Organizational Behavior

Rating:
Summary: There are much better books out there
Review: ·Very little focus on individual behavior in organizations - I know this is not a psychology text, but, Jex (2002), or one of the other psych authors (Osland, 2000) could have used for this course with much better coverage and not alter the course objectives to a great extent.
·For a 2003 edition of text, the citations were very much out of date. The chapter on leadership for example (Chapter 14, which had a total of 53 citations) had only seven references within the last five years; 1998 or greater.
·I am not of the opinion that this was a graduate text. The stories, pictures, essay and "effective manager" were not intellectual in their added information. In many cases the added material didn't correspond to the text (see chart on page 48 and subsequent text explanation). Another example would be on page 157 they ask the reader to refer to Figure 8.2 and then explain the chart with text that isn't even related to the major sections of this chart.
oNot one of the Effective Manager boxes has references; where did all this good advice come from?
·Typo's abounded in the text, they always do - but check out page 233 Chapter summary - it's not the right chapter; this appears agan with chapter 19. I really had the feeling that this was written by three people who did not do a line-by-line update of the 7th edition.
·Of very serious concern would be the author's inclusion of sources in their writing. This infuriated me to no end. Page 63 under Gender "However, women are reported to be more conforming and to have lower expectations of success than men do." That is a very serious statement and it contains no citation - what reports, who, where, when? Another example is on page 85 when discussion perceptual differences in managers and employees - not citations given, even when stating that the differences are significant.
oJust to show that I did not cull these examples only from the front of the book, Pg 274 "Recent work on the linkages among corporate culture and financial performance reaffirms the importance of an emphasis on helping employees adjust to environment." What recent work, by who, saying what? This is just poor scholarship in my humble student estimation.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: I'm reading this book only because it is required for my class, but in reading it, had I known about its quality, I would have purchased it anyhow. It's a very expensive book (and I do doubt whether it's worth $100--but then, I think books are overpriced nowadays)--but the content is very good. Maybe the difference between the previous reviewer and me is that I don't know much about organizational behaviour and haven't compared it to other books in this field.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: I'm reading this book only because it is required for my class, but in reading it, had I known about its quality, I would have purchased it anyhow. It's a very expensive book (and I do doubt whether it's worth $100--but then, I think books are overpriced nowadays)--but the content is very good. Maybe the difference between the previous reviewer and me is that I don't know much about organizational behaviour and haven't compared it to other books in this field.

Rating:
Summary: I hope you don't have to read this book.
Review: The only reason you should buy and read this book is if it isrequired reading for a class. You are buying an advertisement for Fast Company Magazine. The writing is sketchy at best, and the examples are vague. You get access to their Web site for online tests, but the site is poorly done with typographical errors. There are other better texts on organizational behavior.

Rating:
Summary: There are much better books out there
Review: This is an outstanding book. It is very easy reading, organized and it communicates information to the student. It is loaded with easy following diagrams which reinforce the material, and it is loaded with real world Corporate America and Military Organizational Behavior examples to support the text work. It has an OUTSTANDING CASE Section which again reinforces the material and makes the student apply the concepts learned in the chapters. Also, this text is complete with alot of Personal Assessment Exercises which make you think about the type of person you are, how to improve yourself in working with others. I've used in now for 3 different schools and the students enjoy it...Mainly for the Easy Reading and the way it introduces the concepts. Price is IRRELEVANT. You can go spend $40 on an Organizational Behavior text and you won't get anything out of it because it is poorly written, no cases and no assessments. Highly recommend for any instructor who wants his students to learn. Great reference book also. Don't sell it!!!

Rating:
Summary: Adjunct Professor Uses For All His Classes
Review: This is an outstanding book. It is very easy reading, organized and it communicates information to the student. It is loaded with easy following diagrams which reinforce the material, and it is loaded with real world Corporate America and Military Organizational Behavior examples to support the text work. It has an OUTSTANDING CASE Section which again reinforces the material and makes the student apply the concepts learned in the chapters. Also, this text is complete with alot of Personal Assessment Exercises which make you think about the type of person you are, how to improve yourself in working with others. I've used in now for 3 different schools and the students enjoy it...Mainly for the Easy Reading and the way it introduces the concepts. Price is IRRELEVANT. You can go spend $40 on an Organizational Behavior text and you won't get anything out of it because it is poorly written, no cases and no assessments. Highly recommend for any instructor who wants his students to learn. Great reference book also. Don't sell it!!!

Rating:
Summary: Boring to death
Review: This textbook is so boring that although I made an A in the class, I couldn't wait to finish it. It uses too many technical words, it makes reference to subjects that students with a few courses in Human Resources know already. It would be better if it offered some real life examples. If you are a teacher looking for a textbook, please keep looking! If you are a student whose teacher assigned you this book..... I am sorry for you!