The central theme in this selection of readings is the importance of reflective action in the process of managing formal organizations. Contrary to traditional thinking in Organizational Behaviour (OB) which sees management in terms of social engineering, new thinking in OB highlights the subjective and reflective relationship between managers and the organizations they attempt to manage. Organizations are viewed as fluid, ambiguous constructions, the nature of which depends crucially on the interpretative frameworks applied to them. The articles chosen are all very recent, and written by leading authorities in the field. Although their authors elaborate on the main features of new thinking in OB, they do so through its juxtaposition with traditional theory. In his introduction, the editor has synthesized the arguments of the contributors within the new approach to OB as well as showing their connections to the wider literature.

Organizational Behavior: A Critical-Thinking Perspective, by Christopher P. Neck, Jeffery D. Houghton, and Emma L. Murray, provides insight into OB concepts and processes through a first-of-its kind active learning experience. Thinking Critically challenge questions tied to Bloom’s taxonomy appear throughout each chapter, challenging students to apply, analyze, and create. Unique, engaging case narratives that span several chapters along with experiential exercises, self-assessments, and interviews with business professionals foster students’ abilities to think critically and creatively, highlight real-world applications, and bring OB concepts to life.

Organizational Behavior: For a Better Tomorrow, 2nd Edition is a unique, blended approach to the subject, combining traditional core competencies with contemporary research and innovative practices. The textbook’s distinctive dual presentation integrates “conventional” and “sustainable” organizational behavior (OB) to help students understand how creativity, collaboration, and ethical decision-making can positively impact people, organizations, and entire communities. This fully-updated second edition provides a balanced, real-world approach that strengthens critical thinking skills, enables students to explore the rationale for sustainable OB practices, and illustrates and how values and ethics influence business decisions in the real world. Rather than focusing only on the short-term, bottom-line approach of traditional OB, the text discusses a comprehensive range of topics, from current trends in popular media and scholarly literature, to addressing the current and long-term needs and goals of organizational stakeholders.

In the past, contingency and neo-Marxist theorists of culture reduced culture to an effect of something other than itself and, as they made culture metaphorical, they constituted its object of inquiry — a somewhat impossible pretension. This book extends the debate considerably. It does so through considering the work of Foucault in the context of the analysis of culture. While Foucault has had a considerable impact on organization studies, up to the present no text has systematically addressed what happens to organization culture when it encounter a Foucauldian gaze. Read this book and you will find out.Stewart Clegg, UTS, Sydney

"In this book Haridimos Tsoukas examines the nature of knowledge in organizations, and how individuals and scholars approach the concept of knowledge"--Provided by publisher.

This book is an account of a ten-year experiment, whereby the scientist became an entrepreneur so as to experience his own theoretical model applied in a live social system (society). Profit motives and the clinical nature of science became muddied with norms, rules, and laws of social systems and how different people applied and responded to these rules. The insights to be gained from this journey are often surprising. The book highlights many counter-intuitive outcomes. It also reveals how certain individuals interpret societys rules and norms despite their design to ensure fair and equitable social systems. Indeed, the manipulation of social laws and standards by those with strong fields of power is self-evident, and it is explored in a unique manner. Understanding how the field of power can be manipulated suggests that no matter how bleak ones current position may be, it is very possible and relatively easy to escape conditions of poverty, oppression, and subjugation, vital issues that citizens in all countries face today.