The Ropes to Skip and the Ropes to Know: Studies in Organizational Behavior, 5th Edition [Paperback]

R. Richard Ritti (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 13, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0471133043 | ISBN-13: 978-0471133049 | Edition: 5

The fifth edition of this popular guide to organizational behavior reveals the psychological processes and social mores at work. Seen through the eyes of an employee at a mythical company, it goes beyond the usual technical/rational analysis of other books on organizational behavior. It gives students true insights into a firm's organizational structure and culture and helps them reflect on their experiences in their own organizations.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

aculty throughout the country agree that The Ropes to Skip and the Ropes to Know, by R. Richard Ritti, gives students true insights into a firm's organizational structure and culture and helps them reflect on their experiences in their own organizations. "The interpretive/cultural approach of The Ropes provides a distinct competitive advantage. Students learn about the living world of organizational behavior through simple concepts, definitions, and short cases. The Ropes provides a more meaningful alternative because of its rich "real-life" stories." -Dale Fitzgibbons, Illinois State University "As a person with ten years of corporate experience and many years of academia, I have found past editions full of delightfully real characterizations. As I told my students then, 'I wish I had read this book before I started my corporate career.' I liked the book because it was real." -Peter B. Venuto, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania "This text presents a cultural/symbolic perspective on organizational behavior. As such it fits very well with the primary text in my course." -Steve Levy, California State University, San Bernadino

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 5 edition (May 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471133043
• ISBN-13: 978-0471133049
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,519,809 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Organizational Revelation, November 13, 2000

By 

Stephen W. Carter (New York, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ropes to Skip and the Ropes to Know: Studies in Organizational Behavior, 5th Edition (Paperback)

"Ropes" is the only book that I read as part of my MBA course work from which I actually learned something useful. I apply its lessons at work everday. It reveals how organizations truly work. The various scenes played out in the book have been duplicated in my own career experience many times over. It is incredible. It was as if the author had studied the firm that I worked for and then wrote this book. I consider this book crucial in helping me in my career. Not only in advancement but in alleviating the frustration of not understanding why things happen the way they do in organizations. For example, "Ropes" helps answer the question, why does the idiot get put in charge of a project and not the person who is the most capable. It is also an excellent reference. I often turn back to it to see how a situation that I am experiencing now played out in the book. Not only is it instructive but it is also extremely entertaining. I could not put this book down and finished reading it in a day and a half. Since then I have read it several more times. This is the only edition that I have read, but since the different editions are significantly changed, I am sure that the earlier editions are just as worthwhile. I would highly recomend "ropes" to anyone who works in any type of organization and wants to understand what is going on in that organization.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb book on management culture, the real thing., January 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Ropes to Skip and the Ropes to Know: Studies in Organizational Behavior, 5th Edition (Paperback)

I have been reading the Ropes to Skip since my MBA, nearly two decades ago. Each have so much to contribute that I would recommend buying or finding the other four editions rather than go on to another book. Dr. Ritti keeps changing the stories enough to keep your interest. But what is really interesting is how these new stories and his theory seem to be a part of his journey of learning. For example, if I was younger than I am, I might gain more from his first edition than his later editions, as we all drop what is of burning interest in one part of our lives and of less in another. I'd say that these editions track from his forties to his sixties and thus should be of special interest in people of those ages. The stories are easy to read but even after reading these stories ten or twenty times when teaching them to my students, I still keep learning from them. A true master of organizational culture. In the style of Robert Shrank's "Ten Thousand Working Days" done by another insightful sociologist.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How personnel tick, an inside view of an organization., November 2, 1998

By 

Gerald R. Talandis([e-mail] (Davenport, Iowa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ropes to Skip and the Ropes to Know: Studies in Organizational Behavior, 5th Edition (Paperback)

I liked it, I loved it, it was very good. The book describes personnel behavior in a large corporation. It gives real life examples of how personnel act and react under different circumstances and the reasons for it. As an MBA student I found the information of great interest and will, undoubtedly, experience it myself. The subject is taught only peripherally in schools but will, most likely, affect my career more than the hard subjects I am learning. Most college books are written by academics to impress other academics. In most cases the learning of the language (code) is the most difficult part of mastering the subject. Usually the subject itself is relatively easy to learn. For example: "A 360-degree feedback program involves the use of multiple sources of evaluation information collected from a full-circle of evaluators". It takes awhile to translate this to: "If you wish to learn ask everybody in sight".

As I read the book the paragraphs, sections and chapters just came in a stream and I just devoured them without stopping. I understood, I learned and I enjoyed.

A DOUBLE SUCCESS: it deals with issues central to life in an organization and in a way that can be easily understood.