Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior

by Jennifer M. George, Gareth R. Jones

Designed to help readers function effectively as managers, this book emphasizes behavior skills, situational analysis, and applies the lessons of organizational behavior. The in-depth macro content offers three chapters on motivation, covering important topics such as performance appraisal, social information processing, career management, and dual career couples. This new edition adds topics pertinent to all managers today, including ethics, sexual harassment, and cross-cultural communication. Practical applications of organizational behavior theories can be found in the Advice to Managers and Insight boxes in each chapter. A unique chapter on managing global organizations will be of particular interest. With its state-of-the-art coverage and hands-on perspective, here is an ideal choice for those looking for a strong foundation in organizational behavior.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Psychology, Science, College

724 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Jennifer M. George is the Mary Gibbs Jones Professor of Management and Professor of Psychology in the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University. She received her B.A. in Psychology/Sociology from Wesleyan University, her M.B.A. in Finance from New York University, and her Ph.D. in Management and Organizational Behavior from New York University. Prior to joining the faculty at Rice University, she was a Professor in the Department of Management at Texas A&M University.

She specializes in Organizational Behaviour and is well known for her research on mood and emotion in the workplace, their determinants, and their effects on various individual and group level work outcomes. She is the author of many articles in leading peer-reviewed journals such as the Academy of Management Journal, the Academy of Management Review, the Journal of Applied Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, and Psychological Bulletin. One of her papers won the Academy of Management’s Organizational Behavior Division Outstanding Competitive Paper Award and another paper won the Human Relations Best Paper Award. She is, or has been, on the editorial review boards of the Journal of Applied Psychology, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Management, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and Journal of Managerial Issues, was a consulting editor for the Journal of Organizational Behavior, and is a member of the SIOP Organizational Frontiers Series editorial board. She is a Fellow in the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and a member of the Society for Organizational Behavior. Professor George is currently an Associate Editor for the Journal of Applied Psychology.

Reviews

[jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again, an academic introductory book, but now on organizational behaviour. Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior is a thick textbook meant not only for psychology students such as myself aiming for a specialization in social and organizational psychology, but it’s also aimed towards students in the business administration branch, and, more in general, managers.

It’s composed of three parts, namely: (1) Individuals in organization, (2) Group and team processes, and (3) Organizational processes. At the start of each chapter, objectives are set that ought to be met after finishing the corresponding chapter, key terms are explained in the margins, and there are a number of exercises at the end of each chapter to help solidify the reader’s new knowledge (questions for review, questions for discussion, etc.).

It’s a very colourful textbook, with many illustrations, diagrams, and case studies/examples for a more practical viewpoint. The book explores every single theory there is to know in the field of organizational behaviour, but it doesn’t explore it fully – it defines and explains terms and theories, yes, but it doesn’t show as much about these theories being executed in practice (though it does try, with its examples of different businesses all around the world), and sometimes only scratches the surface. This makes it a textbook suitable for beginners, not for advanced students, since it tends to stay on the theoretical side, and not look much at practical implications/situations.

Also, another interesting note: in the end section of each chapter, where the questions for review/discussion are brought up, only newspaper articles from the New York Times are being used as source material. I don’t think I need to explain why this isn’t a good thing.

In the end, though, this book can be used as a good book of reference on organizational theories/behaviour, and it’s definitely a good introductory book for beginners. However, it lacks a somewhat more practical side to it, and it’s probably not a good buy if you’re an advanced student of this type of behaviour.

[Venkatesh]

f

[Audu]

is cool

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good for an MBA textbook. I particularly liked the chapters on power and influence, leadership, and motivation (needs theory / Maslow). Enjoyed the class and the book.