Essentials of Organizational Behavior - Softcover

Stephen P. Robbins

3.67

499 ratings by Goodreads

9780131445710: Essentials of Organizational Behavior

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0131445715 ISBN 13: 9780131445710

Publisher: Prentice Hall, 2005

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This masterfully crafted introduction provides balanced coverage of all the key elements comprising the discipline of OB, in a style that readers will find both informative and interesting. This includes not only traditional topics such as personality, motivation, and leadership; but also cutting-edge issues such as emotions, trust, work-life balance, workplace spirituality, and knowledge management. People participating in any group or organizational activity.

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From the Back Cover:

Steve Robbins' Self-Assessment Library (S.A.L.) is a unique learning tool that allows you to assess your knowledge, beliefs, feelings, and actions in regard to a wide range of personal skills, abilities, and interests. Automatically graded self-scoring exercises generate immediate, individual analysis that allows you to compare your results to those of others taking the assessment, This single volume of fifty research-based instruments is organized into three parts—What About Me? Working with Others, and Life in Organizations—and offers you one source from which to learn more about yourself. Following are some examples of assessments included in S.A.L., 3.0.:

What's My Basic Personality?
What Are My Attitudes Toward Workplace Diversity?
What's My Decision-Making Style?
What's My Emotional Intelligence Score?
Do I Trust Others?
What's My Negotiating Style?
Am I Experiencing Work-Family Conflict?
What Motivates Me?

NEW FEATURES

additional research-based instruments are included in S.A.L. 3.0.
New save feature allows students to easily create an assessment portfolio.
When taking the self-assessments online, students can view their own results instantly, and also see how their results compare to their class and to students around the world. Instructors can access view them both textually and graphically, and compare their class to students around the world.
A completely revamped Instructor's Manual guides instructors in interpreting students' results—facilitating class discussions of results.

This book was created as an alternative to the 600- or 700-page comprehensive textbook in organizational behavior (OB). It attempts to provide balanced coverage of all the key elements comprising the discipline of OB, in a style that readers will find both informative and interesting. I'm pleased to say that this text has achieved a wide following in short courses and executive programs, and in traditional courses as a companion volume with experiential, skill development, case, and readings books. It is currently used at more than 500 colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. It's also been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Dutch, Polish, Turkish, Danish, and Bahasa Indonesian.

RETAINED FROM THE PREVIOUS EDITION

What do people like about this book? Surveys of users have found general agreement about the following features. Needless to say, they've all been retained in this edition.

Length. Since its inception in 1984, I've tried diligently to keep this book in the range of 325-350 pages. Users tell me this length allows them considerable flexibility in assigning supporting materials and projects.
Balanced topic coverage. Although short in length, this book continues to provide balanced coverage of all the key concepts in OB. This includes not only traditional topics such as personality, motivation, and leadership; but also cutting-edge issues such as emotions, trust, work/life balance, workplace spirituality, and knowledge management.
Writing style. This book is frequently singled out for the fluid writing style and extensive use of examples. Users regularly tell me that they find this book "conversational," "interesting," "student friendly," and "very clear and understandable."
Practicality. This book has never been solely about theory. It's about using theory to better explain and predict the behavior of people in organizations. In each edition of this book, I have focused on making sure that readers see the link between OB theories, research, and implications for practice.
Absence of pedagogy. Part of the reason I've been able to keep this book short in length is that it doesn't include review questions, cases, exercises, or similar teaching/learning aids. This book continues to provide only the basic core of OB knowledge, allowing instructors the maximum flexibility in designing and shaping their courses.
Integration of globalization, diversity, and ethics. As shown in Exhibit A, the topics of globalization and cross-cultural differences, diversity, and ethics are discussed throughout this book. Rather than being presented in stand-alone chapters, these topics have been woven into the context of relevant issues. Users tell me they find that this integrative approach makes these topics more fully part of OB and reinforces their importance.
Comprehensive supplements. While this book may be short in length, it's not short on supplements. It comes with a complete, high-tech support package for both faculty and students. This includes a comprehensive instructor's manual and Test Item File; a dedicated Web site ( www.prenhall.com/robbins); an Instructor's Resource CD-ROM, including the computerized Test Item File, instructor's manual, and PowerPoint slides; and the Robbins' Self-Assessment Library, which provides students with insights into their skills, abilities, and interests. These supplements are described in detail later in this Preface.

NEW TO THE EIGHTH EDITION

This eighth edition has been updated in terms of research, examples, and topic coverage. It is also one chapter shorter than the previous edition. New material in this edition includes:

Expanded coverage of globalization and workforce diversity (Chapter 1)
Working in networked organizations (Chapter 1)
OB's role in improving customer service (Chapters 1 and 14)
GLOBE framework for assessing national cultures (Chapter 2)
Expanded coverage of MBTI (Chapter 3)
Job design is now discussed under motivation (Chapter 4)
Job redesign and scheduling programs are now covered under applied motivation (Chapter 5)
Motivating a diversified workforce (Chapter 5)
Behavioral decision making, including new material on overconfidence, anchoring, confirmation bias, and hindsight bias (Chapter 6)
Differences in decision-making styles between genders (Chapter 6)
Psychological contract (Chapter 7)
Revised section on status (Chapter 7)
Revised section on creating effective teams (Chapter 8)
Ethics of forced team participation (Chapter 8)
Role of teams in quality management (Chapter 8)
When teams are appropriate and when they're not (Chapter 8)
Revised communication model (Chapter 9)
Instant messaging (Chapter 9)
Dark side of charismatic leadership (Chapter 10)
Emotional intelligence and leadership effectiveness (Chapter 10)
Ethical leadership (Chapter 10)
Cross-cultural leadership (Chapter 10)
Revised discussion on bases of power (Chapter 11)
Employee responses to organizational politics (Chapter 11)
Gender differences in negotiation style (Chapter 12)
Ethics in negotiation (Chapter 12)
Career development (Chapter 15)
Appreciative inquiry (Chapter 16)