Essentials of Organizational Behavior, 14/e

As you begin your study of this text, you might be wondering, “What is organizational behavior and why does it matter to me?” We get to the definition of organizational behavior, or OB, in a moment, but let’s begin with the end in mind—why OB matters, and what the study of OB offers you.

First, a bit of history. Until the late 1980s, business school curricula emphasized the technical aspects of management, focusing on economics, accounting, finance, and quantitative techniques. Course work in human behavior and people skills received relatively less attention. Since then, however, business schools have realized the significant role interpersonal skills play in determining a manager’s effectiveness. In fact, a survey of over 2,100 CFOs across 20 ...