Organizational Behaviour and Work: A Critical Introduction - Softcover

Wilson, Fiona M.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0199645981 ISBN 13: 9780199645985

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2013

Synopsis

Fiona Wilson provides an accessible, critical introduction to organizational behaviour. This engagingly written textbook introduces students to key topics, ideas, and research in organizational behavior. Without assuming prior knowledge of the subject, the student is nevertheless encouraged to critically assess and question the traditional approach to the study of organizational life.

The text introduces students to both traditional and non-traditional areas of research, acting as a springboard for further research and critical thinking. The range of themes and topics explored provides a rich picture of the realities of organizational life, and of the varied contributions that make up the study of organizational behavior. For example, the concept of alienation is discussed in relation to both assembly lines and to call centres, leading into a discussion about the meaning of work.

The new edition takes the reader from critical perspectives on classic organizational topics--including new chapters on Personality and Perception--to the core of the critical approaches, including power, resistance, and alternative forms of organization. The Introduction also provides more detail on the different implications of taking a functionalist or critical approach to the study of organizational behavior--a theme which runs throughought the book.

The third edition also includes enhanced pedagogy, ensuring that the book is highly accessible. Questions, further reading suggestions, and annotated examples of films and novels that illustrate themes and topics from each chapter, help students to interact with the text, and support instructors to prepare. "Stop and Think" boxes encourage students to engage with and reflect on the text by drawing on their own experiences and perspectives, and numerous and varied examples and cases, drawn from both research and organizational life, bring the text to life and add depth.

About this title

About the Author:

Fiona M. Wilson is Professor of Organizational Behaviour at the University of Glasgow. Prior to this, she was Senior Lecturer in Organizational Behaviour at the University of St Andrews.

Review:

Review from previous edition: "Textbooks too often (and perhaps by definition?) talk at students rather than work with them, whatever student friendly devices are used. The Wilson volume gets round this, in part at least, by adopting a more engaging style that treats its readers as fellow
subjects rather than objects to be talked down to."
--Dr Deborah Kerfoot, School of Management, Keele University

"This book is improving all the time - always a high standard text. It is engaging and critical, rather than a bland and sanitised account of working life that will not do education the justice it deserves."
--Dr Andrew Smith, Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management, University of East London

"Rather than being a managerialist polemic, this book tries to introduce students to a more critical perspective that does not just adopt, by default, managerial discourse about OB. Part of this approach is tacitly encouraging reflexivity on the part of the reader by confronting them with
important insights that may challenge their pre-conceived notions and assumptions about people in particular."
--Professor Phil Johnson, Professor of Human Resources, Sheffield University

"I am very impressed by the integration of the material. There is high degree of scholarship; Professor Wilson calls on a wide range of research in her discussion of concepts and theories."
--Dr Anna Soulsby, Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour, Nottingham University

"Trying to be critical while introducing a new area to students is difficult. I think this book pulls it off with a fresh and engaging approach."
--Dr Sarah Hurlow, Lecturer in Organisation Theory, Cardiff Business School

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0199645981
• ISBN 13: 9780199645985
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 4
• Number of pages: 405