Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior

We have substantially revised the organization and content of the fourth edition of our book,Understanding and Managing Organization Behavior,to reflect the changes that are taking place in the world of work and organizations. First, the ways in which continuing advances in information technology are affecting all aspects of behavior in organizations has received increased attention in this new edition. We have expanded our already extensive coverage of the ways in which digital and wireless communication are transforming how people perform their jobs, how teams function, and how organizations achieve their goals. Second, the increasing globalization of business and diversity of the workforce have led us to change the way we discuss and present the many opportunities and challenges globalization and diversity pose for understanding and managing organizational behavior. Third, recent ethical controversies and scandals that have involved a growing number of well-known companies such as WorldCom, Enron, and Boeing and managers such as Bernard Ebbers and Kenneth Lay, have led us to rethink our treatment of ethics and ethical behavior. Finally, the continuing advances made by organizational behavior scholars and researchers as they develop new and improved theories and models to explain why and how people and teams behave as they do has led us to modify, update, and refine our coverage of many different aspects of organizational behavior. Concepts likepersonality, trust, creativity, mood, emotion, continuous learning, virtual teams, telecommuting, outsourcing, and knowledge managementare now found in all the central research areas of organizational behavior such as learning, motivation, leadership, group behavior, and communication. A MAJOR REVISION Our challenge in revisingUnderstanding and Managing Organizational Behaviorhas been to incorporate and integrate the latest advances in theorizing and research and provide a thorough and contemporary account of the factors that influence organizational behavior. Most importantly, we strived to convey this knowledge to students in a very readable, applied, hands-on format to increase their understanding and enjoyment of the learning process. To provide the most current coverage of organizational behavior in a way that enhances student interest, learning, and retention, we have reorganized the chapters in our book.We have made major changes to Chapter 1 to reflect contemporary organizational behavior issues and challenges;in Chapter 1, we provide a new approach to understanding and managing organizational behavior that sets the scene for the rest of the book. In Part One,Individuals in Organizations,we have made major changes to underscore the many ways in which people can contribute to organizations and how an understanding of factors such aspersonality, emotional intelligence, creativity, and motivationcan help organizations and their members channel effort and behavior in ways that promote the achievement of organizational objectives and the well-being of all organizational stakeholders, including employees.In Chapters 2, 3, and 4, we have expanded our coverage of personality, emotional intelligence, mood and emotion, values and ethics, and the proactive management of diversity;additionally, we link these factors to important behaviors and determinants of organizational effectiveness. We have refocusedChapter 5to convey the variety of ways in which organizational members can and do learn with anew emphasis on continuous learning through creativity.Our treatment of work motivation has been revamped. In Chapter 6, we provide an integrated account of work motivation and the latest development in motivation theory and research. Chapter 7 focuses on how to create a motivating work environment through job design, organizational objectives, and goal setting.Chapter 8addreGeorge, Jennifer M. is the author of 'Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior', published 2004 under ISBN 9780131454248 and ISBN 0131454242.