Now in its Sixth Edition, this OB reader continues to both instruct and entertain the current generation of students and professionals about workplace realities.
Going beyond the usual technical/rational analysis of books on organizational behavior, each chapter is a fictionalized account of actual workplace happenings, and involves a continuing cast of characters whom readers come to know. Each account makes a point of its own, or illustrates theoretical material covered in the introductions to parts and sections.
For instance, why would a plant manager call a continuing series of 6:30am meetings about coordination of efforts, and then cancel them after a short while? (He effectively used negative reinforcement to reward the coordination that resulted from imposing the inconvenient meetings – aside from whatever the participants may have discussed.)
The "realness" of this text continues to draw a kind of fan mail from both students and others. As one Vice President of Sales for a nationally known corporation put it: "After 18 years in business life I only wish I had read it much earlier. Your book should be required reading for anyone embarking into any kind of organizational life . . ."
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