Essentials of Organizational Behavior - Softcover

Stephens Robbins

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0135203058 ISBN 13: 9780135203057

Publisher: Prentice Hall, 1996

Synopsis

The Fifth Edition continues to gain popularity/only the most relevant topics in organizational behavior today, such as TQM, reengineering, technology, empowerment, declining employee loyalty, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, virtual and boundaryless organizations, and 360-degree performance appraisals are included. Lively and informative, this masterfully crafted introduction to the field of organizational behavior (OB) condenses the essential elements of the field into a tightly focused presentation. Its concise format makes it a viable alternative to the core textbook and flexible enough to combine with cases, readings, and experiential materials.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Key Benefit: Lively and informative, this masterfully crafted introduction to the field of organizational behavior (OB) condenses the essential elements of the field into a tightly focused presentation. Its concise format makes it a viable alternative to the core book and flexible enough to combine with cases, readings, and experiential materials. Key Topics: The Fifth Edition continues to gain popularity by including only the most relevant topics in organizational behavior today, such as TQM, reengineering, technology, empowerment, declining employee loyalty, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, virtual and boundaryless organizations, and 360-degree performance appraisals.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

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 400 colleges and universities in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. It's also been translated into Bahasa Indonesian, Chinese, Dutch, Japanese, Polish, and Spanish.

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 to approximately 300 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, knowledge management, and e-organizations.
• 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 course.
• 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 presented in stand-alone chapters, these topics have been woven into the context of relevant issues. Users tell me they find 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 SEVENTH EDITION

This seventh edition has been updated in terms of research, examples, and topic coverage. For instance, you'll find new material in this edition on:

• Organizational citizenship behavior (Chapters 1 and 2)
• Work-life balance (Chapter 1)Amabile's model of creativity in decision making (Chapter 6)
• Group demography (Chapter 7)
• Team-effectiveness model (Chapter 8)
• Low- and high-context cultures (Chapter 9)
• Leader-member exchange theory (Chapter 10)
• OB and the e-organization (Chapter 14)
• Mass customization (Chapter 14)
• Flextime and telecommuting (Chapter 14)
• Employee selection and training (Chapter 15)
• Workplace spirituality (Chapter 16)
• Knowledge management (Chapter 17)

SUPPLEMENTS PACKAGE

Essentials of Organizational Behavior continues to be supported with an extensive supplement package for both students and faculty.

For the Student

• The updated and revised Robbins Self-Assessment Library is available with this text as a no-cost option. It contains 50 exercises that provide insights into your skills, abilities, and interests. This is available in both print and CD-ROM formats as well as online.
• Companion Web site—The Companion Web site www.prenhall.com/robbins is the industry standard for companion Web sites. Designed by professors for professors and their students, it provides a customized course Web site, including new communication tools, one-click navigation of chapter content, and other valuable resources.

For the Professor

• Instructor's Manual with Test Item File—The instructor's manual portion includes learning objectives, chapter outlines, chapter summaries, discussion questions, and skill exercises; the Test Item File provides true/false, multiplechoice, and essay questions.
• Companion Web site—The Companion Web site provides professors with bimonthly news articles integrated into the text with accompanying discussion questions and group exercises, online delivery of PowerPoint slides and instructor's material, and sample syllabi and teaching suggestions posted on a community chat room.
• Instructor's Resource CD-ROM—The Instructor's Resource CD-ROM contains the computerized Test Item File, PowerPoint Electronic Transparencies, and the instructor's manual. A revised, comprehensive package of text outlines and figures corresponding to the text, the PowerPoint Electronic Transparencies are designed to aid the educator and supplement in-class lectures. Containing all of the questions in the printed Test Item File, Test Manager is a comprehensive suite of tools for testing and assessment. Test Manager allows educators to easily create and distribute tests for their courses, either by printing and distributing through traditional methods or by an online delivery via Local Area Network (LAN) servers.
• Videos—important topics in organizational behavior are illustrated in the accompanying videos. Real companies are used to highlight organizational behavior practices that work!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A number of people played critical roles in helping to produce this revision. Special thanks are extended to the following reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions: Professor Claudia Harris, North Carolina Central University; Dr. David A. Foote, Middle Tennessee State University; Jeffrey J. Sherwood, Washington State University; Dr. Jenna Lundberg, Ithaca College; Dr. Carol I. Young, Wittenberg University; Dr. Angeline W. McArthur, University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

At Prentice-Hall, I want to thank David Shafer, Jennifer Glennon, Melanie Olsen, Kim Marsden, Shannon Moore, Judy Leale, Keri Jean, and Janet Slowik for overseeing the production and marketing of this book. And, finally, I want to thank my wife, Laura, for her love and support.

STEPHEN P ROBBINS

Edition details

• Publisher: Prentice Hall
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0135203058
• ISBN 13: 9780135203057
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 5
• Number of pages: 296