Organizational Behaviour: Text and Cases Dr Kavita Singh.

Jain, Neetu

Organizational Behaviour: Text and Cases Dr Kavita Singh, Pearson Education, New Delhi, 2009, Pages 479.

Organizational behaviour which is a study of individual and group behaviour in work settings is very complex as it has acquired new dimensions with the dynamic social and technological changes in the last two decades. Changing demographics, cultural diversity, more educated workforce and awareness of rights and privileges has prompted a new look at the entire organizational structures and systems.

This book has been painstakingly and thoroughly prepared to cover extensively various facets - both micro as well as macro--of the field of organizational behaviour. Since people are the most important asset of any organization, there is increased emphasis on the need for understanding people in a manner that is easily understandable by the students of the subject.

This book attempts to capture the comprehensive picture of organizational behaviour from a practitioners' perspective and combines sound theoretical concepts with real world organizational experience. The book which is under scan is divided into 17 chapters with rich review of literature.

Some of the important key features of the book are given below:

* Learning objectives outline the main learning goals of each chapter

* Opening case studies correlate theories discussed in chapters to incidents from the workplace. They can also be used for role playing in the classroom.

* Each chapter contains several boxes that highlight the best practices from the industry. Caselets highlight the practical applications of the theories discussed in the chapters.

* Each chapter ends with an exercise, either introspective or experiential, which helps students gain further insight into behavioural dispositions.

This book elucidates behaviour at four levels, starting from individual processes and moving on to interpersonal, organizational and change processes. Therefore, the book is spread over four parts, wherein first two parts provide readers with a strong understanding of the individual and interpersonal processes that determine behaviour in organizations, while the last two parts focus on various internal and external factors that affect organizations.

Part--I precisely deals with various topics such as personality, perception, learning and reinforcement, attitudes and values, work motivation and work stress.

Different chapters in Part- II incorporates interpersonal and team processes with an emphasis on communication issues, the dynamics within groups, the significance of leadership and conflict management strategies.

Part--III consists of organizational processes such as decision making, organizational structure, power and politics and organizational culture.

Part--IV focuses on how the external and internal environment affects organizations and how planned and unplanned change can be managed effectively.

Every chapter of this book is filled with real- life examples to make OB concepts more meaningful and reflect the relevance and excitement of this field. Almost every chapter has been substantially updated with new conceptual and anecdotal material. The book portrays the author's in depth grasp of the subject, narrated in lucid style and simple language, keeping the reader glued throughout. The book's style of presenting the theories of organizational behaviour widens the scope of its readership from management community to most people who have interest in the subject. This book is extremely readable and useful. Concepts have been relevantly supported by suitable examples and references wherever necessary. The book can be described as precise, well structured and is insightfully organized.

The whole focus of this book is to provide meaningful models of organizational behaviour to managers so that they can be most effective in their functioning. It is a significant contribution towards understanding the nuances of employees' behaviour in an organizational context. In a nutshell, the book presents the new reality that organizational behaviour is not just for managers ; it will be of considerable interest to anyone who works in and around organizations.

Dr. Neetu Jain

Assistant Professor

FORE School of Management