Organizational Behavior, Third Edition

Part I. The Strategic Lens

This book describes the rich and important concepts that make up the field of organizational behavior. We have based the book on cutting-edge research as well as current practices in organizations. Beyond this, the book is unique in presenting these concepts through a strategic lens. That is, in each chapter, we explain the strategic importance of the primary concepts presented in the chapter. Our discussions emphasize how managers can use knowledge of these concepts to improve organizational performance.

In Part I, we develop and explain the strategic lens for organizational behavior. To begin, we describe in Chapter 1 the concept of competitive advantage and how behavior in an organization affects the organization's ability to gain and maintain an advantage over its competitors. Gaining and maintaining a competitive advantage is critical for organizations to perform at high levels and provide returns to their stakeholders (including owners). We emphasize the importance and management of human capital for high performance and describe the high-involvement organization and how to manage associates to achieve it.

Chapter 2 examines the critical topic of organizational diversity. Given the demographic diversity in the United States, all organizations' work-forces are likely to become increasingly diverse. Thus, it is important to understand diversity and how ...