The Ropes to Skip and the Ropes to Know: Studies in Organizational Behavior

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