation, perception, communication, group dynamics, leadership) and macro (organizational structure, culture, environment, and change). It will familiarize students with all the terms and concepts they need to understand OB and its application in modern organizations. Teachers will find it flexible and thorough, an ideal primer for use with cases, readings, experiential exercises, or simulations.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

How does Organizational Behavior affect your life?

The study of Organizational Behavior is dedicated to illuminating both the nature of organizations and the roles we play in them. This book is a concise, sophisticated introduction to both sides of this important discipline: micro (motivation, perception, communication, group dynamics, leadership) and macro (organizational structure, culture, environment, and change). It will familiarize students with all the terms and concepts they need to understand OB and its application in modern organizations. Teachers will find it flexible and thorough, an ideal primer for use with cases, readings, experiential exercises, or simulations.

Here’s a brief look at what’s new in the Sixth Edition:

• Focus on information and how IT is reshaping business organizations and related processes.
• Additional coverage on the implications of the growing use of self-service technologies, boundary-less careers, the fear surrounding terrorist attacks, global virtual teams, leadership styles, appreciative inquiry, organizational resizing, and workplace recovery.
• Expanded discussions and applications, including emotional intelligence, knowledge management, social identity theory, executive coaching, the changing role of team leadership, and organizational strategies to exert control over the environment.
• Revised emphasis on the evolution of organizational forms.  The chapter on organizational structure and design also includes a discussion of cellular organizational forms.

Like its predecessors, this Sixth Edition continues to provide anyone interested in the subject with a solid, completely up-to-date foundation in OB.

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 6 edition (May 21, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471230588
• ISBN-13: 978-0471230588
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,132,706 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Organizational Behavior, May 11, 2010

By 

L. Richardson "degree bound" (Kentucky) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Primer on Organizational Behavior (Paperback)

I am currently using this text in a class for organizational behavior. The text is well written and has symmetry in its topics. I do believe that the average reader will find some of the references in the book long and redundant. The use of many technical terms and inference are very common in this book.

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent OB textbook, best supplemented with primary readings, March 27, 2009

By 

JJD (NJ, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Primer on Organizational Behavior (Paperback)

This book is like most Organizational Behavior (OB) or Organizational Psychology textbooks in the sense that it is modular, overviews most of the major areas of research in the field, and is fairly easy to read. It does have a few unique pros & cons:

Pros:
1) Has a GREAT set of appendices reviewing basic statistics and explaining how to read an OB research article. This makes this book a good choice for teachers who want to pair textbook readings with source readings.
2) Emphasizes application more than many OB textbooks and pulls in recent research.
3) Has a low price point for an OB textbook, although it honestly should be cheaper given the absolute lack of frills (paperback, all B&W, some diagrams but no pictures).

Cons:
1) Several important topic areas are absent, like job attitudes (covered in three pages with no mention of specific attitudes like satisfaction, commitment, etc.)
2) Neglects micro issues in general -- about halfway through Ch 3 the focus shifts to macro, system-wide concerns and never looks back.

Overall, this textbook might be a good pick if you are more interested in macro aspects of OB, if your course is focused more on lecture or outside readings, and if textbook cost is a concern.

3 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible book., May 24, 2006

By 

Pissed Off Consumer - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Primer on Organizational Behavior (Wiley Series in Management) (Paperback)

If you want to learn management, this book is not the way to go. Writing style is boring and the sections in each chapter are non-cohesive. After reading, you are like so what?